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Beauty and the Beast (Disney Special Platinum Edition) Customer Reviews (43 - 45 of 78 Reviews)

Excellent job Disney.
I saw this when it first came out in theaters back in 1992. I was only 7 or 8 at the time, and it just didn't appeal to me as much as The Little Mermaid or The Rescuers Down Under. I don't really know why, but having just getting the DVD in the mail, my view of the movie is completely different.

Beauty and the Beast really is one of Disney's top 4 animated films. How they managed to combine a massive cast of characters into the main plot is amazing. Beast is one of my favorite Disney characters after re-watching this. There's so much emotion inside of him. Anger, rage, pity, ambition, and love. You'll really care for him from the moment he appears on screen. Belle is possibly the most humble heroine to date. She doesn't see that she's beautiful, but just cares for helping others and reading books. The supporting cast is just as good. Gaston, the villain, is just a....well I can't use the word. You can bet your money you'll feel the same way. But the characters are just the icing on the cake. The story is what the strong point's always been. Disney did a great job adding so much more to it, whereas the original didn't focus on anyone but Belle and the Beast really. But I'm sure you all know the story, so I'll just get into the features on this DVD.

On the first disc, you get 3 different versions of the film- theatrical, work in progress, and special edition. The theatrical is what you saw in theaters or on the home video release. Work in progress is mostly drawings in black and white while the voices and everything else is put in. The special edition has a few lines changed here and there, and the added musical "Human Again" into the film. Personally, I hated "Human Again". It comes right after and before other songs in the film, making you want them to just get on with the story. Plus the animation in it really stands out since it's newer and has those annoying shadows on every character that you see in so many made for video animated movies. There's also a commentary track that adds a lot of depth and information, and a game that unlocks another game. People complain about the picture quality of the movie, but it's not that bad. On a scale of one to ten, I'd give it a 7.5.

The second disc has a well done documentary on the making of Beauty and the Beast, story origins of a few other Disney movies, art galleries, music videos, more games, and much more. Amazon lists that the Broadway Musical is on this, but it isn't. It's mentioned in the documentary, that's all. This sets the standard for extras on Disney special editions of their movies. It's too bad The Lion King has nothing compared to this. Either way, if you like Disney at all...or just movies, you should go for this while you can. It's a masterpiece, and getting harder to find.

Hours of Enchanted Fun
BEAUTY & THE BEAST is truly a classic film. The story is timeless, yet relevant (recognizing love & inner beauty, and learning to love unconditionally with "no strings attached"). The musical score is superb, and as this special edition DVD describes, it's launched an excellent Broadway musical. The characters are adorable and interesting, and the villains are despicable. When Belle falls in love with the Beast, it's fun to see how they help each other grow -- Belle gains courage as the Beast gains compassion.

This platinum edition DVD continues Disney's recent trend of including everything you could ever ask for along with the film, which in this case is truly amazing. There are three versions of the movie included on this 2 disc set; one is the original theatrical release, another is the version which was first shown at the 1991 New York Film Festival (the work-in-progress edition), and the third is the amazing special edition which includes an all-new yet perfectly integrated "Human Again" scene. There are also several games and activities for children on this disc, including a really fun one in which you answer questions and are matched up with which character you are most similar to. I also loved the musical game with Chip, which is good fun even for small children (it just involves matching musical notes). Grown-ups will love the Broadway musical featurette, the video with Celine Dion & Peabo Bryson, and all kinds of great "making of" shorts and documentaries which are simply too numerous to mention here!

I was very pleased to see a special section of seven Disney stories which describes the "story behind the story" of things like Cinderella and the Lion King. I really love seeing the historical summary of these ancient tales, which also include a fresh and fun film summary of the story that children enjoy, too!

I highly recommend this DVD to any fan of musicals, Disney animation movies, or children at heart. It's truly a tale as old as time, which warms the heart and brightens one's day!

-- Cynthia Sue Larson
author of "Karen Kimball & the Dream Weaver's Web"

Some of our favorite Disney music is in this movie.
We rank this as our 4th favorite of the 41 animated Disney movies that we own. But it is also our #1 favorite Disney musical, with Petes Dragon being our #2 favorite Disney musical. The producers have created a tremendous total package here starting with the highly memorable and enjoyable music, to a wonderful story that includes charm, humor, wit and compassion.

We had a lot of fun by gathering the family together to rank the 41 Disney movies we have that include some cartoon work. All the kids, ages 6 to 27, participated along with mother and dad. Peter Pan is no Codfish, we rank it #2. Lion King was selected number 1 of the 41 as the family favorite, but narrowly. Peter Pan was 2. Pete's Dragon 3, Beauty & the beast 4 and Sleeping Beauty 5.

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