Beauty and the Beast [G]

Relive the magic and romance of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast with this limited 2-disc Diamond edition. The most beautiful love story to ever grace our screens is now available for a limited time on DVD. Join Belle as she discovers true beauty and true love in the most unlikely of people. And swoon as he who was once selfish and heartless learns to love another. 

Tale as old as time. Song as old as rhyme. Beauty and the Beast. 

I had the best Disney tragic’s night of my life last night. After a gruelling day at work, the Disney delivery that I have been waiting for for seven years finally arrived! Quickly buying myself a copy of my all-time favourite Disney movie, I came home and my mum, my dad, and I all sat down after the news to be swept away by the magic of Beauty and the Beast. I laughed, I sang, I swooned, I danced, and I cried (which is rare for me). 

Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young prince lived in a shining castle. Although he had everything his heart desired, the prince was spoiled, selfish, and unkind. But then, one winter’s night, an old beggar woman came to the castle and offered him a single rose in return for shelter from the bitter cold. Repulsed by her haggard appearance, the prince sneered at the gift and turned the old woman away. But she warned him not to be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within. And when he dismissed her again, the old woman’s ugliness melted away to reveal a beautiful enchantress. The prince tried to apologise, but it was too late, for she had seen that there was no love in his heart. And as punishment, she transformed him into a hideous beast and placed a powerful spell on the castle and all who lived there. Ashamed of his monstrous form, the Beast concealed himself inside his castle with a magic mirror as his only window to the outside world. The rose she had offered was truly an enchanted rose, which would bloom until his twenty first year. If he could learn to love another and earn her love in return by the time the last petal fell, then the spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time. As the years passed, he fell into despair and lost all hope, for who could ever learn to love a beast?

When Belle’s father, Maurice, gets lost in the woods, he stumbles upon the Beast’s castle. Being invited by the furniture to warm himself, Maurice soon finds himself at the mercy of the Beast and locked away in his dungeon. When Belle discovers that her father is missing, she makes her way to the castle and begs the Beast to take her in her father’s place. As time passes, the castle becomes Belle’s home and she begins to see a certain something in the Beast that wasn’t there before. 

Based on the abridged version of Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve’s original fairy tale (the abridged version being written by Jeanne-Marie le Prince de Beaumont), Beauty and the Beast is the ultimate Disney classic with a most powerful and beautiful story, wonderful songs, mesmerising animation, and memorable characters. 

This 2 disc Diamond Edition actually contains three different versions of the film: the original theatrical version, an extended version, and a work-in-progress version. 

Being one of the later Disney films, made in 1991, the animation is absolutely beautiful. Sharp and clear, with the characters actually looking like proper people and not caricatures. The world that was created on screen in this film was the most magical and breathtaking place I had ever seen. Even the dark enchanted castle was a thing of beauty. And then to see all this gorgeous colour return to it as its inhabitants once again begin to hope, was pure fairy tale magic. 

The film received two awards: an ASCAP Film and Television Music Award for Most Performed Songs from Motion Pictures in 1993, and an Oscar in 1992 for Best Music Original Score (and rightly so). 

Featuring the voice talents of Paige O’Hara, Robby Benson, Richard White, Jerry Orbach, David Ogden Stiers, Rex Everhart, and Angela Lansbury, Beauty and the Beast is film of pure magic. 

Filled with wonderful songs, memorable characters, romance, action, and suspense, it’s one of the greatest love stories ever told. A true gem that simply must be in any film collection. 

Be our guest. Be our guest. Be our guest.