The film that officially signaled Disney's animation renaissance (following The Little Mermaid) and the only animated feature to receive a Best Picture Oscar nomination, Beauty and the Beast remains the yardstick by which all other animated films should be measured. It relates the story of Belle, a bookworm with a dotty inventor for a father; when he inadvertently offends the Beast (a prince whose heart is too hard to love anyone besides himself), Belle boldly takes her father's place, imprisoned in the Beast's gloomy mansion. Naturally, Belle teaches the Beast to love. What makes this such a dazzler, besides the amazingly accomplished animation and the winning coterie of supporting characters (the Beast's mansion is overrun by quipping, dancing household items) is the array of beautiful and hilarious songs by composer Alan Menken and the late, lamented lyricist Howard Ashman. (The title song won the 1991 Best Song Oscar, and Menken's score scored a trophy as well.) The downright funniest song is "Gaston," a lout's paean to himself (including the immortal line, "I use antlers in all of my de-co-ra-ting"). "Be Our Guest" is transformed into an inspired Busby Berkeley homage. Since Ashman's passing, animated musicals haven't quite reached the same exhilarating level of wit, sophistication, and pure joy. --David Kronke --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Boot legged!!!:
My husband's aunt bought this movie for me as a Christmas present. It was shipped from somewhere in Indonesia (I think). When she finally got it (late) she tried to play it to make sure it worked and nothing happened. She had to clean it to get it to work and when it did a screen came up that gave you four or five languages to choose from. When you select English it goes to the options to play, etc. If you look at the picture on the dvd case you can see it was copied and printed (good quality print) and... more info
Beauty and the Beast:
The item came on time and was just what it was advertised to be. We watched it with our granddaughter, for whom it was bought,and everyone thoroughly enjoyed it. After not finding it in stores, I was glad I'd found it on Amazon and will look there again for future dvds.
seller's lack of availability:
I have tried contacting this seller on numerous occasions and I haven't received one response back. I'm sending general, basic questions and the seller is ignoring my emails. It is quite frustrating to know that your attempts to contact someone you've engaged into business with is all for nothing. Personally, I would advise anyone contemplating doing business with this seller not to do so. His/her lack of customer service is unprofessional and an irritating inconvenience.
Beware of bootlegged copies!:
The one star is for bootlegs, not for the genuine article, which rates a five in my book. I've seen quite a few complaints about bootlegged copies in this thread, and thought I'd throw in my two cents on the subject. People interested in buying this item need to know that Amazon and Ebay are awash in bootlegged copies of this and other popular DVD and CD audio titles. It's very difficult, if not impossible, for huge online sellers like Amazon and Ebay to police such activities, so it's largely up to us fans... more info
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