Rating: 
Summary: Fine Version of a Fine Children's Story
Review: This edition of "Beauty and the Beast" is wonderfully lively and replete with good music, including new music not in the original release (which I did not see). The animation is excellent, and there is enough story here for adults to not get bored, and to hold the interest of a broader age range of children than is true for some animated films.While viewing this film, I found myself wondering about the future of animation. "Beauty and the Beast" is one of the best films produced through traditional animation. However, one of my all-time favorite films is "Shrek", and I just thoroughly enjoyed "Monsters, Inc.", which created the question of whether animation via computer will someday supplant traditional animation in film-making. Of course, both could be replaced, in the near future, by some yet-unheard-of format (let's call it superenhanced transfigured optimal pixellation or STOP)! Whatever occurs format-wise, films like "Beauty and the Beast" show that the genre of animated films is alive and well.
Rating: 
Summary: a Disney classic with tons of bells and whistles
Review: Having a toddler, we didn't have the chance to see this film in a theater so we were very pleased to receive a complementary copy from Disney, and have watched the film many times in the past week. The movie a real Disney classic in the sense that it appeals to children and adults. The introduction tells the story of a selfish prince who, being uncharitable and unkind to an old woman, is turned into a beast while his castle and servants are enchanted. They can only be returned to their natural state if the prince falls in love, and is loved in return, before the last petal drops off an enchanted rose. The animation and Menken-Ashman songs are some of Disney's best. The film deserved its Oscar nomination, and you can see why it became a successful Broadway musical. You could spend days looking through all the dvd material. If you've seen the special editions of Snow White or Monsters, Inc. you'll know what to expect. There are two discs: the first contains three versions of the film -- the original theatrical release, the IMAX theater edition with the new song 'Human Again', and a fascinating "work-in-progress" version that alternates between pencilled, cartooned and fully animated representations. Disc Two contains many dvd extras. There are games, trivia quizzes, featurettes about the making of the film as well as the musical on Broadway, two music videos, and excellent features showing the behind-the-scenes doings of cast, voice work and art. Our favorite extras were Mrs. Potts' Personality Profile Game, where you answer several questions and are told which character you most resemble, and "The Story Behind the Story" where celebrities recount the origins of many Disney tales, including The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Jungle Book, Mulan, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Beauty & the Beast. I really enjoy seeing the layouts and designs, and how the animations are drawn and developed. The trivia games are lots of fun, and IMHO they work better than the games requiring navigation with the remote. Packaging and foldout look very nice and, with so many options, are extremely helpful for finding the features you're interested in. We are very happy with this excellent family film and the many extra features included.
Rating:
Summary: Oh my gosh...this is wonderful!
Review: My kids are at an age where they HAVE seen this film in the past, but they didn't remember it. We watched it together after it came in and they loved it. Even my 12 year old son watched it on his own again the next day. I wouldn't have thought the animation could be improved from the original, but it has! It blows the mind to see this quality. Not to mention that the storyline and musical score have always been superb as well. This is the triumph of Disney animation! I wish all DVDs were this good!
Rating:
Summary: One of the two best Disney films ever made!
Review: I remember when this movie was in the theatres. I absolutely loved it the first time around and I love it even more now with the new song "Human Again" added. The DVD is full of awesome extras, my favorite being the full length documentary of how the film was made. This movie is one of the two best Disney films that have ever been made. The other one being the Little Mermaid. These two films brought the excellence of Disney to it's absolute best.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent movie.
Review: This story is very touching and true if you understand it at it's core. Essentially this film shows the true meaning of what is the most and perhaps the only real important thing in everybody's life. Althought it seems to be a children movie, there is a lot to be learned from the adult viewer as well. As far as video quality goes, the picture is sharper, brighter and cleaner than the original tape but the colors tend to be less vivid and toward the brown/red spectrum. The picture in the original vhs edition is not as sharp but it has more depth and better color fidelity which gives it a more filmlike appearance. The audio quality of the new version is disappointing. The overall soundtrack is less bright and not as loud as the original version. Overall I am keeping both versions, the new one for the extra footage and the old one for better quality sound and somewhat better video. This comparisons are based on vhs vs. vhs version of the movie.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Disney Animation by Far
Review: When "Beauty and the Beast" came out in theaters over 10 yrs ago, I thought this movie was the best animation feature that Disney had released, and since that time none have come close.
