Disney's Beauty and the Beast is still the most enchanted of their animated fairy tales

Rating: 10/10 (31 January 2012)

Just rewatched Beauty and the Beast with my movie theatre-working friend at where he works. This was actually my first time seeing it on the big screen and in 3-D, to boot! What can I say except after 20 years, it's still one of the most wonderful of the animated Disney fairy tales to be depicted in movies. No wonder it was the first of its kind to be nominated an Oscar for Best Picture. And the songs by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman like "Belle", "Be Our Guest", and the title song were also worthy of the nominations with the last one deserving of the win. And those voices, ah, what voices! I mean, Paige O'Hara (Belle), Robby Benson (Beast), Richard White (Gaston), Jerry Orbach (Lumiere), David Ogden Stiers (Cogsworth), and Angela Lansbury (Mrs. Potts) just make the picture perfect with their line readings and singing. The last one, especially, when singing the already mentioned title song which would also be lovingly rendered by Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson during the end credits. Really, all I'll say now is Beauty and the Beast gets a very high recommendation from me. P.S. I also loved the dedication at the very end "To our friend Howard, who gave a mermaid her voice and a beast his soul. We will be forever grateful. Howard Ashman (1950-1991)".