Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful DVD quality, beautiful songs
Review: I was surprised at the difference in quality between the VHS and DVD versions. This one is bright and lovely to look at, and the songs, as always, are beautiful. The extra features are more imaginative than those usually accompanying animated features. If you're torn over whether or not to upgrade your classic movies to DVD, take a look at the color quality on this DVD-the difference will make the decision for you!
Rating:
Summary: The most beautiful and outstanding movie ever done by Disney
Review: I would've been about 5 when I first saw this movie and was unable to make up my mind about it until, nearly 10 years later, I was given the chance to see it again, so I took that chance.What I saw was a beautiful, artistic and flawless animated film with well-written and surprisingly complex and different characters (which is something I normally don't see in Disney). THE MAIN CHARACTERS: BELLE: Belle has definately become my favourite female Disney character as she differs so much from the typical Disney heroine. She is intelligent, slightly eccentric, and instead of sitting around, dreaming about her dream guy, she chooses to look at what is below the surface and to bring happiness into the lives of others with no selfish motives. THE BEAST: Definately the most complex character of them all, the Beast's persona is many differing shades of grey, and his conflicted feelings and emotions are portryed perfectly through his body language and beautifully expressive eyes that you could just fall into. And through Belle's gentle but unwavering kindness, he learns not only to love again, but also that your heart and personality will always outshine your physical appearance. GASTON: The most handsome and arrogant man in Belle's village, Gaston soon proves that he is also a complex character. While he starts off as a rather stupid-yet-amusing muscle-head who cannot take 'no' for an answer, his character soon begins to reveal that while he is stupid, he makes up for it by being cunning,
manipulative and posessive. Soon, he becomes the 'ultimate evil' in the story when he realizes that Belle has fallen in love with the Beast and will never want to be with him...Basically, it becomes a case of Gaston being read to destroy anything and anybody that gets in the way of what he wants... The other characters, such as Mrs. Potts, Lumiere, Cogworth and Belle's eccentric-but-caring Father, Maurice, are also surprisingly well-developed, considering they are not main characters. Not only do they add spots of comic relief to prevent the movie from being too dark, they are all also VITAL to the story as they help lead it along. Without them, the story would be much emptier and alot shorter. And finally, we come to the music. I normally hate when the characters break into song in the middle of a movie, but the songs all fit into the movie perfectly without giving it a "dragged-out" feel. They, like the minor characters, keep the movie going and help inject even more feeling into what is already a masterpiece. Overall, this was, and will always be THE best Disney film ever created, and, just like the tagline, the most beautiful love story ever told. I would recommend this to absolutely ANYBODY!!!
Rating:
Summary: Beauty and The Beast
Review: Easily one of Disney's new classics and one of the most fun as well. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST has been brought back in a new 2 Disc set that has the original movie with the new song "Human Again" and also a lot of fun extras. This is one of my all time favorite Disney movies and this is a great one for the kids and the whole family. The storty starts with a young Prince who was very selfish. One night a poor old woman came to his castle and asked for shelter from the rain and she offered him a single rose in return. The Prince turned her away and the old woman's appearance melted away to reveal a beautiful enchantress. To show him that he had to learn how to love inner beauty, she turned into a hideous Beast. Now he must learn to love and have someone love him in teturn or he would remain a Beast for the rest of his life. This is really a favorite of mine because it's seriously very good all around. The music and musical numbers are very fun and entertaining and the new song "Human Again" is also very fun as well. The story is very good and the characters are fun as well. I don't think anyone could not enjoy this movie. This gets a big thumbs up, 5 stars of fun! Check out BEAUTY AND THE BEST PLATINUM and if you're looking for other great Disney classics, check out DUMBO, SLEEPING BEAUTY, SNOW WHITE and even some of the new Disney/Pixar movies like MONSTERS INC, TOY STORY and TOY STORY 2 and A BUG'S LIFE.
Rating:
Summary: Simply the BEST!
