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Beauty and the Beast - The Enchanted Christmas (Special Edition)

Beauty and the Beast - The Enchanted Christmas (Special Edition)

List Price: $29.99
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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Too Frightening...
Review: We have about two dozen Disney DVD's, and this one is too frightening for our three year-old. A new pipe organ character is very somber, dark and scary, and he appears through much of the movie. It's a shame, really, because our daughter adores the Beauty & the Beast characters.

I would not recommend this movie for young children.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: My Commentary on the Special Edition DVD
Review: The original film is such a masterpiece that it sets the bar so high for this sequel, and you have to keep this in mind when you sit down to watch this. First of all, I think it is such a delight to have the entire cast from the original back and at it. I think the film would really have been hurt if even one of the voice actors had been replaced.

I think what made the original so strong was the music and lyrics of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. Every song was beautiful, witty, and did so much to develop the story and characters. There a but a few songs in The Enchanted Christmas, and the only one that is somewhat memorable is the song "Stories", whose melody becomes a sort of musical motif that recurs throughout the film. The interesting animation sequence during this song is one of the highlights of the film, and it is nothing like anything featured in the original.

If you are a die-hard fan of Beauty and the Beast like myself, you will enjoy seeing the characters in action... but, sadly, it feels different and less magical than the original. The script is a little thin, and the voice acting isn't totally consistent with the original. For example, Robby Benson, who voices Beast, sounds very strange at times and seems to be overacting. But it seems that the Beast in general is very exaggerated throughout the film so this is probably not Benson's fault. Paige O'Hara as Belle as always has a remarkably beautiful voice, whether she is singing or talking. It is so wonderful to hear her put life into the character again.

One thing that I feel was very wrong with this film is that an entire sequence was devoted to showing how the Prince turned away the Enchantress on Christmas and became the Beast. I think that the original film did a marvelous job by telling this part of the story through the stained glass sequence in the beginning, but seeing it portrayed here again sort lacks that fairy-tale wonder to it that the images in stained glass conveyed so well.

Aside from this minor point, I believe if you enjoyed the original like myself, you won't have too hard a time of enjoying this film. Like I mentioned, it would be impossible to match the beauty and magic of the original solely in that the music just cannot match the genius of the Menken/Ashman collaboration. Even though the animation is low-budget, a wonderful soundtrack would have made the sequel great.

My commentary on the Special Edition DVD is that I thought the behind-the-scenes feature was wonderful, and although it is short, you get some really great interviews from the voice actors including Tim Curry who makes his debut as the story's new villain. You don't get to see Paul Reubens though, whose voice and character I found rather annoying. No big loss. One problem I had, however, is with the quality of the image. The Special Edition of the original on DVD has an amazing picture quality, and the colors are so lucid and spectacular, yet in the Enchanted Christmas DVD the colors are somewhat dull and faded. Aside from that, the other special features are just some nonsense that is thrown in just to satisfy the Special Edition title, but the behind-the-scenes feature is good enough for me.

On a final note, I noticed that there are Roman numerals on the side of the DVD cases of both films. Supposedly there will be a third Beauty and the Beast Special Edition coming out soon. Can't wait.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: PARENTAL ADVISORY! EXPLICIT LYRICS!
Review: Be warned that this movie isn't necessarily for the little ones. It's fairly scary and intense at times, but not much more than the original. Much of this is brought on by the fact that this movie has a central, ominous villain, whereas the original did not. Also, given where this story takes place in the original's timeline, the Beast is still mean, coarse and unrefined, prone to a lot of yelling and destruction. On top of that, the villainous Forté sings a song that very clearly and deliberately contains the word "hell." How that made it into a G-rated movie is beyond me.

The movie itself isn't as bad as one might expect for a straight-to-video sequel. It also doesn't have a lot to do with Christmas other than it happens to take place on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The holiday basically serves as a plot device to allow the Beast to thaw a little. As a movie, it's pretty decent, but as a holiday movie, it's not so good. Can you think of a better way to celebrate such a heartwarming holiday than with a movie containing an explosive, abusive Beast and a song that screams the word "hell?"

