Excellent but...

Rating: 10/10 (24 November 2002)

I most certainly agree that this is a wonderful film. Though, in my opinion, not the greatest of Disney animated features (that title goes to The Jungle Book), nor the most entertaining (that title goes to Aladdin), Beauty and the Beast still manages to have all the right parts to make a solid film.

I love the score, it is another gem from Alan Menken. Howard Ashman really does give a Beast his soul (it was the end credits if you didn't catch it) with his lyrics.
Also, the story is pretty good, with just the right amount of Disney magic in it. Its got great characters, including the house objects that add a lot of fun to the story (especially Lumiere, he's so cool, and his girlfriend feather duster is so gorgeous for an animated lady).
And the animation, well what can I say? It beats anything else that Disney has come up with, except for The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, and of course, Aladdin. Its not that the animation isn't as good as in the aforementioned movies, its just that it is not better.
However, there is one complaint that I have to make. It is not really about the movie, but about how one of its parts is treated. Though the Beast, Belle, and the castle objects are great characters, I feel that none of them deserve the title of most memorable performance in this film.
That title goes to Gaston, one of my all time favorite Disney villains. Gaston is so complex. One minute, he's just an arrogant, stuck-up bum that is reminisicent of someone we all know and find irritating. Yet, he manages to add a little humor in his attempts to woo Belle. Then, he turns into a real jerk, willing to lock Maurice up to get Belle. And finally, he becomes pure evil, ready to kill the Beast to win Belle. That mocking laugh and look he gives the Beast when he says, "What's the matter? Too kind and gentle to fight back?" is one of the greatest scenes in Disney villainry history. A rare few scenes rank up with the amount of evil emotion that this scene has, such as Scar giving Mufasa an incredibly horrifying look before murdering him, or Jafar laughing like an insane lunatic after banishing Aladdin, Abu, and Carpet to the Ends of the Earth. Great moments that illustrate just how dark a villain can be.
Richard White outdid himself with this role, and I remember his work more than Robby Benson, Paige O'Hara, David Ogden Stiers, Jerry Orbach, or Angela Lansbury. It upsets me that everyone focuses on the other roles in this film, but not so much on White's. When I read up about the great Disney villains of all time, often Gaston is not included. Though not the all-time greatest of the Disney villains, I feel he is greatly underrated and deserves more respect. Nevertheless, I love the film and give it a 10/10.
P.S. The Top Ten Animated Motion Picture Disney Villains/Villainesses of All Time
1) Jafar (Aladdin) 2) Prince John (Robin Hood) 3) Gaston (Beauty and the Beast) 4) The Wicked Queen (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) 5) Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty) 6) Shere Khan (The Jungle Book) 7) Scar (The Lion King) 8) Captain Hook (Peter Pan) 9) Ursula (The Little Mermaid) 10) Lady Tremaine (Cinderella)