Beauty and the Beast (1991 film): Difference between revisions
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==Plot== |
==Plot== |
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In the [[prologue]], a selfish young French [[prince]] denies an old beggar woman shelter in his castle. She reveals that she is an [[Witch|enchantress]], and places a powerful curse, transforming the heartless prince into [[Beast (Beauty and the Beast)|a beast]](as a reflection of his cruelty and hatred), his [[servant (domestic)|servants]] into [[anthropomorphic]] household items, and the castle into a dark, forbidding place, so that he will learn not to judge by appearances. The curse can only be broken if the Beast learns to love another and receives the other's love in return before the last petal of the enchantress's rose withers and falls; if not, he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time. |
In the [[prologue]], a selfish young French [[prince]] denies an old beggar woman shelter in his castle. She reveals that she is an [[Witch|enchantress]], and places a powerful curse, transforming the heartless prince into [[Beast (Beauty and the Beast)|a beast]] (as a reflection of his cruelty and hatred), his [[servant (domestic)|servants]] into [[anthropomorphic]] household items, and the castle into a dark, forbidding place, so that he will learn not to judge by appearances. The curse can only be broken if the Beast learns to love another and receives the other's love in return before the last petal of the enchantress's rose withers and falls; if not, he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time. |
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Ten years later, a beautiful girl, [[Belle (Disney)|Belle]] who lives in a [[France|French]] [[Provence|Provençal]] village, prefers reading books to being courted by the "rude and conceited" local hero, [[Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)|Gaston]]. Her eccentric father, Maurice, gets lost while traveling outside the village and enters the Beast's castle. When the Beast discovers Maurice, he locks him in a dungeon. Belle seeks out her father and offers to take his place as the Beast's prisoner. Realizing that Belle could break the spell, the Beast agrees. He gives her permission to go anywhere in the castle except the West Wing, where he keeps the enchanted rose. The enchanted household items, including Lumière the candelabra and Cogsworth the clock and head of the household, entertain Belle with a fancy French dinner. |
Ten years later, a beautiful girl, [[Belle (Disney)|Belle]] who lives in a [[France|French]] [[Provence|Provençal]] village, prefers reading books to being courted by the "rude and conceited" local hero, [[Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)|Gaston]]. Her eccentric father, Maurice, gets lost while traveling outside the village and enters the Beast's castle. When the Beast discovers Maurice, he locks him in a dungeon. Belle seeks out her father and offers to take his place as the Beast's prisoner. Realizing that Belle could break the spell, the Beast agrees. He gives her permission to go anywhere in the castle except the West Wing, where he keeps the enchanted rose. The enchanted household items, including Lumière the candelabra and Cogsworth the clock and head of the household, entertain Belle with a fancy French dinner. |
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Revision as of 21:21, 2 July 2007
| Beauty and the Beast | |
|---|---|
| File:Beautybeastposter.jpg | |
| Directed by | Gary Trousdale Kirk Wise |
| Written by | Linda Woolverton |
| Produced by | Don Hahn |
| Starring | Paige O'Hara Robby Benson Richard White Jerry Orbach Angela Lansbury David Ogden Stiers Bradley Pierce Jesse Corti Rex Everhart |
| Narrated by | David Ogden Stiers |
| Music by | Howard Ashman Alan Menken |
| Distributed by | Walt Disney Pictures (USA) Warner Bros. (Spain, Finland) |
Release dates |  November 13, 1991 |
Running time | Original: 84 min Special Edition: 90 min |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $20,000,000 |
Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 American animated film, the thirtieth animated feature produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation. The film was originally released to theaters on November 13, 1991 by Walt Disney Pictures. This film, one of the best known of the Disney studio's films, is an adaptation of the well-known fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, about a beautiful woman kept in a castle by a horrific monster. It is the first and only animated picture to ever be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Heightening the level of performance in the era known as the Disney Renaissance (1989-1996, beginning with The Little Mermaid), all animated films following its release have been influenced by its new use of 3D technology.
Beauty and the Beast ranked #22 on the American Film Institute's list of best musicals and #34 on its list of the best romantic American movies. On the list of the greatest songs from American movies, Beauty and the Beast ranked #62. In 2002, the United States Library of Congress deemed the film "culturally significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry. In October 8 of the same year, Disney released the film as a Platinum Edition DVD.
