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Beauty and the Beast (Disney Special Platinum Edition) Customer Reviews (19 - 21 of 78 Reviews)

Beauty and the Beast Penetrates Your Heart, and Like The Best of Books, Is Wondrous For The Soul
When watching Beauty and the Beast, I feel as if I am not watching an animated film. Instead, I feel as if I am being told a story, a love story, and perhaps the most sophisticated and beautiful love story ever to be told. Beauty and the Beast penetrates your heart, and like the best of books is wondrous for the soul.

Beauty and the Beast is just as good as the greatest of all animated movies. It packs just as much magic as Snow White, as much drama as Pinocchio, as much wonder as Fantasia, and all the great songs, characters, and merriment of The Little Mermaid. The film could not have been realized in any other medium but animation, because of the level of fantasy it requires. With art you can achieve an unreachable level of beauty, mood, and enchantment.
What also strikes me (subtly) about Beauty and the Beast is the level of realism. I know that the Beast's castle is drawn on a piece of paper no larger than my torso, but on screen I feel small and overwhelmed in its presence. I feel as if I can find something if I could look around the cornors of one of the castle's corridors.

The story introduces us to Belle, who is yet another Disney heroine (in the spirit of Ariel) who is ambitious, determined, and extremely attractive. She lives in a fantasy world of her own, reading books of far off places, but the advances of the town brute Gaston, and the mediocrity of the provincial town in which she lives, make her yearn for her own adventure away from the village. Her father, a absent-minded inventor sets off for the fair, but after taking a wrong turn, stumbles upon an enormous castle. Once inside, he is captured by a ferocious beast and is imprisoned in the dungeons. And after learning of his disappearance, Belle sets off to search for her father.

We already know (from the opening prologue)that the Beast the prowls the castle was actually a handsome young prince who was transformed into his monstrous form as punishment for his cruelty of others. Once arriving at the castle, Belle becomes the prisoner in trade for her father's freedom. This, however not without many obstacles and trials, is where the love story begins.

Like the best of Disney's animated films, Beauty and the Beast is surrounded by a cast of talkative and musical supportive cast. Inside the enchanted castle, we meet Lumiere, a french candlestick; Cogsworth, a tightly wound clock; and Mrs. Potts, a frumpy and warm teapot. These characters add also another level of drama and comfort to the film, for they too have the desire to transform back into their human forms as well. The villain this time around is the chauvinist pig Gaston, who makes a powerful transition to menacing bad guy by the film's third act.

The film also has a musical score that is among the best the studio has created. For starters there is the high-spirited "Be Our Guest" number which is a destined Disney classic in the spirit of "Under the Sea". There is also the hauntingly beautiful title song, "Beauty and the Beast" sung by Angela Lansbury.

Along with The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast celebrates the return of "The Disney Classic". It seems as if the film makers have dashed the thought that animation is just for kids, and made a film that combines every ingrediant for a great film.

Beauty and the Beast takes the best of every element of film and molds them into a entertaining feast of the senses. It reaches back to all audiences, instead of the targeted "kiddie" audience that most animated films demote theirselves to.

Good on video, better on DVD
I have the original Black Diamond Classics edition of this movie and the Platinum edition of this movie both on VHS. I am KICKING myself for not buying the DVD platinum edition! I got the VHS of the platinum edition just three weeks before my family got a DVD player (a month before I got one in my room)! Just to think that I could have the original "Black Diamond" version, the Platinum Version, AND a "Work-in-progress" version ALL on one disc is crazy! Too bad this DVD is out of print. I wish that they wouldn't make the platinum editions go out of print. I was lucky enough to find a used verion of the Platinum "Snow White" for $16.99 at game stop (2-disc). I really want this DVD version with all 3 versions of the film. By the way, "Human Again" has outstanding color and animation, not to mention, it is seamlessly added into the film, which I found amazing! Go buy this DVD NOW (hopefully I'll find it somewhere!)

Loved by all
I loved this movie when I was younger and I'm glad my nephews can enjy it now on its new edition. The Human Again song is fabulous! It shows the wonder that was Howard Ashman.

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