Review of Beauty and the Beast (1991) by Mrmoviebuff — 19 Dec 2016

To keep it short, Disney's 'Beauty and the Beast' is my favorite Disney animated movie ever. Everything about this movie is what you look for in a fine Disney animated movie. The animation is rich and stunning, the characters are so different and unique in their own way, and the songs are just wonderful... there is almost everything to love about this movie, it's hard not to be charmed by it. The movie starts off where we hear about a royal young prince who turns away an old and disfigured woman offering him a rose. He is repulsed by her appearance and she informs him that looks are not everything, but he chooses not to listen to her. Once her appearance changes into a beautiful young woman, he tried to apologize for his shallow behavior, but she saw that there was no good in him at all, and therefore transformed him into a hideous beast and all who lived in his castle were to be transformed into inanimate objects. The rose was magical, each time, a petal would fall which would count down his fate. He must find someone to fall in love with him as well as for him to fall in love before the final petal falls. If not, then he will remain a beast for all eternity, and the same goes for those who have become inanimate objects. We are then introduced to Belle (voiced by Paige O'Hara) who lives peacefully with her father Maurice (Rex Everhart) in a small village in France. Belle seems to stand out against the people in her village as she is the only girl who looks "beautiful" (apparently, "Belle" means "Beauty"), and everyone seems to think that she is odd. Belle loves literature, and always loves to dive into a book, that is, until she comes across an arrogant and vain man named Gaston (Richard White) and his sidekick, LeFou (Jesse Corti). Gaston plans to marry Belle, despite not having much respect for her well-being or privacy. One day, when Maurice travels to sell his invention, he comes across a gigantic castle where he meets a candle Maitre D named Lumiere (Jerry Orbach) and a clock Household staff Cogsworth (David Ogden Stiers). He also meets a teapot Cook named Mrs Potts (Angela Lansbury) who all welcome him in open arms. That is, until he comes across the hideous Beast (Robby Benson) who imprisons him for trespassing, when Belle finds out, she hurries along to save her father in sacrifice of her own freedom. The gang of objects sees this as an opportunity for the curse to be broken, and they try their best to teach the beast to be warm-hearted, kind and gentle to Belle, so she could fall in love with him and break the curse as soon as possible. This movie is as good as any Disney movie, ever... it's a worthy follow-up to 'The Little Mermaid' (1989) and perfectly matches the inspiration that Walt Disney himself influenced when he decided to adapt fairy-tales into animated musicals. The best songs here include; "Be our Guest", "Gaston", and of course, the enchanting and sweeping "Beauty and the Beast" sung perfectly by the soothing voice of Angela Lansbury. The kind of song that lets your imagination run wild and the sequence with the ballroom is magnificently animated, the texture, the color combination of gold and midnight blue and the sweeping shots of Belle and the Beast dancing to the tune... it's Disney perfection!

I could go on and on as to why this is my favorite Disney animated movie... but if you haven't seen the movie... watch it! You'll love the characters, you'll love the story and the songs.