Today’s IMDB Top 250 Guest Review comes from Steven of Past, Present, Future In TV And Film. Thanks for the review, Steven! š Now let’s see what he has to say about Beauty And The Beast, IMDB rank 228 out of 250…
There are still some movies up for grabs if anyone wants to do a guest IMDB Top 250 review. You can find the list of remaining films HERE. See the full list & links to all the reviews that have already been done HERE. Also, if you’d like to add a link to your IMDB review(s) on your own blogs, feel free to use any of the logos I’ve used at the top of any of these guest reviews.
Animated films. You grow up with them as kids, watch them over and over, and love them to pieces. Sadly, it seems, these films can lose whatever hold they had on you, and become a part of some time long ago, that the kids of today are only just discovering.
The Walt Disney Pictures film āBeauty and the Beastā, certainly reminded me why animated films, newer or classic, arenāt to be discarded once you reach a certain age.
This animated film features the voice talents of Paige OāHara (āEnchantedā, āDisney Princess Party: Volume Twoā), Robby Bensen (āMXP: Most Xtreme Primateā, āAmerican Dreamsā), Richard White (āHouse of Mouseā, āGreat Performancesā), Jerry Orbach (āLaw & Order: Trial by Juryā, āLaw & Orderā), David Ogden Stiers (āRegular Showā, āLeverageā), Angela Lansbury (āMr. Popperās Penguins (2011)ā, āHeidi 4 Pawsā), Bradley Pierce (āUp in Smokeā, āThe LEGO Movie Videogameā), Rex Everhart (āLaw & Orderā, āFamily Businessā), and Jesse Corti (āAnnie Sunbeam and Friendsā, āHandy Mannyā).
The film was directed by Gary Trousdale (āThe Pig Who Cried Werewolfā, āScared Shrekless (TV Short 2010)ā) and Kirk Wise (āSpirited Awayā, āAtlantis: The Lost Empireā). It was written by Linda Woolverton (āMaleficentā, āAlice in Wonderland (2010)ā).
The film originally opened on Nov. 22, 1991. It would go on to be nominated for 6 Academy Awards, winning two, four Golden Globe Awards, winning three, and nine Grammy Awards, winning five.
Originally I thought it was going to be difficult to find a copy of this film. The only one my family had, for the longest time, was on VHS, probably the original one bought when I was a kid back in the early ā90s. I just dated myself. Ugh. Anyway, I didnāt give up. Thank God for both Netflix subscriptions, as the DVD one had the film! However, it wasnāt what I was accustomed to. Since I last saw this film, and I honestly have no idea when that was; for all I know, the last time was in the ā90s. So, this version was one of the most recent updated versions of the film. I was okay with that, mainly as Iād only heard of the new musical number and hadnāt seen what the animation and coloring would look like in a restored or remastered version. I still got an incredible experience! It seriously makes me wonder why I donāt own this film myself.
The animation, which I immediately fixated on, was incredible! Iām not sure if itās just because this film is 24 years old (and restored/updated), and the way things are animated is vastly different, but I felt like I was getting something different or special. I instantly fell in love with every aspect that went into bringing this world to life. The detail! The color! Spectacular! Watching these characters move and interact with other characters and the environment was something else. It could also just be telling, in that I donāt usually focus on the way an animated film looks. Certainly not to that level of detail and with the attention I afforded this film.
Much like with the detail of the film, I was able to really focus on the music and lyrics. While in film, Alan Menken (āGalavantā, āTangledā, āEnchantedā) may not have done much, he somehow delivered incredible, fun, and moving music. Lyricist, Howard Ashman (āThe Little Mermaidā, āLittle Shop of Horrorsā), well, as we now know, wrote amazing songs. I donāt know how best to describe this. I canāt recall if I ever payed that much attention to the music and lyrics before, but this time around, I really, really did. Maybe more than need be, but because of this, I found the lyrics at times funny and highly enjoyable, plus, overall, brilliant! This really explains why, even though I havenāt seen this film much, little pieces of the songs go in and out of my memory, to the point where I must search YouTube for a clip with whatever song is stuck in my head. It also afforded me the chance to see why I love this film more than many of the other animated Disney musical films.
While I pretty much loved every song in this film, including the originally omitted āHuman Againā, as well as the darker ones sung by Gaston and his friends, (seriously, listen to the lyrics), thereās only one that stands out the most. That being, āBe Our Guestā.
I think this is mainly because āBe Our Guestā, is so big! Thatās the great thing about animation. You can do so much more than in live action. Okay, this may not be entirely true, but letās just go with it here. Thanks. I love that they even had Belle do a tiny little dance towards the end of the song. I guess I remembered the number a bit differently and thought that this piece just meant something else. It certainly had me getting into the song and dance all that much more, as well as just smiling and laughing and enjoying every moment!!