Overview
The movie was adapted to an animation screenplay by Linda Woolverton, based upon the version of Beauty and the Beast by Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont (uncredited in the English version of the film, but credited in the French version as writer of the novel). It was directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, and the music was composed by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, both of whom had written music and songs for Disney's The Little Mermaid. In interviews, Disney executives had said that they had felt the recent years, but especially 1990 and 1991, American pop culture had been pockmarked by shallowness, the treatment of women as objects and items to be compared and ranked against each other, and that young men were being sent the message that the prettier a girl they marry or date; the more successful a man they are. (See trophy wife). Disney said that the moral associated with the film was that "in our looks-oriented society, looks are not everything."[citation needed]
It was a significant success at the box office, with more than $171 million in domestic revenues alone and over $377 million in worldwide revenues. [1] [2] This high number of sales made it the third-most successful movie of 1991, surpassed only by summer blockbusters Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. It was also the most successful animated Disney film at the time and the first animated movie to reach $100 million at the box office. [3]
Beauty and the Beast won Academy Awards for Best Music, Original Score and Best Music, Song for Alan Menken and Howard Ashman's "Beauty and the Beast", sung in the film's most famous scene by Angela Lansbury, and at the end of the film by Céline Dion and Peabo Bryson. Two other Menken and Ashman songs from the movie were also nominated for Best Music, Song are "Be Our Guest" and "Belle" making it the first picture ever to receive three Academy Award nominations for Best Song, a feat that would be repeated by The Lion King and Dreamgirls. Beauty and the Beast was also nominated for Best Sound and Best Picture. It is the only animated movie ever to be nominated for Best Picture.
This film inspired a Broadway stage musical, which earned tremendous commercial success in its own right and a Tony Award, and became the first of a whole line of Disney stage productions. It will close in June to make room for another production, The Little Mermaid. There are also Disney versions of the story published and sold as storybooks and a comic book based on the film published by Disney Comics.
In 1995, a live-action children's series called "Sing Me A Story With Belle" started on syndication, running until 1999.
In November 11, 1997, a midquel called Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas was released directly to video. It was quickly followed by another midquel titled Belle's Magical World that was released on February 17, 1998.
Plot
In the prologue, a selfish young French prince denies an old beggar woman shelter in his castle. She reveals that she is an enchantress, and places a powerful curse, transforming the heartless prince into a beast (as a reflection of his cruelty and hatred), his servants into anthropomorphic household items, and the castle into a dark, forbidding place, so that he will learn not to judge by appearances. The curse can only be broken if the Beast learns to love another and receives the other's love in return before the last petal of the enchantress's rose withers and falls; if not, he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time.
Ten years later, a beautiful girl, Belle who lives in a French Provençal village, prefers reading books to being courted by the "rude and conceited" local hero, Gaston. Her eccentric father, Maurice, gets lost while traveling outside the village and enters the Beast's castle. When the Beast discovers Maurice, he locks him in a dungeon. Belle seeks out her father and offers to take his place as the Beast's prisoner. Realizing that Belle could break the spell, the Beast agrees. He gives her permission to go anywhere in the castle except the West Wing, where he keeps the enchanted rose. The enchanted household items, including Lumière the candelabra and Cogsworth the clock and head of the household, entertain Belle with a fancy French dinner.
Back in the village, the citizens cheer up Gaston after Belle has rejected him. Maurice bursts in and asks for help to rescue Belle. No one believes him, and Gaston decides to force Belle to marry him by threatening to throw her father into an asylum. Maurice goes off to search for Belle before this can happen.
Belle sneaks into the forbidden West Wing through her curiosity, discovering slashed furniture, broken mirrors, a ripped-up portrait with strangely familiar blue eyes, and the enchanted rose. The Beast angrily catches her and she flees the castle, only to encounter a pack of wolves. At the last minute, the Beast fights off the wolves; a grateful Belle returns to the castle and the two start to become friends. The household items are excited that Belle may fall in love with the Beast and cause them to become human again. The relationship reaches its climax with an elegant dinner and ballroom dance.
Belle asks if she can see her father, and the magic mirror reveals that Maurice is lost and sick in the forest. The Beast, having fallen in love with Belle and feeling some pity to Maurice, releases her to go rescue her father. Belle finds Maurice and takes him back to the village, where a mob arrives to take him to the asylum. Gaston offers to save Maurice if Belle agrees to marry him, but she still refuses. To prove that her father's claim of the Beast's existence is true, Belle uses the magic mirror to show the villagers an image of the Beast. The villagers become frightened and Gaston, who is shocked by this, angrily rallies them to go "kill the beast", thinking that he's a threat to their community. To prevent Belle and Maurice from warning the Beast, Gaston locks them in a cellar.
