“Tale as old as time
True as it can be
Barely even friends
Then somebody bends
Unexpectedly
Just a little change
Small, to say the least
Both a little scared
Neither one prepared
Beauty and the Beast
[2x]
Ever just the same
Ever a surprise
Ever as before
Ever just as sure
As the sun will rise
Tale as old as time
Tune as old as song
Bittersweet and strange
Finding you can change
Learning you were wrong
Certain as the sun
Certain as the sun
Rising in the east
Tale as old as time
Song as old as rhyme
Beauty and the beast.
Tale as old as time
Song as old as rhyme
Beauty and the beast.
True as it can be
Barely even friends
Then somebody bends
Unexpectedly
Just a little change
Small, to say the least
Both a little scared
Neither one prepared
Beauty and the Beast
[2x]
Ever just the same
Ever a surprise
Ever as before
Ever just as sure
As the sun will rise
Tale as old as time
Tune as old as song
Bittersweet and strange
Finding you can change
Learning you were wrong
Certain as the sun
Certain as the sun
Rising in the east
Tale as old as time
Song as old as rhyme
Beauty and the beast.
Tale as old as time
Song as old as rhyme
Beauty and the beast.
Haaa.... Beauty and the Beast. The only movie that I can categorized as 'my
favorite movie', 'my favorite animated movie' and 'my favorite musical movie',
all in one package. Although I'm a guy, THIS WILL STILL BE MY FAVORITE, and thus, in my opinion, THE BEST MOVIE EVER! Hahaha. Okay, now to move on to...What? No, no, no. The 2012's Beauty and the Beast tv series is
NOTHING when compared to the 1991 classic. It’s like comparing a black mole on somebody’s face with the beautiful
moon. Noticeable, but can be easily
forgotten.
The first time I heard about this movie is during my primary school. I can still remember when my oldest brother told me about Beauty and the Beast and then compared his love life to this movie. He is the Beast and his girlfriend (and also his future wife), as Belle, the heroine. At first, I don't know what the hell is he talking about. Not until I watched 'the making of Beauty and the Beast' on TV2, that I knew the movie that my brother was talking about. And deep inside my heart, I knew that this will be my favorite movie of all-time.
Unfortunately for me, I have already missed the showing time of Beauty and the Beast at a local cinema nearby. And to make thing worse, during that time, VHS (or video tape) are quite expensive, thus I don't have any way to watch this masterpiece. Ahh...so sad. Fast forward to the future, in 2010 to be precise, lo and behold, I found a copy of the movie. I inserted it into my brother's Playstation 3 and quietly watched it, gracefully played on the television screen. To my delight, my old assumption are greatly justified.
So, here is a short or semi-short description of the 1991’s Beauty and the
Beast. Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 American animated musical romantic fantasy
movie produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Based on the traditional French fairy tale of the same name by Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont, Beauty and the Beast is
the 30th movie in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. Additionally, it is
third in the Disney Renaissance period. Starring Paige O'Hara and Robby Benson,
Beauty and the Beast focuses on the relationship between the Beast (Benson), a
prince who is magically transformed into a monster as punishment for his
arrogance, and Belle (O'Hara), a young woman who he imprisons in his
castle.
Beauty and the Beast premiered at the New York Film Festival on September 29, 1991, followed by a theatrical release on November 22 to critical acclaim. It has also earned a rare "A+" rating from CinemaScore. The movie was a box office success, and has since garnered over $424 million worldwide. Beauty and the Beast was nominated for several awards, winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. Famously, Beauty and the Beast became the first animated movie to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. The movie received five additional Academy Award nominations, including Best Original Score, Best Sound, and three separate nominations for Best Original Song. Ultimately, the movie won Best Original Score, while Best Original Song was awarded to its title song. In 2002, Beauty and the Beast was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.
So, if you read the short description above, you know that this masterpiece has won a Globe Globe Award, nominated for 6 Academy Award and won 2 of them. Even the Library of Congress, the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States, and gave this movie a salute. What? Still not convinced? Okay, let us see a review for this BEAST of a movie. Okay, pun intended. The review is from a well-known movie critic, Roger Ebert.