The special features of the DVD are so-so, but credit goes to Disney for doing something other than releasing a bare-bones disc. The behind-the-scenes featurette isn't really behind-the-scenes of THIS movie, as much as it is the B&B series and animation in general, but it's informative on a surface level. The memory game is kind of difficult at first, but since it doesn't change, you'll never visit it again once you master it. The Enchanted Environments are an interesting addition as they are simply mock fireplaces. Also included is a sing-along feature that puts the words on the screen as the songs appear in the movie, as well as stand-alone sing-along selections. These nifty features allow your children to read profanity as well as sing along. As an unlisted feature, I suppose you could program your multi-disc player to insert the chapters of this movie into the appropriate place in the original for an extended viewing experience.

If we had seen this movie before purchasing it for our four year-old daughter, we probably wouldn't have bought it. Still, it's an entertaining movie for older viewers that has about as much to do with Christmas as Die Hard.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Dark for a Holiday movie
Review: We bought this DVD in hopes to add to our collection for holiday movies. My daughter barely made it through the first 1/2 hr. She seemed intersted in the beginning but as the movie went on it got very dark and for her a little scary. The beast was angry through most it. The reason for 2 stars, the beginning was fine as was the end. The majority of the movie was disappointing. Was not my idea of a good classical holiday movie. It still contained a good message, but it took too long to get to that message.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: QUITE PLEASED
Review: SELLER SENT PROMPTLY AND FOR THE PRICE I AM MORE THAN HAPPY

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: VERY PLEASED
Review: I AM VERY HAPPY WITH MY ORDER. IT CAME QUICKLY AND IN EXCELLENT CONDITION SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG FOR THE REVIEW

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Scared my kids to death!
Review: I do not think this is a very warm and fuzzy 'holiday classic' My kids aged 4 and 3 wanted this video. Bought it and it scared the bejesus our of them! Half of the movie was dark, sinister and little one had her fingers in her ears so she didn't have to listen to it.

Natch, the ending is o.k., but they only focus on like 3 minutes of happy. If they went potty at the end they'd miss it.
We should have gotten the Pooh one, not this one. I doubt they will want to watch this again. Not a holiday classic for us!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Classic Christmas Saga!
Review: It's a little something for all Beauty and the Beast fans. It's sweet and enjoyable. The songs are nothing compared to the original animated feature but still it's worth a check. It revives Disney's magical tale that earned an Oscar nominee for best picture!

The tale revolves around the lovable cast celebrating Christmas a year after what you saw in the original tale. They all start to have an argument over who saved Christmas the year before. They then go back to the original tale but in more detail this time. There are more new characters and a whole new villain. The 'musical' villain serves as a friend to the Beast. He's quite jealous and his music helps the Beast relax. Watch how the characters plan, sing, destroy, and save Christmas!

The story is of coarse nothing compared to Disney's Beauty and the Beast. Still with the characters returning to their objects and Belle singing around about 'stories', this feature is definitely worth seeing if you enjoyed the original!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: this movie is cool!
Review: I got this movie for a birthday present when I was 7 (my birthday is right after Christmas). I totally loved it, and I still do, 5 years later, lol! It's a really cute movie and I think lots of kids would like it.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Mediocrity incompetency at its best
Review: I saw "Beauty and the Beast" when I was a little girl, and I just absolutely loved that movie.

When I heard about this sequel, I borrowed a copy of "B&tB: The Enchanted Christmas" and I have to say this: While I did have lower expectations for a DTV sequel, this went below the bar. Far below. Yes, the entire cast from the original was there. Yes, animation wasn't as good as its precedecessor. And yes, Disney had to make a sequel off of one of their best films ever.

And I don't even want to know what's going to be in the "Special Edition" of "The Enchanted Christmas." The cover looks far too good for a DTV sequel.


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