Eventually, Belle and Maurice escape and rush back to the castle. The enchanted objects have chased away all the villagers except Gaston, who attacks the Beast. Believing Belle has left him forever, the Beast does not defend himself and Gaston attacks him endlessly. Belle reappears and inspires the Beast to fight back. He wins the fight, and decided to drop Gaston in a deep chasm. Gaston pleads for his life and the Beast, who no longer wishes to harm others, agrees to spare him. At that point, the Beast angrily tells Gaston to leave immediately and shoves him off. Belle comes to the balcony, calling for the Beast, and he climbs there to reach for her. At that point, Gaston stabs the Beast in the back, only to lose his footing and fall off the high roof to his death in the deep chasm.
Belle tries to reassure the badly wounded Beast that everything will go fine , but he believes he is about to die. Eventually, the Beast dies and Belle, who is now heartbroken, whispers in tears that she loves him, just before the last petal falls from the rose. He is immediately returned to his human form--unrecognizable except for his piercing eyes. When Belle and the prince kiss, the curse is broken and the castle becomes beautiful again and the enchanted objects turn back into humans.
Voice cast
| Actor | Role(s) |
|---|---|
| Paige O'Hara | Belle |
| Robby Benson | Beast |
| Richard White | Gaston |
| Jerry Orbach | Lumiere |
| Angela Lansbury | Mrs. Potts |
| David Ogden Stiers | Cogsworth The Narrator |
| Bradley Pierce | Chip |
| Jesse Corti | LeFou |
| Rex Everhart | Maurice |
| Hal Smith | Philippe |
| Jo Anne Worley | Armoire The Wardrobe |
| Kimmy Robertson | Babette The Feather Duster |
| Tony Jay | Monsieur D'Arque |
Non English versions
In the Chinese dubs of Beauty and the Beast, the voice of the Beast is provided by Jackie Chan. He provided both the speaking and singing voices in these versions.
Crew
| Crew Position | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Gary Trousdale Kirk Wise |
| Produced by | Don Hahn |
| Executive Producer | Howard Ashman |
| Screenplay by | Linda Woolverton |
| Songs by | Howard Ashman Alan Menken |
| Original Score by | Alan Menken |
| Associate Producer | Sarah McArthur |
| Art Director | Brian McEntee |
| Film Editor | John Carnochan |
| Artistic Supervisors | Roger Allers (Story supervisor) Ed Ghertner (Layout supervisor) Lisa Keene (Background supervisor) Vera Lanpher (Clean-up supervisor) Randy Fullmer (Effects supervisor) Jim Hellin (Computer Graphics supervisor) |
| Supervising Animators | James Baxter (Belle) Glen Keane (Beast) Andreas Deja (Gaston) Ruben A. Aquino (Maurice) Will Finn (Cogsworth) Nik Ranieri (Lumiere) David Pruiksma (Mrs Potts/Chip) Chris Wahl (Lefou) |
| Production Manager | Baker Bloodworth |
Awards
Academy Awards
To date, Beauty and the Beast (1991) is the only animated film ever to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Golden Globes
Beauty and the Beast was the first animated film to win the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy. The only other animated films to win this honor were The Lion King and Toy Story 2.
Songs
- "Belle:" The opening song of the movie, Belle makes her way to the local bookshop and the whole village erupts into song, describing Belle's eccentricities.
- "Belle (Reprise):" Sung by Belle after Gaston proposes to her, Belle repeats her plea of "wanting much more than this provincial life."
- "Gaston:" LeFou (Gaston's sidekick) and the local drunkards sing Gaston's praises in a village tavern.
- "Gaston (Reprise):" After Maurice flees the Beast's castle, he enters the tavern pleading for help, only to be mocked by the townsfolk. It is here that Gaston thinks of the idea to blackmail Belle by sending her father to an asylum if she doesn't marry him.
- "Be Our Guest:" A dinner cabaret of the castle's servants as crockery, flatware etc. entertaining Belle.
- "Something There:" Sung by Belle and the Beast when they realize they have feelings for each other.
- "Human Again:" Sung by the castle's servants as they clean up the castle in preparation for the romantic dance they plan. Only in the IMAX version and the Special Edition version of the DVD.
- "Beauty and the Beast:" Sung by Mrs. Potts whilst Belle and the Beast dance in the castle ballroom.
