Beauty and the Beast (franchise)
Beauty and the Beast is a Disney media franchise comprising a film series and additional merchandise. The success of the original 1991 American animated feature, "Beauty and the Beast", directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, led to three direct-to-video follow-up films, a live-action spin-off television series, a Disney World stage show, a Disney World restaurant, several video games, merchandise, and the 10th longest-running musical in Broadway history, which was nominated for nine Tony Awards, winning for Best Costume Design. In March 2017, Disney released a live-action adaptation  of the film. Belle was also added to Disney Consumer Products' Disney Princess franchise. Titles. Animated films. "Beauty and the Beast" is the original film of the franchise. It was directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise. It was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation, and released in 1991. "Beauty and the Beast" is the 30th Disney animated feature film and belongs to an era known as the Disney Renaissance. The plot of the film is based on the fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast" by Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont. "" is the first direct-to-video installment of  the film series and served as a holiday special. It was directed by Andrew Knight, and released on November 11, 1997. The film is set within the events of the first film, taking place after the fight with the wolves and before the Beast gives Belle the castle library & ballroom dance. "Belle's Magical World" is the second direct-to-video installment of the film series. It was directed by Cullen Blaine, Daniel de la Vega, Barbara Dourmashkin, Dale Kase, Bob Kline, Burt Medall, and Mitch Rochon. It was released on February 17, 1998, and is also set during the  original film, taking place after Christmas, but before the fight against Gaston. "Belle's Tales of Friendship" is a live-action/animated direct-to-video installment of the film series. It was directed by Jimbo Mitchell, and released on August 17, 1999. It is set during the original film, and was released in part to help promote Disney Channel's television series, "Sing Me a Story with Belle". Live-action film. On March 17, 2017, Disney released a live-action adaptation of the film, which was directed by Bill Condon. The movie stars Emma Watson as Belle, Dan Stevens as  the Beast, Luke Evans as Gaston, Ewan McGregor as Lumière, Ian McKellen as Cogsworth, Emma Thompson as Mrs. Potts, Kevin Kline as Maurice, and Josh Gad as LeFou. Television series. Section::::"Sing Me a Story with Belle". "Sing Me a Story with Belle" was a live-action spin-off series created by Patrick Davidson and Melissa Gould. It featured Belle, who now owns and manages the bookshop in the village. The show ran for 65 episodes on The Disney Channel from September 8, 1995 to December 11, 1999. Two episodes from the first season were released with an episode of an  abandoned "Beauty and the Beast" cartoon series and were released direct-to-video as Belle's Tales of Friendship". Section::::"Little Town". A limited streaming television series centered on Gaston and LeFou is currently in development for Disney+. The series, which will be a prequel to the 2017 film, will be created and written by Josh Gad, Eddy Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, with Gad, Kitsis and Horowitz executive-producing the series alongside Luke Evans. Evans and Gad will reprise their roles from the 2017 film as Gaston and LeFou, respectively. In June 2021, Brianna Middleton joined the cast as female lead . In January 2022, Jelani Alladin and Fra Fee joined the cast. In February 2022, Rita Ora joined the cast, later the same month Disney+ temporary passed the project. Broadway musical. A musical, based on the original animated film, debuted April 18, 1994, on Broadway at the Palace Theatre and later transferred to the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in 1999. The musical was directed by Robert Jess Roth, produced by Disney Theatrical, and written by Linda Woolverton. "Beauty and the Beast" ran on Broadway for 5,461 performances between 1994 and 2007, becoming Broadway's eighth longest-running production in history. The musical  has grossed more than $1.4 billion worldwide and played in thirteen countries and 115 cities. The stage version included many songs not included in the musical, such as the deleted songs "Human Again" (whose demo was 9 minutes long) and "Gaston (Reprise)", a Beast number - "If I Can't Love Her", and a Maurice number - "No Matter What". The song "A Change in Me" was kept in the production after being written for Toni Braxton during her stint as Belle. Common elements. Plot and themes. The Beauty and the Beast universe encompasses two main locations: a French village and  a castle, which are linked by woods. As the three spin-off films all take place within the time period of the original film, the plot of the "Beauty and the Beast" franchise is encompassed in the original 1991 film, which the other films serving to give added insight to certain parts of the story that were skimmed over (such as when Belle is living in the castle with Beast). Development. History. A 1995 article by the LA Times regarding the then-new Broadway musical adaption of the 1991 movie (the first Disney film to be adapted for the stage ), asked if the property was "Disney's Newest Franchise". Reception. The original Beauty and the Beast film, as well as the stage musical and live-action remake, have received overwhelmingly positive feedback. The various other aspects of the franchise, such as the direct-to-video sequels, have received mixed to negative reviews.