Back in July we learned that Walt Disney Animation is planning to release a 3D version of their classic animated film Beauty and the Beast in theaters here in the US next year but tomorrow the film is being released for the first time ever in high definition on Blu-Ray. Considering that Disney‘s Beauty was [...]
Back in July we learned that Walt Disney Animation is planning to release a 3D version of their classic animated film Beauty and the Beast in theaters here in the US next year but tomorrow the film is being released for the first time ever in high definition on Blu-Ray. Considering that Disney‘s Beauty was the first animated film to ever be nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award, I think this is good news for movie fans:
On Tuesday, “Beauty and the Beast” makes its Blu-ray premiere in a three-disc set with several new documentaries. Despite its tremendous success, bringing “Beauty and the Beast” to the screen was a rocky road. Originally, British animation director Richard Purdum was hired to make a darker, non-musical version. Disney Chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg scrapped the footage after seeing the initial story reels in 1989 and summoned the team back to Los Angeles. Purdum resigned, and first-time feature directors Wise and Trousdale were brought in. Far more wrenching was the less-public challenge facing the production: Ashman, also a producer on the film, was dying of complications from AIDS but was able to keep his illness a secret for several months. He died at age 40 in March 1991, eight months before the film opened to global acclaim … “Beauty and the Beast” was the first animated film nominated for an Academy Award in the best picture category. The grand animation was paired with a Broadway-musical sensibility, thanks to the memorable, Oscar-winning music by lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken (who had collaborated on “The Little Mermaid“), and the cast had some magical vocal performances from Paige O’Hara as Belle, Robby Benson as the Beast, Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Potts and Jerry Orbach as Lumiere. ‘Beauty and the Beast” grossed $403 million internationally at theaters and spawned two made-for-DVD sequels, a television spinoff and a long-running Broadway musical.
IMHO, Beauty and the Beast is not only the best animated film that Disney ever made but is arguably the best animated film ever made by anyone. I was lucky enough to see the film in theaters back in the early 90′s and I remember fondly how my friend Sherri and I would see it over and over again in the years that followed. There is something magical about the film … it is a tale as old as time, yes, but the music, animation and inventive characters really set the film apart from all other animated films. For me, it’s like the Gone with the Wind of animated films. It’s been many years since I’ve watched the film but the release of this new high def version sounds like the perfect time to revisit Belle, the Beast and the rest of the gang. I’m not a big purchaser of physical DVDs anymore but this Blu-Ray is one I deff plan to add to my collection.
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