Tale as old as time

Rating: 8/10 (7 January 2012)

A rude Prince refuses a poor elderly woman's present of a rose, and he is cursed to look like an animal, until he shares love with a woman, and if he doesn't make it before his 21st birthday, his appearance will never change back. When he finds a man trespassing in his castle(seeking shelter from the weather and the pack of wolves that always seem to hang around right outside the gate), he locks him up in his prison. The daughter finds out about this, and offers herself in his place. Belle is beautiful and could have anyone in her village for a husband, but she loves books, doesn't want to settle down, and wants adventure(...yeah, she does come off slightly ingrateful for the quite nice life she has for herself, anyway, she's interesting). Meanwhile, Gaston, the best and most handsome hunter around wants to marry her, which she isn't open to. The main theme explored here is, of course, that one should look underneath and not judge superficially. And as such, aforementioned Zapp Branigan type would be the hero in any other Disney piece. He isn't even really the villain right away. He doesn't look like a monster, his behavior makes him one. And the opposite is true(at least in time), of Beast(albeit his manners and temper need work), who is treated to a magnificent design, that allows him to be terrifying as well as express insecurity. That goes for his voice, as well, which is pitch perfect(literally). The underlying softness to it is fantastic. This keeps to a great pace, the plot is moving, characters are developed, things are never standing still(and humor is injected all over, without it costing(much) dramatic effect... whether you find it funny is like with much else from this studio, and for family films, a lot of it is for, or at least meant to also work for, kids). It's genuinely exciting and you want to know what happens next. The moral lesson is present without it being preachy, and it comes across rather well. Roles are all well-cast. This is a musical, and the songs can be pretty catchy. The dialog is good. This is animated well and with passion and energy. There aren't a lot of negatives. I would argue that LeFou doesn't look like he belongs, he's too cartoony among all these realistic-looking humans. There are the usual points about fairie tales and the conventions belonging to the genre. As an example, the romance is out of necessity, first and foremost(the magic has to be reversed, and within a set amount of time), as relationships tended to be back when this was originally conceived(hundreds of years ago, not the development of this interpretation). I personally can't help notice the disturbing(and not the only thing in this that is, either) nature of all the living furniture. If you drink from the living mugs, are you kissing the people they used to be? What if a plate is dropped on the floor, does that kill the person it is? And in the sequences where there are hints of hundreds of items that are alive, do they just sit around doing absolutely nothing when not being eaten out of or the like? Does the bottom cup in the pile get a bad back from the weight of the others? These are questions that shouldn't be asked, of course(and then one can choose to apply psychology, and wonder if this is a case of Stockholm Syndrome). I think a bigger issue is the timeline... from what happens in the small town, it comes off as this all happening over two, maybe three days. Is that really long enough for all that takes place in the fortress? Still, these are not big enough problems to take away from this being a remarkable piece, that hasn't aged a day in 20 years. The Diamond Edition 2-Disc DVD set comes with an amusing and informational commentary(with directors, composer, producer), a Sing-Along track, the well-done, tightly edited and compelling(somehow, the special features garner far more laughs than the flick itself) documentaries Beyond Beauty(51 minutes, it goes into the people who created this), The Story Behind The Story(26 minutes, and since it has its own page here on the site, I will be reviewing it there), Composing A Classic(19 and a half minutes), "animation"(13 and a half minutes), Broadway Beginnings(12 and a half minutes), deleted scenes(27 minutes, the first two thirds of which completely change the approach and render it darker), deleted song(7 minutes, and 1 and a half minutes intro), alternate version: "be our guest"(5 minutes), 2 music videos(3 and a half minutes and 4 and a half minutes), early presentation reel(3 minutes), 4 TV spots(2 minutes), camera move test(2 minutes), alternate score: the transformation(2 minutes), games(Simon, and a personality test), Trailers(Tangled, Toy Story 3, A Christmas Carol, Hannah Montana Forever, Bambi, two for this(4 and a half minutes total, with intro by Don Hahn)) and a promo for BluRay. I recommend this to essentially everyone, as almost anyone will be entertained, engaged and endeared. 8/10