Beauty and the Beast

Beauty And The Beast is widely considered the best animated Disney feature of the studio's 1980s/1990s renewal of the form. Based on the classic French fairy tale, it tells the story of Belle (voiced by Paige O'Hara), an intelligent young woman scorned by her townspeople for being a bookworm, weary of fighting off the advances of the arrogant Gaston (Richard White), and dreaming of escape. When her father gets lost in the woods and captured by the forbidding Beast (Robby Benson), a once-handsome prince turned into a monster by a witch, Belle goes off to rescue him. Taken with her, the Beast agrees to release Belle's father if she agrees to stay with him forever. Initially repulsed, Belle soon finds much to appreciate in the Beast's hidden, tender nature. The Beast's servants — a clock (David Ogden Stiers), a teapot (Angela Lansbury), and a candlestick (Jerry Orbach) — see Belle as their salvation: if the Beast and a woman fall in love before his 21st birthday, he will be free from the curse. The songs are first-class, the tale is told with sincerity but not sentimentality, and the characters of Belle and the Beast, complex individuals who defy stereotyping and change over the course of the story, are more three-dimensional than in most live-action movies. The eye-popping animation is beautifully rendered, and Beauty And The Beast certainly deserves its place amongst Disney's animated classics. In 2002, a special 89-minute edition of the film was released in IMAX theaters with the addition of a newly animated song, "Human Again." — Don Kaye

The most important aspect of any musical is the songs. Songs in a musical should be both memorable and somewhat functional. One or the other is fine, but if most of the songs advance the plot or reveal character andmake the audience want to sing along, then you have a truly great musical. Alan Menken and Howard Ashman composed an arguably perfect set of songs for Disney's Beauty and the Beast. The opening number that encapsulates both Belle and her hometown, the hilarious tune illustrating how formidable a man Gaston is, and the warmly charming "Be My Guest" are just three high points from one of the great soundtracks in movie history. The title track, which is as sappy as Ashman ever got as a lyricist, charmingly acknowledges its own banality ("Tale as old as time/song as old rhyme/beauty and the beast") without minimizing or mocking its inherently sweet description of true love.
Belle herself sidesteps most of the clichés surrounding Disney heroines. Her love for the beast is unexpected, mostly because she dreams of independence and adventure, not romance. She is a strong female character whose love is won through kindness, selflessness, and honesty, and not given away just because the lead male character is attractive. Classic songs, memorable characters, and adult (for Disney) love combine with such joy and skill in Beauty and the Beast that it became the first animated Best Picture nominee in Academy history. This is not just a great animated film; this is a great film. Period. — Perry Seibert