Beauty And The Beast (1991)

C. – 84m. (Original Theatrical Cut) / 91m. (Special Edition)
Aspect Ratio: 2.70:1 – Widescreen – IMAX Special Edition Release
1.85:1 – Widescreen – Intended
1.78:1 – Widescreen – Blu–ray 3D & 2D
1.66:1 – Widescreen – Original Negative
1.50:1 – Widescreen – IMAX Release – Animated
A.K.A.: Beauty And The Beast: Special Edition and Beauty And The Beast: 3D

Starring: Robby Benson, Jesse Corti, Angela Lansbury, Jerry Orbach, Bradley Pierce, David Ogden Stiers, Brian Cummings and Frank Welker.

A beautiful young woman named Belle takes her father’s place as captive to a Prince who is under a spell that rendered him a beast. “A tale as old as time,” gets an animated facelift from the Disney Studio and it pays off wonderfully. The visuals are dazzling, particularly in 3D and the music will make one’s heart swell with emotion. A must watch children’s classic! Academy Award Winner: Best Original Score & Best Original Song: “Beauty And The Beast”.

Trivia: It took the Disney studio three tries before they were able to make a go of making this film. Many scenes were storyboarded but were not animated. Angela Lansbury, Mrs. Potts, thought another character should sing ”Beauty And The Best” but made a recording of the song ,“just in case,” as viewers know, the recording made it into the film. Julie Andrews was originally considered for the role of Mrs. Potts before it was offered to Angela Lansbury. The last part of the Cogsworth’s line, “Flowers, Chocolates, and promises you don’t intend to keep…” was adlibbed by David Ogden Stiers. And finally: Jackie Chan did the singing and voice work for Beast in the Chinese Mandarin dub of the film.

Rated: [G]

Out Of Print on VHS, but Available on 3D / 2D Blu–ray, DVD & Digital Copy.

Beauty and The Beast (2017)

C. – 129m
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 – Widescreen (Standard Release) / 1.90:1 – Widescreen (IMAX); 3D & 2D. – Live Action

Screenplay By: Stephen Chbosky.

Starring: Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evens, Josh Gad, Kevin Kline, Ewan McGregor, Sir Ian McKellen, Emma Thompson and Stanley Tucci.

Beauty, Belle (Emma Watson) takes her father’s (Kevin Kline) place as the prisoner of the Beast (Dan Stevens). Can true love form between the captor and his prisoner so the spell will be broken? If you have seen any other version of this story, particularly the original Disney animated film version, you know it can and does form. Like the aforementioned animated classic this is an equal in terms of hitting all the right notes. Unfortunately the songs being padded does drag the film down a notch from the animated classic’s rating. It is however still worth a watch and should please adults and children alike.

Trivia: Sir Ian McKellen was originally offered the part of Cogsworth in the original Disney Beauty And The Beast (1991), but turned it down. Ryan Gosling was offered the role of Beast but turned it down to be in La La Land (2016) with Emma Stone, who won an Academy Award for Best Actress for it. Emma Watson became friends with screenwriter Stephen Chbosky while making The Perks Of Being A Wallflower (2012) and brought him on to work the script after Guillermo Del Toro exited the project as writer and director. And finally: Emma Watson said she was bored during the filming of the, “Be Our Guest,” scene. According to her, the crew would tell her jokes to keep her entertained and elicit genuine giggles that could be used as reactions in the film.

Rated: [PG] – Some Action Violence, Peril & Frightening Images.

Released theatrically in 3D & 2D. Available on Blu–ray, DVD & Digital Copy (in 2D only).