- "The Mob Song:" Sung by the villagers on their way to the castle to kill the beast.
Symbols and meanings
The movie consisted of a lot of symbolism to describe the characters. For names, noted by a character in the "Belle" sequence, Belle is French for beautiful. Le Fou is French for "the fool." Lumière is French for "light". For the later Broadway production, the feather duster was named "Babette" and the wardrobe was named "Madame de la Grande Bouche" (translation: "Mrs. Bigmouth"). For physical symbolism, the majority of the statues seen in the castle are early versions of the Beast.
The color blue is also significant symbol throughout Beauty and the Beast. During the musical number "Belle", Belle is the only character in the village who wears blue. Later on she meets the Beast, who also dresses in blue. The idea is that both characters are social outcasts, so they can relate with one another and see the world in similar views.
In the theatrical release, as Gaston plunged to his death and his face filled the screen, two frames showed skulls in his eyes. For the VHS and laserdisc release, these frames were altered to remove the skulls from his eyes. However, no such alteration was made for the DVD release.
Dan Rather and others have commented on how the film can be read as an AIDS metaphor. [4] Lyricist Howard Ashman was dying of AIDS at the time (the film is dedicated to him) and the red rose petals reflect his life ebbing away. There also is the unidentified disfiguring affliction of the Beast who is hidden away in a hospice-like castle; the creation of Gaston as a satire of hyper-masculine gay bathhouse culture; and the "Kill the Beast" satire on early '90s anti-AIDS vigilanteism.
Work-In-Progress
The film was shown at the New York Film Festival in September 1991. Because the animation was only about 70% complete, the film was shown as a "Work-In-Progress." Storyboards and pencil tests were used in place of the remaining 30%. In addition, parts of the film that were finished were "stepped-back" to previous versions of completion. By constantly changing the look of the film shot-by-shot, the "Work-In-Progress" demonstrated the power of the story regardless of the associated visuals; initial pencil sketches proved just as engaging as the far more visually appealing final product. This version of the film proved so popular that it has been released on VHS, the September 1993 LaserDisc, and the October 8, 2002, Platinum Edition DVD.
Appearances
- In the video game Kingdom Hearts, its sequels Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, and Kingdom Hearts II, Belle is one of the seven Princesses of Hearts central to the game's plot. All the voice actors for the characters reprise their roles with the exception of Jerry Orbach (he passed away before he could provide any voices in KH2), who is replaced by Jeff Bennett as Lumière, and Richard White, owing to Gaston's absence.
- Belle makes a brief appearance in Disney's animated movie The Hunchback of Notre Dame, during Quasimodo's song "Out There". She can be seen walking across a town square reading her book.
- Beast makes an appearance in the Disney film Aladdin, where he is seen as a small glass toy amongst a pyramid of toys in a scene with the Sultan.
Cultural references and trivia
 | This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. (July 2007) |
- When Maurice is lost in the forest and comes to a group of faded signs, the bottom one says Anaheim. This is a reference to Anaheim, California, where Disneyland is located. Another sign, pointing towards a more unpleasant part of the forest, reads "Valencia", a reference to Valencia, California and home of Six Flags Magic Mountain, and the California Institute of Arts, where animator Glen Keane learned the trade.
- In "The Mob Song", Gaston quotes Macbeth by William Shakespeare. "Screw your courage to the sticking place." (I, vii) Lady Macbeth's speech to Macbeth to tell him to kill Duncan.
- The song "Mountain Town" from South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999), is meant to be a parody of the opening song, "Belle".
- Belle was inspired by other great movie musical heroines. Her peasant dress was loosely based on Judy Garland's (Dorothy) attire from The Wizard of Oz. The scene where Belle runs to the hills singing is a homage to Julie Andrews and the opening scene of 1965's The Sound of Music. Also, towards the end of the film Belle holds the dying Beast in her arms. This is similar to the way Maria holds the slain Tony in West Side Story.
- In the final scene of the Dreamworks film Shrek, Princess Fiona's "transformation" is similar to the Beast reverting to his human form. Also, in Shrek 2, two of the factory workers are transformed into a clock and a candlestick, a reference to Cogsworth and Lumière.
- When Belle goes up to the West Wing, the background music is a variation of Aquarium from Camille Saint-Saëns's Le Carnaval des Animaux.
- The design for the Beast is a composite of a bison, gorilla, lion, baboon and a wolf. Also, when the Beast is preparing for his dinner with Belle, he refers to his haircut as "stupid". The haircut he has is identical to that of the Cowardly Lion from 1939's The Wizard of Oz.
