A stunning childhood Disney Classic that I should have seen more often

Rating: 9/10 (26 December 2013)

I saw this film once or twice as a child upon owning the VHS and started watching again when I was 18 upon borrowing it from a volunteer/social worker but sadly fell asleep halfway through due to having had the tendency to tiring very easily. Today, which is Boxing Day 2013 as I type, my mum suggested we watch a Disney film and I insisted we watch this one due to its inclusion of a couple of memorable musical numbers ('Be Our Guest' and the titular song) that had equally memorable animation sequences and were also on my 'Sing Along Songs: Be Our Guest' VHS I had when I was five and retrieved from eBay a year or two ago. I also insisted on watching this because I mistakenly thought this was my mum's favourite Disney film but it is in fact 'The Little Mermaid (and one of mine)' although she found this one very good as did I.
The 2D animation is fluid and smooth with beautiful interior and exterior backgrounds but there were one or two that looked a tad CGI-ish for the film, especially the ballroom during 'Beauty and the Beast' but it looked magnificent nonetheless. In addition to the musical numbers I've already mentioned, I also liked the opening song ('Belle/Little Town?'), 'Gaston,' and 'Something There' although I found 'The Mob Song' and 'Human Again' pretty forgettable as well as some of the incidental music, which was also pleasant if dramatic in parts. The script has its fair share of humorous and poignant moments, the former including the antics of Gaston's bumbling sidekick Lefou, Cogsworth's line, "It it ain't baroque, don't fix it (my mum was in stitches with that one)" and some of the townspeople's goings on during the opening musical number; and the latter including the falling rose petals and the Beast apparently dying. While Belle remains headstrong yet sensitive throughout, I liked the Beast's change of character after their argument while Belle tries to treat his wound/scratches from the wolves. Lumiere and Cogsworth are comical side characters while Chip is very sweet and Gaston became what some may perceive as a good man gone evil. I also liked the stained glass windows that accompanied the back-story of the Beast at the beginning as well as the final one depicting him as a handsome human being with Belle.
Overall this is a stunning Disney Classic that I regret not seeing as much as 'Peter Pan,' 'The Little Mermaid' (both of which are as good as this one) and 'Cinderella (which is nearly as good but still a favourite of mine)' due to the majority of musical numbers being memorable and the animation being Oscar-worthy. 9/10.