“The film is as good as any Disney animated feature ever made - as magical as “Pinocchio,” “Snow White,” “The Little Mermaid.” And it's a reminder that animation is the ideal medium for fantasy, because all of its fears and dreams can be made literal. No Gothic castle in the history of horror films, for example, has ever approached the awesome, frightening towers of the castle where the Beast lives. And no real wolves could have fangs as sharp or eyes as glowing as the wolves that prowl in the castle woods.
The movie's story, somewhat altered from the original fable, involves a beauty named Belle, who lives in the worlds of her favorite library books and is repelled by the romantic advances of Gaston, the muscle-bound cretin in her little 18th century French village. Belle's father, a dotty inventor, sets off on a journey through the forest, takes a wrong turn, and is imprisoned in the castle of the Beast. And Belle bravely sets off on a mission to rescue him.
We already know, from the film's opening narration, that the Beast is actually a handsome young prince who was transformed into a hideous monster as a punishment for being cruel. And a beast he will be forever, unless he finds someone who will love him. When Belle arrives at the castle, that life-saving romance is set into motion - although not, of course, without grave adventures to be overcome.
Like all of the best Disney animated films, “Beauty and the Beast” surrounds its central characters with a large peanut gallery of gossipy, chattering supporting players. The Beast's haunted castle contains household objects that act as his serving staff, and so we meet Lumiere, a candlestick; Cogsworth, a clock; and Mrs. Potts, a teapot with a little son named Chip. These characters are all naturally on Belle's side, because they want to see the Beast freed from his magic spell.
There are some wonderful musical numbers in the movie, and animation sets their choreography free from the laws of gravity. A hilarious number celebrates the monstrous ego of Gaston, who boasts about his hairy chest and the antlers he uses for interior decoration. “Be Our Guest” is a rollicking invitation to Belle from the castle staff, choreographed like Busby Berkeley running amok. And there is the haunting title song, sung by Mrs. Potts in the voice of Angela Lansbury.
The songs have lyrics by the late Howard Ashman and music by Alan Menken, the same team who collaborated on “The Little Mermaid,” and they bubble with wit and energy (“Gaston” in particular brings down the house). Lansbury is one of a gifted cast on the soundtrack, which also includes Paige O'Hara as the plucky Belle; Robby Benson (his voice sounding electronically lowered) as Beast; Jerry Orbach as the candlestick who sounds uncannily like Maurice Chevalier; David Ogden Stiers as the cranky Cogsworth, and Richard White as the insufferable Gaston, who degenerates during the course of the film from a chauvinist pig to a sadistic monster.
“Beauty and the Beast,” like 1989's “The Little Mermaid,” reflects a new energy and creativity from the Disney animation people. They seem to have abandoned all notions that their feature-length cartoons are intended only for younger viewers, and these aren't children's movies but robust family entertainment.
Perhaps it is inevitable, in an age when even younger kids see high-voltage special effects films like “Die Hard” or “Terminator 2,” that animation could no longer be content with jolly and innocuous fairy tales. What a movie like “Beauty and the Beast” does, however, is to give respect to its audience.
A lot of “children's movies” seem to expect people to buy tickets by default, because of what the movie doesn't contain (no sex, vulgarity, etc.). “Beauty and the Beast” reaches back to an older and healthier Hollywood tradition in which the best writers, musicians and filmmakers are gathered for a project on the assumption that a family audience deserves great entertainment, too.”
The movie's story, somewhat altered from the original fable, involves a beauty named Belle, who lives in the worlds of her favorite library books and is repelled by the romantic advances of Gaston, the muscle-bound cretin in her little 18th century French village. Belle's father, a dotty inventor, sets off on a journey through the forest, takes a wrong turn, and is imprisoned in the castle of the Beast. And Belle bravely sets off on a mission to rescue him.
We already know, from the film's opening narration, that the Beast is actually a handsome young prince who was transformed into a hideous monster as a punishment for being cruel. And a beast he will be forever, unless he finds someone who will love him. When Belle arrives at the castle, that life-saving romance is set into motion - although not, of course, without grave adventures to be overcome.