- The final confrontation between Gaston and the Beast is not unlike that of Rotwang and Freder from the Fritz Lang film Metropolis.
- The final animation of Belle and the Prince (Human Beast) dancing in the restored ballroom is recycled from Sleeping Beauty and re colored. This was stated in the commentary of the Special Edition DVD.
- At one point during the song "Human Again", Cogsworth and Mrs. Potts are singing on a the fence. Cogsworth is wearing a straw hat, drawing an association with farmers, and is holding a pitchfork with his right hand. Mrs. Potts is to his left. This is very reminiscent of the painting by Grant Wood, "American Gothic."
- Cogsworth references the Baroque music period when he utters the now classic line "If it's not Baroque, don't fix it."
References to other Disney works
- In the opening sequence first showing the castle, there is a deer feeding in the forest. The drawings used for this deer were originally used in Bambi for Bambi's mother.
- When Gaston places his feet on Belle's table, the mud coming off the boots strongly resembles Mickey Mouse's head, following the long standing Disney tradition of having "Hidden Mickeys" in their movies.
Other releases
Worldwide release dates
- Canada: November 22, 1991
- Philippines: December 20, 1991
- Brazil: December 1991
- Australia: June 11, 1992
- Argentina: July 9, 1992
- Peru: July 9, 1992
- Hong Kong: August 20, 1992
- Japan: September 12, 1992
- U.K.: October 9, 1992
- France: October 21, 1992
- Denmark: November 20, 1992
- Sweden: November 20, 1992
- Germany: November 26, 1992
- Netherlands: November 26, 1992
- Spain: November 27, 1992
- Italy: December 2, 1992
- Finland: December 18, 1992
Home Video
The film released to VHS and laserdisc in 1992 as part of the Walt Disney Classics series it was the second to use the 1992 logo with an electronically distorted jingle. Some of the prints contained two different video trailers for Pinocchio. It was released in 1993 but it was for a limited time only for it was dropped in print after it was put on moratorium a Walt Disney Platinum Edition released in 2002 after success in IMAX & other giant screen theaters it is going to have another Platinum Edition in 2009.
IMAX release
The film was restored and remastered for its January 1, 2002 re-release in IMAX theatres. For this version of the film, much of the animation was touched up, a new sequence set to the deleted song "Human Again" was inserted into the film's second act, and a new digital master from the original CAPS production files was used to make the high resolution IMAX film negative.
IMAX release dates
- Australia: January 1, 2002
- France: January 1, 2002
- Hong Kong: January 1, 2002
- Japan: January 1, 2002
- Belgium: January 2, 2002
- Poland: January 4, 2002
- U.K.: January 4, 2002
- Iceland: August 9, 2002
- Brazil: September 2002
Special edition DVD
Beauty and the Beast: Special Edition, as the enhanced version of the film is called, was released on a 2-disc Platinum Edition Disney DVD in October 8 2002. It is expected to be re-released on DVD in October 2009. [5]
Video Games
- Beauty and the Beast: Roar of the Beast was released for the Sega Genesis/Megadrive on January 1, 1993. It is a side scrolling adventure game where the player assumes the role of The Beast.
- Beauty and the Beast: Belle's Quest was released on August 25, 1993 also for the Sega Genesis/Megadrive. It is another side scrolling adventure game, this time where the player plays as Belle.
- Beauty and the Beast was released for the Super Nintendo on December 31, 1994. A side scrolling platformer, the player once again assumes the role of The Beast.
- Beauty and the Beast: A Board Game Adventure was released for the Game Boy Color on October 25, 1999. It consists of a series of mini-games featuring the characters of the film.
- Kingdom Hearts 2 was a game available for PS2 where one world is set in Beast's castle. Beast also teams up with the party. The Beast also appeared as one of Sora's selectable partners in the original Kingdom Hearts.
See also
- Beauty and the Beast (theatrical production)
- Beauty and the Beast (TV series)
- Direct to Video Films
- Films considered the greatest ever
References
External links
- Articles with trivia sections from July 2007
- 1991 films
- Best Musical or Comedy Picture Golden Globe winners
- Best Song Academy Award winners
- Annie Award winners
- Disney animated features canon
- Film remakes
- Films based on fairy tales
- Children's fantasy films
- Musical fantasy films
- United States National Film Registry
- Warner Bros. films