By Todd Garbarini
Beauty
and the Beast was
a very successful film for Walt Disney upon its was released on Wednesday,
November 13, 1991. The follow-up to the
studio’s highly praised The Little
Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast
proved that a new generation of audiences had a desire for animated film
fare. As a result of this success,
Disney decided to create another adventure with Belle and the Beast. The result was Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas, which originally was
intended as a theatrical continuation of the story, but ended up being produced
for home video in 1997. The film may
appear to be a sequel, but it is not. The action actually takes place within the timeline that occurs in the
original film: after the fight with the wolves, but before the fight with
Gaston.
Since the Beast was transformed from a
Prince on Christmas, he is understandably Ebenezer Scrooge-ish when it comes to
the yearly holiday, and forbids the mere utterance in his presence of any
mention of the word. Belle must adhere
to his wishes or face violent outburst, which are frequent, from the
Beast. With the help of the castle’s anthropomorphized
clock (Cogsworth), candle (Lumiere), tea pot (Mrs. Potts) and tea cup (Chip), Belle
has to prove to the Beast that Christmas is a wonderful holiday.
The film was released on VHS cassette in
1997 and is now available on a double-disc set of a standard DVD and the high
definition Blu-ray. As you can well
imagine, the difference in picture quality between VHS and DVD is dramatic, and
comparing the VHS to Blu-ray is even more startling. If you are a fan of this film, the upgrade is
most definitely worth it.
In
addition to the Enchanted Christmas, Disney
is re-issuing their made-for-home video film Beauty and the Beast: Belle’s Magical World on standard definition
DVD. This film was released on VHS in
1998 and was comprised of three separate segments: The
Perfect Word, Fifi's Folly, and The Broken Wing. In 2003, the film was released on DVD and an
additional segment, Mrs. Potts's Party,
was added. It is this same DVD version that is being
made available once again, this time with different cover art. If you have the VHS and are on the fence
about upgrading, this new DVD is the way to go. If you already have the 2003 DVD version, there is no reason to
upgrade.
The musical numbers in both films are
quite nice, although the animation isn’t quite up to the high level of
excellence of the original theatrical film. Paige O’Hara and Robbie Benson reprise their roles as Belle and the
Beast, respectively, in both films.
The obvious audience for the films is
children, girls in particular. The filmmakers reiterate the message that love
can overcome differences between people in an entertaining way that never
threatens to become overly-preachy.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER "BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: THE ENCHANTED CHRISTMAS" BLU-RAY FROM AMAZON
CLICK HERE TO ORDER "BELLE'S MAGICAL WORLD" DVD FROM AMAZON