Disney as its most 'classic'... whatever it means...

Rating: 9/10 (31 December 2016)

Because she was unfairly judged by her horrid looks, an old witch casts a spell on an arrogant prince, turning him into a horrendous beast, and the spell extends to every person working in the castle, turned to the furniture they usually handle in their respective job. The ways of magic are impenetrable in Disney's world. But like any Disney spell, it can be broken if the Prince finds true love: if he's capable to love someone and in return, inspires similar feelings. This is a doomed-to-fail mission as no possible girl could ever love a beast.
But Belle isn't any girl; she's a French village's local oddity, a free-spirited, fresh and charming girl who keeps her nose stuck on books while wandering on the streets, attracting all the astonished reactions. Belle doesn't care for material stuff, she's a dreamer, in reading, she seeks escapism in its most extraordinary forms, and that she's the daughter of a goofy inventor accentuates her peculiarity, and her charm. And one man fixed his choice on Belle, his name is Gaston and he's the village macho icon, a colossal brute whose strength equals his stupidity, and who can't stand seeing Belle playing "hard to get".
Gaston slowly turns from a comical buffoon to a more sinister villain. And this is what "Beauty and the Beast" is all about: transformations, evolution, but never at the expenses of disbelief.
This is the magic of Disney, we can accept a teapot with the voice of Angela Lansbury, a candlestick with the facial features and unmistakable accent of Maurice Chevalier or the failed jokes of a clock-shaped butler. We can accept the extraordinarily horrific face of the Beast who's an improbable combination of a lion's mane, wolf's legs, buffalo's face and boar's mug. But there's one thing that all the 'Fantasy' can't buy and it is the growing chemistry between Belle and the Beast. We know when she becomes the hostage in the castle, it's a matter of time before the romance blooms but it's all in the way this is handled. There's indeed more than 'Stockholm Syndrome'.
"Beauty and the Beast" takes an old classic theme but turns into a serious and legitimate drama: to earn the princess' love, the Beast will have to risk his furry neck, to learn to accept his mistakes, and even to let 'her' leave the castle as sometimes, this is the greatest proof of love. On her side, Belle will also discover the strange attraction and its final blossoming at the film's climax. The romance is handled in such a way that it never feels like a rehash of the older Disney. But if I had to mention the previous movies, I would say that "Beauty and the Beast" is to "The Little Mermaid" what "Pinocchio" was to "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", the proof that the former film's success wasn't just a strike of luck and that the animators still got it and could surprise you when you thought it was impossible to match the delights and thrills of the previous one.
With "Mermaid", Disney inaugurated the Renaissance period and established new grounds, that only Disney could ever break or surpass. And with "Beauty and the Beast", they created a formidable precedent by making the first ever animated feature to be nominated to a Best Picture Oscar, along with such other prestigious titles as "Silence and the Lambs" and "JFK". Many Pixar movies achieved the same stunt ("Up" and "Toy Story 3"), but it's easier to sneak in when you have eight to ten available spots. "Beauty and the Beast" was certainly no filler.
I insist on these Oscar considerations because "Beauty and the Beast" is really one of a kind, it is such a big-scaled prestigious visual feast that it might leave smaller audiences craving a bit underwhelmed. Speaking for myself, as I had the chance to be the target core of the Disney Renaissance, "Beauty and the Beast" has never been one of my favorites, not in the sense that I disliked it but because I would always find better reasons to enjoy "Aladdin", "The Lion King" or "The Jungle Book". Revisiting this classic 25 years after its release (time flies), I understand why: this is a great film on its own right, and not just as a Disney animated feature.
And it wasn't just nominated for Best Picture, but it was also included in major lists from the American Film Institute: Songs, Romances but is the only animated feature to have made it in the "Musical" category, which says a lot because all the previous Disney movies have been musicals. But in the case of "Beauty and the Beast", the musical moments are staged like in Broadway comedies, the opening song even borrows from "West Side Story" and Belle has something of Maria from "Sound of Music". But "Beauty" didn't just reused common staples of musical, it became a staple itself as the film would be parodied countless times, from the unforgettable "See my Vest" where Mr. Burns reveals his devilish puppy scheme to the "Mountain Song" in "South Park", and one can even see similar plot lines between the film and the movie "Shrek".
"Beauty and the Beast" is an instant classic and the living incarnation of Disney's magic, it doesn't have the zaniness or little spice that can create an extra appeal, but that's because the film had more serious ambitious and doesn't even deny it in its titular song, as the tale is 'as old as time', stories or 'seemingly impossible loves'. And maybe like Belle, now, I can see the beauty of "Beauty in the Beast", if only because it's so magnificently hand-drawn and Belle looks more expressive than any 3D princess.
(And don't get me started on that moment where we get to see the real 'Featherduster', perhaps the Disney moment that most turned me on)