Like all of the best Disney animated films, “Beauty and the Beast” surrounds its central characters with a large peanut gallery of gossipy, chattering supporting players. The Beast's haunted castle contains household objects that act as his serving staff, and so we meet Lumiere, a candlestick; Cogsworth, a clock; and Mrs. Potts, a teapot with a little son named Chip. These characters are all naturally on Belle's side, because they want to see the Beast freed from his magic spell.
There are some wonderful musical numbers in the movie, and animation sets their choreography free from the laws of gravity. A hilarious number celebrates the monstrous ego of Gaston, who boasts about his hairy chest and the antlers he uses for interior decoration. “Be Our Guest” is a rollicking invitation to Belle from the castle staff, choreographed like Busby Berkeley running amok. And there is the haunting title song, sung by Mrs. Potts in the voice of Angela Lansbury.
The songs have lyrics by the late Howard Ashman and music by Alan Menken, the same team who collaborated on “The Little Mermaid,” and they bubble with wit and energy (“Gaston” in particular brings down the house). Lansbury is one of a gifted cast on the soundtrack, which also includes Paige O'Hara as the plucky Belle; Robby Benson (his voice sounding electronically lowered) as Beast; Jerry Orbach as the candlestick who sounds uncannily like Maurice Chevalier; David Ogden Stiers as the cranky Cogsworth, and Richard White as the insufferable Gaston, who degenerates during the course of the film from a chauvinist pig to a sadistic monster.
“Beauty and the Beast,” like 1989's “The Little Mermaid,” reflects a new energy and creativity from the Disney animation people. They seem to have abandoned all notions that their feature-length cartoons are intended only for younger viewers, and these aren't children's movies but robust family entertainment.
Perhaps it is inevitable, in an age when even younger kids see high-voltage special effects films like “Die Hard” or “Terminator 2,” that animation could no longer be content with jolly and innocuous fairy tales. What a movie like “Beauty and the Beast” does, however, is to give respect to its audience.
A lot of “children's movies” seem to expect people to buy tickets by default, because of what the movie doesn't contain (no sex, vulgarity, etc.). “Beauty and the Beast” reaches back to an older and healthier Hollywood tradition in which the best writers, musicians and filmmakers are gathered for a project on the assumption that a family audience deserves great entertainment, too.”
ROGER EBERT
From Roger Ebert's great review, who also gave this movie 4 out of 5 stars, and also from the already mentions accolades, you now know that this is not just your typical-ordinary-normal-everyday kind of movie. This is an old and dusty relic, but the standard is still as high as the newer movies. A great and loveable movie, which can still be revered by the future generations. A masterpiece that will be cherished and told by parents to their young one, like a tale as old as time.
A LITTLE BIT OF TRIVIA
- Art director Brian
McEntee color keyed Belle so that she is the only person in her town
who wears blue. This is symbolic of how different she is from everyone
else around. Later, she encounters the Beast, another misfit, also wearing
blue. It symbolized good in the film whereas red symbolized evil (the
color of Gaston's shirt is red).
- The dance between Belle and her
Prince in the finale is actually reused animation of the dance between
Princess Aurora and Prince Phillip in Sleeping Beauty (1959).
The original Sleeping Beauty (1959) pair had been drawn over to
become the new Beauty and the Beast (1991) pair, and this was
done because they were running out of time during the production of the
movie.
- Rupert Everett auditioned for
the role of Gaston, but was told by the directors he didn't sound arrogant
enough. He remembered this when he voiced Prince Charming in Shrek 2(2004).
- The smoke seen during the
transformation of the Beast to the Prince is actually real smoke, not
animated. It was originally used in The Black Cauldron (1985)
and was re-used for Beauty and the Beast (1991).
- Screenwriter Linda Woolverton was
hired to rewrite the script. Her only writing experience with Disney had
been writing a few episodes of Chip ‘n’ Dale Rescue Rangers.
- Paige O’Hara, who provided the
voice for Belle, sobbed real tears while recording death of the Beast
scene.
- Beauty and the Beast was the
first animated film to earn more than $100 million at the box office.
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