One of the Best Animated Movies of All Time

Rating: 10/10 (28 August 2015)

Fun fact: this is the first animated movie to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. Second fun fact: the Beauty and the Beast story also inspired Miyazaki to make Princess Mononoke, one my personal favorites, a movie you will be seeing far higher on this list, the highest grossing movie ever made in Japan and the first animated movie to ever win Japan's version of the Oscars. Kinda weird how one story can inspire two relatively similar great movies on two different ends of the world.
But of course, the Disney version is a more faithful adaption. And the version we will be discussing today.
If The Little Mermaid started the Disney Renaissance, this movie brought it roaring to life. Many (myself not included) consider this to be the high point of the period, the film where the music, the characters, the animation, and the plot come together to form one insurmountable masterwork. And there is a case to be made for that. You can feel as you watch the movie that this was made by a studio at the top of its game. It may not be the best Disney movie, but I do believe it do be the least flawed. There is nothing wrong with the movie; across the board it excels.
Belle is the most fleshed out Disney heroine to this point and arguable the most fleshed out ever. Personally, I prefer Ariel just because while the redhead feels alive and energetic, Belle feels a bit too perfect. But even so, the perfection is not the forced, morality-included kind that makes me hate Superman. It just does seem like she is just a legitimately nice and smart person. I have a friend like that; she's amazing. And just like her, while Belle may be a bit too goody, there is no doubt that she seems real and earnest.
Of course, she is not the only character, though I would not mind if she were. The Beast is well-acted. He is able to pull to be fearsome and intimidating without surrendering his humanity. As such, the character development seems natural and flowing. You feel why he does what he does; you emphasize with him. My only qualm is one that many people have had: that his voice after he turns back is underwhelming to say the least. But if that's seriously the biggest complaint I can voice against this movie, and it is, then it is doing something right.
Gaston is also done well; there are few villains in movie history who are both able to induce fear and laughs; Gaston is one of them. He walks the tightrope of being over-the-top without losing his human desires and ambitions. The scenes he and Belle share are legitimately creepy at best. But once more, you can see where he's coming from, though you don't agree with him. Great character work here.
The plot is basic, but well-done. I've...used variations of that phrase quite often, haven't I? So be it; I guess I just tend towards movies like that. Anyways...it's amazing how few people pick up on the nuances that make films like this work. It's not the grand structure that makes it so effect; but rather the little things that build tension and drama like one line or one extra scene. Creative genius is fickle, but not unpredictable, not unless you aren't sensitive to it.
But nothing trumps the animation. While I prefer the stark colors of the Lion King, I will say that this is the objectively best-animated movie in the DisRen. In fact, I say that it is the best-looking traditionally-animated movie ever made in the West. Every frame looks like a million dollar painting. Often, I find myself stopping the movie and just staring at the animation. Belle feels alive and full of vigor. The town feels quaint and peaceful with a tint of unease. The Beast's Castle is foreboding and grand but not cold. This is one of those films that makes me want to turn into an animated character just to immerse myself in the world.
If the sterling animation arouses these feelings, the sweeping score amplifies it. While not as majestic as Lion King's, this soundtrack is emotional and deep, making every moment feel earned. I would even argue that no movie has as well captured the magic of the medieval-Renaissance era atmosphere as well as this one. There are scores that are thumping and sprawling, adding scale to the movie. There are scores that are intimate and romantic, letting the moment hang with passion in the air. This film does both.
In its most famous song, it declares that the story is 'a tale as old as time.' I think this movie will last as long as that. I can safely say that there is not a film as good as Beauty in the Beast that is as good at doing what Beauty in the Beast does best better than Beauty in the Beast.