A Sweet and Beautiful Love Story that Happens to be a Kids Movie

Rating: 10/10 (15 February 2009)

Beauty and the Beast is arguably one of the best Disney films ever (second only to The Hunchback of Notre Dame), as well as one of the most touching love stories of all time. The relationship between Belle and the Beast is both funny and endearing, the songs are remarkably good, and the animation is beautiful. A lot of the humour is very witty (even though most of it was childish, it can also give the parents a chuckle or two), and, while it is quite violent for a kid's movie, it gives very good messages; the most poignant of which is "appearances aren't everything".
It's based on a very old story, but it has been altered to become Disney-fied. Belle (French for "beautiful") is a gorgeous but odd girl who confounds her entire town with her looks and strange ways. Her father is an inventor, ridiculed as well for his seeming madness, though everyone accepts that he's harmless.
When Belle's father goes off to enter his wood-chopping invention at the fair, he gets lost and stumbles into a strange castle inhabited by living objects, like clocks, candelabras, feather dusters and teapots. However, his warm welcome at the castle is cut short when a ferocious beast appears and locks him away. When her father doesn't return home (but his horse does), Belle goes off in search of him, only to find the castle herself and to exchange herself for her father. The Beast keeps her prisoner, in hopes that she will fall in love with him and break the spell that has been cast over him and his servants. But between the Beast's temper, Belle's stubbornness, and the constant plotting of muscle-man Gaston, determined to win Belle at any cost, this won't be so easy...
As I said before, the relationship between Belle and the Beast is funny and endearing - funny, because at first, they can't stand each other. The Beast appears crude and frightening, and Belle is determined to be as difficult as possible. Once they begin to bond, however, a different kind of comedy emerges - the Beast is hilariously awkward and eager to please (though he isn't really sure how), and Belle is gently guiding him in the ways of human interaction. It's endearing for almost the same reason - essentially, the film turns from a tale of a jailer and captor's unexpected romance, into the story of two outcasts who find both acceptance and love in each other.
The music is wonderful (again, as I said before), especially the songs "Gaston", "There May be Something There (That Wasn't There Before)" and the eternal classic "Beauty and the Beast", sung by the teapot character Mrs Potts, voiced by Angela Lansbury. The lyrics are at times funny, at times poetic, at times somewhere in between.
The merging of the timeless love story, the conflict and drama, the humour, the songs, the animation, and the classic Disney talking things that shouldn't talk creates a thing of beauty. The story of a pair of oddities who fall for each other; the story of a man who was a monster; the story of a beast who learns to love; the story of the girl who taught him how. Truly a masterpiece.