Review: This movie was my favorite when it first came out when I was about 5. Now it is still my favorite movie of all time. In my opinion this was the greatest movie Disney has ever produced. The animation was stunning the music was heatwarming and the characters were fun. I recently bought the DVD and I was stunned at how beautiful it was. It was even more magical then before. The DVD in itself is also great. It has stuff on the movie music videos different film versions games etc. It is one of the best DVD's I have ever seen. The best part the is the stunning movie it is completly heartwarming and wonderful. If you do not have it, get it because you are missing out on the best movie ever made.
Rating:
Summary: The wonder of Disney
Review: This is one of the hallmark videos in Disney history. It takes the motif of the damsel in distress and gives it a twist. As is typical, she is far away from home, in a dark castle & imprisoned by a monster. However, the tale does not find its nucleus in her imprisonment, but in her being set free. The monster sets about to coerce her to love him naturally for what he is, rather than forcing her to find favour with him. This is perhaps one of the most poignant of all Disney's fairy-tale messages, both for our children as well as the overgrown children (AKA: adults). As is usually the case, the animation is fantastic. Disney takes us into the fantasy world of make-believe and makes it almost believable. I liked the songs on this film more than most Disney films, too. All in all, this makes for a big-time addition to the family-friendly section of your DVD collection. The beauty of life and the beast of existing; this one covers it all.
Rating: 
Summary: A Travesty to Disney Heritage
Review: When I bought Disney's Beauty and the Beast "Special Platinum Edition" I was expecting just that, a high quality film with added extras not contained on the original. Instead, what I found myself with was a tampered work of art, a disgraced former masterpiece. The entire movie looks like it has had it's color stripped from it and repainted with bargain bin paints. No longer are there rich colors, sharp contrasts, and beautiful sceney, but now the film looks worse than it's straight to video sequel. The cover looks great, that's what the film used to look like, but the actual DVD is no where near that good looking. Some of the animation looks like it has had some of its detail removed and when I was watching it seemed like some of the frame rate was reduced because of the sluggish movement of the characters mouths when speaking. It is a completely different movie and I have since returned my copy and stuck with my original release. Some of the games and extra features are interesting and entertaining, but that's really like saying a TV show was awful, but there was a funny commercial here and there. I wish Disney would stop messing around with their work and just leave it the way we all saw it and loved it in the theaters. Walt would have never let something like this leave the studio if he were still running it, and that's the bottom line.
Rating:
Summary: Perfection
Review: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is a nostalgic feast, drawing shamelessly on the best traditions of screen animation and American musical theater and film. Thoroughly derivative but thoroughly charming.
Belle (Paige O'Hara) is a beautiful young woman in a small French town who dreams of escape, fending off advances from the handsome, but arrogant and chauvinistic Gaston (Richard White). Belle's father is lost in a dark wood and seeks refuge in an enchanted castle, lorded over by the Beast (Robby Benson), a spoiled young prince transformed by an enchantress into a hideous monster. The spell has transformed his castle into a dank, gloomy lair and his servants into household bric-a-brac. Enraged that Maurice has violated the castle grounds, the Beast locks him in a dungeon. When her father's horse returns home without him, Belle sets off in pursuit and finds her way to the castle, where the Beast agrees to let her father leave if she will remain in his stead--forever. The familiar narrative is strengthened by the independent, self-assured character of Belle. Unlike Disney heroines from Snow White through Ariel, Belle is smart, knows what she wants, and doesn't spend her time pining away for the love of a handsome prince. Howard Ashman and Alan Menken propel the plot and character development along with their tuneful, witty and textured songs. As they enrich the palette of the narrative, they also invite comparison with some of the past glories of the American musical theater--from the opening numbers of Fiddler on the Roof and She Loves Me (the teeming "Belle" opener), the love soliloquies from South Pacific (the touching "Something There" soliloquies of Belle and the Beast), the "Shall We Dance?" waltz from The King and I (the soaring "Beauty and the Beast" waltz), to crowd-pleasing production numbers from Jerry Herman's Hello Dolly and Mame (the boisterous "Be Our Guest"). For its 2002 IMAX theatrical rerelease, the film was restored and remixed, and a new scene added: "Human Again," which features the enchanted housewares envisioning their return to human form, was written and storyboarded but never animated. It was included in the stage production, and became an audience favorite. The sequence now appears about an hour into the film. All this, though, would mean nothing if the animation were not of a standard to compare with the rest of the elements. It is. Using computer wizardry to simulate live-action film techniques like dollies, tracks and pans, the animation succeeds in creating an uncannily realistic world. The filmmakers have used considerable depth of field, permitting action to occur on many levels of the frame, from background to foreground, and to move, not only horizontally, but also back and forth from the camera eye. The camera sweeps above forests and down into castle chambers, and races around characters in 360 degree tracks. This is catnip for the kids, and should keep even the most jaded adults awake for the film's blessedly crisp 84 minutes.
