Beauty and the Beast [Signature Collection] [Includes Digital Copy] [4K Ultra HD Blu-ray/Blu-ray]

Overview

Beauty and the Beast is widely considered the best animated Disney feature of the studio's 1980s/1990s renewal of the form. Based on the classic French fairy tale, it tells the story of Belle (voiced by Paige O'Hara), an intelligent young woman scorned by her townspeople for being a bookworm, weary of fighting off the advances of the arrogant Gaston (Richard White), and dreaming of escape. When her father gets lost in the woods and captured by the forbidding Beast (Robby Benson), a once-handsome prince turned into a monster by a witch, Belle goes off to rescue him. Taken with her, the Beast agrees to release Belle's father if she agrees to stay with him forever. Initially repulsed, Belle soon finds much to appreciate in the Beast's hidden, tender nature. The Beast's servants -- a clock (David Ogden Stiers), a teapot (Angela Lansbury), and a candlestick (Jerry Orbach) -- see Belle as their salvation: if the Beast and a woman fall in love before his 21st birthday, he will be free from the curse. The songs are first-class, the tale is told with sincerity but not sentimentality, and the characters of Belle and the Beast, complex individuals who defy stereotyping and change over the course of the story, are more three-dimensional than in most live-action movies. The eye-popping animation is beautifully rendered, and Beauty and the Beast certainly deserves its place amongst Disney's animated classics. In 2002, a special 89-minute edition of the film was released in IMAX theaters with the addition of a newly animated song, "Human Again.""

Product Details

Release Date:	03/10/2020
UPC:	0786936867206
Original Release:	1991
Source:	WALT DISN
Language:	English
Format:	Blu-ray
Sales rank:	4,050

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Paige O'Hara	Belle
Robby Benson	Beast
Richard White	Gaston,Actor
Jerry Orbach	Lumiere
Angela Lansbury	Mrs. Potts
David Ogden Stiers	Cogsworth/Narrator
Bradley Michael Pierce	Chip
Jesse Corti	LeFou
Jo Anne Worley	Wardrobe
Mary Kay Bergman	Bimbette
Brian Cummings	Stove,Footstool
Alvin Epstein	Voices
Tony Jay	Monsieur D'Arque
Alec Murphy	Baker
Engelbert Von Nordhausen	Voices
Santiago Ziesmer	Voices
Peter Edelmann	Voices
Klaus Miedel	Voices
Helmut Heyne	Voices
Friedrich Schoenfelder	Voices
Ingeborg Wellmann	Voices
Joachim Kemmer	Voices
Manfred Lichtenfeld	Voices
Timo Plümicke	Voices
Christel Merian	Voices
Rex Everhart	Maurice
Kimmy Robertson	Featherduster
Albert Tavares	Voices
Kath Soucie	Bimbette
Hal Smith	Philippe
Vanna Bonta	Voices
Alan Menken	Composer

Technical Credits

Linda Woolverton

Gary Trousdale	Director
Kirk Wise	Director
Linda Woolverton	Screenwriter
Howard Ashman	Executive Producer
Don Hahn	Producer
Marco Paulo	Stunts
John Lasseter	Executive Producer
Vanessa Theme Ament	Sound Effects
Mark Barrows	Special Effects
Ariel Velasco Shaw	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

After a decade, Beauty and the Beast makes its triumphant return to home video in a spellbinding, fully restored VHS edition and makes its DVD debut in a truly enchanting Platinum Edition. Both versions offer a new musical sequence, "Human Again," which has been seamlessly integrated into the original film. The DVD offers viewers this "Special Edition," as well as the original theatrical release, and the fascinating "work in progress" version that premiered at the New York Film Festival. In its original cinematic release, Beauty and the Beast was a milestone. It was the first animated feature to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, and though it didn’t win, Alan Menken and Howard Ashman did take the Oscar for their musical score. The story tells of the surprising romance that blossoms between odd bookworm Belle (voiced by Paige O'Hara), one of Disney's most beloved heroines, and the cursed and ferocious Beast (Robby Benson), who holds her prisoner. The stellar voice ensemble includes Angela Lansbury as teapot Mrs. Potts, Jerry Orbach as French-accented candlestick Lumiere (who performs the showstopping "Be Our Guest"), and David Ogden Stiers as mantle clock Cogsworth. The VHS edition offers a few extras, but Disney has really outdone itself with the two-disc "Experiential" DVD, which contains a treasure trove of archival goodies that chart the evolution of the film's production, as well as interactive games. Beauty and the Beast is a sparkling jewel in the Disney crown that will captivate viewers for generations to come.

Barnes & Noble - Donald Liebenson

The most important aspect of any musical is the songs. Songs in a musical should be both memorable and somewhat functional. One or the other is fine, but if most of the songs advance the plot or reveal character andmake the audience want to sing along, then you have a truly great musical. Alan Menken and Howard Ashman composed an arguably perfect set of songs for Disney's Beauty and the Beast. The opening number that encapsulates both Belle and her hometown, the hilarious tune illustrating how formidable a man Gaston is, and the warmly charming "Be My Guest" are just three high points from one of the great soundtracks in movie history. The title track, which is as sappy as Ashman ever got as a lyricist, charmingly acknowledges its own banality ("Tale as old as time/song as old rhyme/beauty and the beast") without minimizing or mocking its inherently sweet description of true love. Belle herself sidesteps most of the clichés surrounding Disney heroines. Her love for the beast is unexpected, mostly because she dreams of independence and adventure, not romance. She is a strong female character whose love is won through kindness, selflessness, and honesty, and not given away just because the lead male character is attractive. Classic songs, memorable characters, and adult (for Disney) love combine with such joy and skill in Beauty and the Beast that it became the first animated Best Picture nominee in Academy history. This is not just a great animated film; this is a great film. Period. [In January of 2012, a new 3D version of Beauty and the Beast was released into U.S. theaters after playing on screens throughout Europe and Asia. Though the film looked and sounded as good as ever, the 3D effects were largely of the forgettable "View-Master" variety, offering the film a pleasant but ultimately unnecessary sense of depth that did little to dazzle outside of the classic "Be Our Guest" and ballroom sequences. Following The Lion King 3D and preceding Finding Nemo 3D, Monsters Inc. 3D, and The Little Mermaid 3D, Beauty and the Beast 3D proved that even with 21st century film technology, it's difficult to improve upon perfection. -- Jason Buchanan]

All Movie Guide - Perry Seibert