Beauty and the Beast, Diamond Edition, Blu-ray (1991/2010)
Voices: Paige O’Hara, Angela Lansbury, Jerry Orbach, Robby Benson
Directors: Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise
Studio: Walt Disney/Buena Vista 104629 [10/5/10] 3-Disc set: 2BDs, 1 DVD
Video: 1.85:1 formatted for 16:9 1080p HD color
Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, French or Spanish DD 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, English, French, Spanish
Region free
Extras: 3 versions of the feature, Disney Sing-Along mode, Audio commentary track, “Composing a Classic,” “Broadway Beginnings,” Jordan Sparks music video, Alternate opening, “Belle in the Library” – deleted scene , “Beyond Beauty” – The Untold Stories, “Enchanted Musical Challenge” Game, “Bonjour, Who Is This?” Game, Early presentation reel, Classic DVD bonus features, FastPlay navigation, BD-Live, Bonus view, more
Length: 85-92 minutes (feature)
Rating: *****
A idea of the importance of this animation classic is that it was the first animated feature in the history of the Oscars to be nominated for Best Picture. Although it didn’t win, it won many other awards and marked the resurgence of the Disney animation section. As a musical it is a complete success – one of the commentators in the extras talks about how animated musicals are the best way to present a Broadway musical today. Playwright and lyricist the late Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken created a perfect musical setting for Beauty and the Beast, with none of the forced insertion of songs which has ruined some animated features.
The original work on Beauty and the Beast, which had occupied Disney’s animators for six months, was a much darker, more Draculaish treatment. It was turned down upon its presentation to Disney execs and the entire crew was sent to France to research the castles and elements of the culture that could be used in a brand new start on the feature. (A similar thing had occurred under Walt himself with Pinocchio – the first version had the lead character as a sort of smart-aleck Charlie McCarthy.)
In a little French 18th-century village, the beautiful Belle lives with her inventor father and has her nose in books constantly to escape her ordinary life. She is pursued by a boorish suitor, Gaston. A distant prince has had a spell placed on him by an enchantress due to his cruelty to a poor old woman who had come to the castle. He has been changed into an ugly beast and the retinue of his castle have become animated household items such as candlesticks, clocks, wardrobes, and cups. The only way out of his predicament is for the prince to find a true love who returns his affection before the final petal of a magic rose falls, but he despairs that ever happening.
Belle’s father is attacked by wolves in the forest and seeks refuge at the Beast’s castle, but he is taken prisoner. When Belle comes to find him, she is also taken prisoner in place of him. The enchanted castle staff help both the Beauty and the Beast to treat one another better, which proves to have plenty of ups and downs. The climax comes when Gaston leads some of the villagers on an attack on the castle with a plan to kill the Beast. The characterization of the enchanted household items are wonderful, and all the songs progress the story beautifully. There is a Deleted Song extra of “Human Again,” in which they sing about how they will appreciate being a human being once the spell is lifted. Yet most of that song appears in the Special Extended Edition choice of the three feature versions available. It was deleted from the Theatrical Version. The third choice is the original Storyboard Version.
Usually animation looks great on standard DVD and some Blu-rays have not been much of an improvement. But on this one the restoration is a total success, with a stunning transfer of the original, showing off every vivid color and tiny details. There’s no noise or artifacts of any sort. The hand-painted backgrounds using elements of various French castles and grounds are gorgeous. Among the 1991 nominations was one for Best Sound for this feature, and the 7.1 lossless surround mix envelops the viewer with the full impact of the music and sound effects. The dialog isn’t all stuck at the center channel, as with most movies. All of Howard Ashman’s lyrics are clearly heard amidst big orchestral backing, and the use of the spatial separation of both the voices and sound effects is more noticeable than with any animated film I have previously seen.
About the only negatives I could come up with in this memorable production were the navigation of the otherwise excellent documentary “Beyond Beauty.” While it was honest and straightforward about some of the problems in the Disney Studios, it has a maddening feature of having the viewer click on a more detailed exploration of a certain part of the documentary, and after viewing this interactive portion the main documentary continues. One of the side featurettes was a moving bio of lyricist Howard Ashman. However, two others I clicked on brought up an animation requiring me to eject the disc I was watching and to insert a different disc in order to see it. Come on, with 50 GB on a disc, there’s no excuse for that. My other gripe is the endless previews and promotions that Disney always requires viewers to plow thru before they get to the feature – more than any other studio.
— John Sunier