Rating:
Summary: ageless ... and international!?
Review: I have read and heard at least 4 different versions of this remarkable story. It's one of Disney's masterpieces and absolutely, definitely worth owning!
Rating:
Summary: aah yes... back when disney meant something.
Review: excellent comes to mind when i look back on this movie. great musicals, stunning character designs, brilliant score. the only animated film to win best picture. (then again there was really no competition) i absolutely hated that pretty boy gaston. (therefore disney did thier job potraying someone stuck up) maybe it can be said that its thier best film ever. but its heavily competitive against lion king. (the most succuessful animated feature of all time. still beating out shrek). either way great film. great dvd. definately a classic.
Rating:
Summary: The Closest Thing to a Perfect Animated Film
Review: The 1990's was a great decade for animation. We had old classics like Fantasia, Pinnochio, Snow White and Jungle Book brought back to the theatre with the addition of Toy Story 1 and 2, Aladdin, Anastasia, The Iron Giant and The Lion King (and the late 1980's helped put animated films back on the market with American Tale, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and The Little Mermaid). I think one movie that set the standards for quality in animation in the 1990's was Beauty and the Beast. Like one of the reviewers, this movie also made me cry (perhaps I'll add it to a future Listamania list). The music (composed by Alan Menken, with songs like "Be Our Guest"), the voices (Paige O'Hara, Angela Landsbury and others), the story and the animation bring it to life. The movie also brings home the old adage that you can't judge a book by its cover. The extra features are nice, too (I'll get to them later). I have to admit I was a bit skeptical about the "Human Again" sequence, but I think it flows wonderfully with the rest of the film (basically, it's a song the prince's subjects sing in hopes of being human again). It all starts out when a spoiled and selfish prince is punished for his bad attitude, along with the rest of the castle. He's transformed into a beast, since he acted no better than a beast. His only hope is an enchanted rose, which will wilt on his 21st birthday and the ability to love and be loved before the last petal falls (but he's given up hope on that happening). Meanwhile not too far from the castle, a beautiful, introverted bookworm named Belle (played by Paige O'Hara) is the talk of the village. The pompous Gaston has a big crush on her but alas, the feeling is unrequited. Her father Maurice is a slightly eccentric but lovable inventor. He accidentally stumbles upon the castle and is taken prisoner by the grumpy Beast. Belle comes to save her father and takes her father's place as prisoner. Though his quick temper turns her off, Belle is eventually able to see his true nature and the Beast makes a new friend. For those of you who prefer the original the way it was shown in 1991, this is also available on this edition. There are interviews with many of the different cast members, animators and other people behind the scenes. Also, a spoken commentary throughout the film is available. I haven't really bothered with the extra games (those are probably more geared for kids anyways). To wrap this up, you have until January 31, 2003 to add this classic to your collection. Otherwise, you'll have to wait another 10 years for its release or pay big bucks at auctions for it!
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