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DVDs: A classic made even better
By STEVE PERSALL, Times Film Critic
© St. Petersburg Times
published October 10, 2002
Beauty and the Beast (Platinum Edition)
Disneyphiles of all ages can have a ball with the two-disc DVD version of Beauty and the Beast, arguably the greatest animated film of all time, starting with three versions of the 1991 classic.
The theatrical version that became the first animated film nominated for a best picture Academy Award is here. The special edition released to IMAX theaters this year -- essentially the same except for one new musical sequence -- is also included. Film buffs will appreciate the third version, a work-in-progress cut that premiered at the 1991 New York Film Festival, occasionally interspersed with animated pencil drawings that moved the plot before Disney artists finished their jobs.
There's also an option to see karaoke-style subtitles for family sing-alongs during any version, an audio commentary with co-directors Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise for the special edition, and the first step in a game of wits called Break the Spell that turns the Beast's enchanted furnishings into humans again. And that's just disc one.
[Sketch: Disney]
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This is a sketch from the work-in-progress cut of Beauty and the Beast that premiered at the 1991 New York Film Festival. The cut had animated pencil drawings that moved the plot before Disney artists finished their jobs.
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The second disc is devoted to four avenues of supplemental material. Follow Cogsworth and Lumiere into the library for a 17-chapter behind-the-scenes tour of Disney animators creating Beauty and the Beast. Other chapters detail the New York premiere and the ensuing critical praise, box office success, awards and Broadway musical. Music videos, costume and poster art galleries, and a tribute to late co-composer Howard Ashman cover just about everything.
The cute teacup Chip leads viewers into a musical challenge of recalling the order of Be Our Guest notes and the kitchen tools playing them, a general tribute to Disney animation history and a new Beauty and the Beast music video by the group Jump 5.
Click on the magical rose, and the Break the Spell game continues with information accumulated on disc one required to play. Like many of these DVD games, boredom may arrive before a conclusion.
Mrs. Potts, the kindly old teapot, guides viewers to a making-of documentary and an interesting Disney scrapbook titled The Story Behind the Story. Here, celebrity narrators such as James Earl Jones, Robby Benson and Ming-Na offer illustrated synopses of seven animated classics and background trivia. Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson show up to sing their Oscar-winning title song again.
Don't miss Mrs. Potts' Personality Profile Game, a list of multiple-choice questions divided by gender revealing which Beauty and the Beast character you most resemble. My responses led her to believe I'm like Lumiere, the zestful, caring, charming, party-loving, rule-breaking (but only with good reason) candlestick. Go figure.
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