Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 American
animated musical romantic fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Feature
Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 30th Disney animated
feature film and the third in the Disney Renaissance period, it is
based on the French fairy tale of the same name by Jeanne-Marie Leprince
de Beaumont, who was also credited in the English version as well as in
the French version, and ideas from the 1946 French film directed by
Jean Cocteau. Beauty and the Beast focuses on the relationship between
the Beast (Robby Benson), a prince who is magically transformed into a
monster as punishment for his arrogance, and Belle (Paige O'Hara), a
beautiful young woman whom he imprisons in his castle. To become a
prince again, Beast must win her love in return otherwise, he remains a
monster forever. The film also features the voices of Richard White,
Jerry Orbach, David Ogden Stiers, and Angela Lansbury.
Walt Disney first attempted unsuccessfully to adapt Beauty and the Beast
into an animated feature film during the 1930s and 1950s. Following the
success of The Little Mermaid (1989), Disney decided to adapt the fairy
tale, which Richard Purdum originally conceived as a non-musical.
Disney chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg eventually discontinued the idea and
ordered that the film be a musical similar to The Little Mermaid
instead. Beauty and the Beast was directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk
Wise, with a screenplay by Linda Woolverton story first credited to
Roger Allers. Lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken wrote the
film's songs. Ashman, who additionally served as the film's executive
producer, died of AIDS-related complications eight months before the
film's release, and the film was dedicated to his memory.
Beauty and the Beast premiered as an unfinished film at the New York
Film Festival on September 29, 1991, followed by its theatrical release
as a completed film at the El Capitan Theatre on November 22. The film
was a box office success, grossing $425 million worldwide. Beauty and
the Beast received positive reviews; it won the Golden Globe Award for
Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and became the first animated
film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. It won the
Academy Award for Best Original Score and Best Original Song for its
title song. In 2002, the film was selected for preservation in the
National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally,
historically, or aesthetically significant".
In April 1994, Beauty and the Beast became Disney's first animated film
to be adapted into a Broadway musical. The success of the film spawned
two direct-to-video follow-ups: Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted
Christmas (1997) and Belle's Magical World (1998). This was followed by a
spin-off television series, Sing Me a Story with Belle. An IMAX version
was released in 2002 that included "Human Again", a new five-minute
musical sequence. After the success of the 3-D re-release of The Lion
King, the film was reissued in 3-D in 2012. In 2014, it was announced
that a live-action remake was in the works, and is scheduled to be
released on March 17, 2017.
Plot
An enchantress, disguised
as an old beggar, offers an enchanted rose to a young prince in exchange
for shelter in his castle from the cold, but he refuses. For his
arrogance, the enchantress transforms him into a beast and inflicts a
spell on the castle. She gives him a magic mirror that enables him to
view faraway events, along with the rose. To break the spell, the prince
must learn to love another and earn her love in return before the
rose's last petal falls on his 21st birthday. If he fails, he will
remain a beast forever.
Ten years later, a young bookworm girl named Belle is bored of her
village life and seeks excitement. Because of her nonconformist ideals,
she is ridiculed by everyone except her father Maurice (an odd
inventor), the town bookseller, and a vain muscular hunter named Gaston.
Despite being popular with the townsfolk, Gaston is determined to marry
Belle but she repeatedly rejects his advances.
Maurice and his horse Phillipe get lost in the forest while traveling to
a fair to present his newest invention, a wood-chopping machine. After
being chased by a pack of wolves, he comes across the Beast's castle.
Inside, he meets Lumière the candlestick, Cogsworth the clock, Mrs.
Potts the teapot, and her son Chip the teacup. However, the Beast
quickly discovers and captures Maurice. After Phillipe leads Belle to
the Beast's castle, she offers to take her father's place. Over her
father's objection, the Beast accepts Belle's offer. While Gaston sulks
over Belle's rejection, Maurice returns to town but is unable to
convince the others to rescue Belle.
The Beast sulks in his room when Belle refused to have dinner with him
that night. Despite this, Lumière offers her a meal. While he and
Cogsworth also give her a tour of the castle, she wanders into the
forbidden West Wing. When the Beast inadvertently chases her into the
forest by frightening her, Belle encounters the wolves. The Beast
rescues Belle but he gets injured in the process. He begins to develop
feelings for her while she nurses his wounds and he delights her by
showing his extensive library. While the two begin to bond in the
Beast's castle, in the village Gaston pays Monsieur D'Arque to send
Maurice to the town's insane asylum if Belle refuses Gaston's proposal
again.
Sharing a romantic evening dance together, Belle tells the Beast she
misses her father. He lets her use his magic mirror to see him. She sees
Maurice dying in the woods trying to reach the castle. The Beast lets
her go out to save him and he gives her the mirror to remember him by.
Accompanied by Chip, Belle finds Maurice and brings him home. As Gaston
is about to forcibly bring Maurice to the insane asylum, Belle proves
Maurice's sanity by showing the Beast with the magic mirror. Realizing
that Belle loves the Beast, Gaston convinces the villagers that the
Beast is a man-eating monster and leads them to the castle to kill him.
Aided by Chip, Maurice and Belle escape from confinement. While the
villagers are fended off by the servants, Gaston fights the Beast. The
Beast initially is too depressed to fight back, but perks up after
seeing Belle return to the castle. He corners Gaston and spares his life
then orders him to leave. Gaston mortally wounds the Beast, but loses
his footing and falls to his death.[a] Belle professes her love for the
Beast, who dies before the last rose petal falls. With the spell broken,
the Beast reverts to his true form alive. The servants resume their
human forms and the castle is restored to its former glory. Belle dances
with the prince in the ballroom as everyone watches in delight.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beauty_and_the_Beast_(1991_film)