After the song is over, Belle says, āI figured it out for myselfā, for which sheās referring to recognizing that where she is, is an enchanted castle. I found it so fascinating that this very specific thing was mentioned. I donāt know why, but it just stood out for me. Guess it really shows how long ago it was I saw this and what I remember of it.
I donāt think it would be normal if I skipped over a chance to talk about the characters, even if theyāre animated.
You always see or hear about surveys, or something, asking which Disney princess is your favorite or which one you are (something like that), and most people seem to have an answer. I usually dismissed this as some silly and obnoxious thing people did for reasons Iāll never understand. I still donāt think, after putting in five minutes of thought, I could tell you. Anyway, after having seen this film I must say that, and I mean this, that Belle is my favorite. I should now throw out that I find many of the Disney princesses annoying, as well as the films theyāre featured in, so it makes it easier to pick Belle.
I think most of this love for her comes from the fact that she reads. If that sounds weird, let me add that Iām a big reader. My own personal library now partially lives under my bed, as well as the three other bookcases I have. This probably explains why, when Belle is shown the massive library the beast has, my first thought was, āI want that library!!! So many BOOKS!!!ā
Moving on. Maybe this is just some quality I picked out of hers, like with Matilda, that actually carries little actual meaning towards character. Iām not sure. I will say too, that I like her for all the reasons everyone else does. She independent, kind, free spirit, blah blah blah. In the case of the film itself, a large portion goes to OāHara who had, as I have remembered for so many years, a phenomenal singing voice and the right voice for the character. Itās what makes me love the songs Belle sings so much!
As Iām talking about Belle, I feel it a good time to mention one observation. I love how she just opens up to halfway through the book, but apparently, thatās really the beginning. I know some books have extra pages, that are truly useless, but with her book, that was something else. I think it was something like hundreds of pages before the story actually began. I guess thatās just 1991 for you.
The Beast was an incredibly likable, if not lovable, character. It all has to do with the fact that heās a very emotional creature? being? thing? Whatever it is, the portrayal of emotions makes him very sympathetic. I was surprised by how quickly he made me feel bad for him. After he catches her in the west wing, heās so saddened by his outburst. You can see it, and it hits, to me, quite strongly. A kid might not read too much beyond sadness, but I felt much more than I thought I could. You feel so bad for him. Itās so sad!! Fortunately, as is the point of the film, his feelings change and he becomes even more capable of loving, and by the end, you really side with him.
With this version, I loved and didnāt like it, only as it was sort of an awkward placement for a scene, that during āHuman Againā, when Belleās finishing reading āRomeo & Julietā, you see the Beast just totally taken by the story. Giant paws holding up his head as he listens with attention you donāt really get to see in the rest of the film. This scene, made me so giddy, as you could really see him enjoying this time with Belle! I know thereās plenty of examples of their relationship growing, but somehow those donāt convey the same thing as this one scene does.
Lumier, well, heās Lumier! I still love Lumier the most. Donāt get me wrong, the other characters are absolutely refreshing as well, but not like Lumier. Iām not entirely sure why, but every time I see Orbach on a āLaw & Orderā rerun as Lenny Briscoe, I think of Lumier!
And, this wouldn’t be a kids movie without violence! Even if itās to protect someone from wild animals. Then, thereās the fact that in a kids movie, violence is apparently funny. I got a nice laugh on some of it. I do feel surprised, however, that the animators included such a graphic scene as the knife coming out of the beast. The scene then features a trickle of blood. Really itās nothing any kid would obsess over, but somehow it just seems shocking. If that doesnāt indicate how long itās been, I donāt know what will.
Lastly, and just because theyāre extra observations, and I even made a note at the top of my page that says, āIām over thinking most of this filmā, Iām including some really random observations. Things which really just made this film a different, yet still enjoyable experience, overall.
– Apparently nobody knew of this prince living in a massive castle. How???
– But, the beast knew there was a village. Or did he just know because of Belle and her father?
– Oh, look! Lumier and Cogsworth sound French! Why are they the only ones?
– Belle has no friends, so she must talk to the chickens. Yeah, that makes sense.
– Everyoneās gotta have a sidekick!
– āHow can you read this? Thereās no pictures.ā
āWell some people use their imaginations.ā
Pretty much the sentiment of todayās youth and a lot of people in general. Or, maybe itās just the people I know that donāt read. Sad on so many levels.
I may watch animated films every now and then, but seldom do I react the way I would if I were still a kid, or as others do when the little kid inside them comes out. Not since āThe Lego Movieā, which wasnāt watched all that long ago, have I been so entertained by something animated. Perhaps this newfound love of this film, is telling me I need to revisit my childhood. Maybe I need to spend more time giving new animated films a chance, as I could be surprised by what Iām seeing. Thereās a whole genre of film I feel that Iāve been missing for some time, that only now, seems to be acceptable for me to watch again. Animated films, theyāre not just for kids.