So when Disney released this film classic on DVD, I had to buy it, even though I already own the VHS version.
Boy! I am very happy with my purchase, the additional scene goes very good with the flow of the original version, and it is hard to tell that a scene was added.
For those who haven't seen the Broadway production might wonder where on earth did they come up with this? The music was original, but I guess for time, they(producers/director) decided to scrap it. However, it was incorporated in to the Broadway production.
The DVD version is fabulous, the animation is much clearer and the music crisp. One of the many bonuses of having DVD is the menu options...they even have a sing-along option!
Rating:
Summary: Disney's Best Ever...
Review: Let's face it:
Atlantis, Mulan, Hunchback, etc. With the exception of the Lion King and maybe Aladdin, Disney has been a ruthless money grubbing machine who doesn't turn out movies worth a 7 dollar ticket, and would make Walt himself stop from spinning in his grave and wonder what the hell are they attaching his name to.
However there was a time when things were different. The words 'Once upon a time' were always concluded with 'Happily ever after' And everything didn't have to have a sequel. Beauty and the Beast was the high point of that renaissance.
Classic characters and wonderful music composition make this the best movie disney has ever put out. Perfectly adapted from classic literature and put into big screen form, this movie was the only animated feature ever nominated for best picture; and well worth nominating.
Its release on DVD is both a blessing and a curse with Disney holding off on its main titles in order to strike up huge demand. The DVD itself does the movie justice by allowing you to pick the version of the movie you want to see. The one you fell in love with years ago, or the one they obviously tried to make even more money off of earlier in the year at IMAX. (that should tell you which one I watch.)
This is one of my favorite movies ever. Partially because of how I first saw it, but its perfect for everyone old and young.
Rating:
Summary: Disney delivers on a timless classic....
Review: It seems that Disney loves to bring a wonderful movie out and then take it back and revamp it and bring it out again just to see if they can make it better. Well, with Beauty and the Beast they have done just that. When this film was first released in 1991 was a instint classic to the crowd of young and old. Then as time expired and technology grew and DVD players arrived. Disney decided to take Beauty and the Beast of the market and recreate it a little and re-release it. This timeless classic about a beast that lives in a castle where he has been living ever since he was cast under a spell by a old women and a young women named Annabelle who is the girl of any guy's wildest dream collide together. Annabell runs into the forest in the late evening and is hunted down by wild dogs who try to hurt her and yet the beast comes and helps her out and takes her to his castle. The beast who has no behavior qualities to him has help from the servants who are suffering under the same spell as the beast and were turned into different types of either china or piece of furniture. As the story progrosses...Anabelles father finds out that she is in the castle and wants to save her. The father knows of only one person who will help him and that is this guy who is in love with Annabelle and yet knows that she doesn't like him. The story moves on to the point that there is a romance growing between Annabelle and the Beast and yet the Beast needs to find true love before the spell ends or else he will end up a beast for good. Watch this funny, romantic, and cute animated movie together as a family and relive a classic over and over again. It is worth watching. Also with DVD comes comentaries and games.
Rating:
Summary: The best movie I've ever seen!
Review: Ever since I was little, I loved this movie. My favourite character is Lumiere. I just bought the Special Edition. It was better than the older video. Good colour quality, good sound effects, and an all new musical sequence, "Human Again", which I thought was cool. I'd recommend this movie to anyone, no matter what age, gender, or culture. My favourite part is when they all dance and sing to "Be Our Guest" in the dining room. Please get this video before it's discontinued! You'll be hooked!
Rating: 
Summary: I like the movie, but what happened to the sound?!
Review: I would rate this DVD much higher than 2 stars if it weren't for one horrible flaw: the audio transfer to DVD on this edition is PATHETIC. I have listened both to my copy and 2 others and on ALL of them there are points (admittedly brief, but STILL...) at which song lyrics and dialogue become COMPLETELY INAUDIBLE. I was VERY disappointed with this release.
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