|
Like
Snow
White
last year,
Beauty and the Beast
is being released by
Disney in a great
Diamond Edition. The
release includes two
Blu-ray discs full
of content and a DVD
of the film as well.
It’s full of
worthwhile extras
including a virtual
tour of the castle,
interviews,
information on the
composition of the
music and generally
anything you would
ever want to know
about the first
animated film in
history to receive a
best picture
nomination.
Adapted from a
classic tale like
most classic Disney
animated feature
films are,
Beauty and the Beast
tells a great story.
Belle is the quirky
girl in her French
village. She always
has her nose in a
book. She’s viewed
as odd by all and
beautiful by all
too, especially by
the town’s resident
brute and most
popular citizen
Gaston. Belle’s
father is a bit odd
and while on his way
to enter an
invention in the
fair, he’s captured
by the Beast and
trapped in a castle
dungeon. Belle goes
out to rescue him,
barters herself in
exchange for her
father and she
spends time in the
enchanted Castle
with the Cogsworth,
Lumiere, Mrs. Potts,
Chip, and everything
(everyone?) else in
the castle.
Eventually she gets
to know the Beast
and his gentler
side, until they
fall in love and the
curse is lifted.
What’s always been
amazing about
Beauty and the Beast
is that everyone has
seen it and everyone
knows what happens
before they see the
movie, yet you can
still watch it like
you’re watching it
for the first time
every time you see
it. The characters
all have flaws and
strengths and the
heroine in the
movie, Belle… is her
own character. At
least 9 out of 10
people wouldn’t know
who did the voice
for Belle. It’s
almost like she’s
her own person- like
there’s no voice
behind what you see
on the screen,
there’s just Belle.
That same magic
that’s around the
main character
spreads to the other
characters and then
goes through every
part of the movie.
That’s what makes
Beauty and the Beast
special and that’s
what gave it the
Oscar nomination for
best feature film in
1991.
The
movie is dazzling,
the songs were
amazing at the time
and the animation
was amazing at the
time too. On Blu-ray
this picture looks
better than it did
when it was in
theatres. This
transfer is
brilliant and the
colors of the
village and the
castle are vibrant
and superb in
high-definition. The
famous ballroom
scene looks
astounding. You
really couldn’t ask
for a better-looking
feature on Blu-ray.
Also notable is the
sound. Not only is
the audio quality
fantastic, the songs
from
Beauty and the Beast
are instantly
memorable. It
doesn’t matter if
you haven’t seen the
movie in ten years,
you’ll sing parts of
the songs. That’s a
testament to
composer Alan Menken
and Howard Ashman’s
composing and it’s
also a testament to
the film’s Broadway
roots.
The
extras on this set
are impressive. Just
like the feature and
the impressive
picture and sound
quality, the extras
are marvelous.
Everything you would
ever want to know
about
Beauty and the Beast
is on
this release. There
are some great
features on the
music, it’s Broadway
roots, a large
amount of additional
footage with an
extended version of
the film (it equates
to an additional
song), a Jordin
Sparks music video,
and tons more. The
extras on this
release are worthy
of an outstanding
film.
Beauty and the Beast
remains a classic
film and it remains
as magical as it was
in the 90’s on Blu-ray
with a new release
of the film in 2010.
|