BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
A film review by Frank Maloney
Copyright 1991 Frank Maloney
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is a Walt Disney animated musical film. The directors are Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise. The voices are provided by Paige O'Hara, Robby Benson, Angela Lansbury, Robert White, Jerry Ohrbach, and David Ogden Stiers. The songs were written by the late Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, the same team responsible for THE LITTLE MERMAID and THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS. Rated G - General audiences.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST ranks with the best that Disney ever produced, either before or after Walt's death. It is, I'm sure, better than MERMAID, despite similarities and parallels. For one thing, Belle (voice by Paige O'Hara) is a more interesting character than Ariel. Belle's goal in life to get out of her stifling provincial village, not to get married; indeed, the only marriage prospect in sight is so unacceptable as to rule out the possibility altogether. That suitor is Gaston (voice of Robert White) is the hilariously conceited village macho man, who thinks Belle's beloved books are fit only to cushion his muddy hunting boots. Belle is independent, bookish, the perfect personality to learn to see past the cover of the Beast's book, as it were.
The voice of the Beast is done by Robby Benson, of all people, who can roar, inject great humor into the beastly mutterings, and be tender, hurt, and loving. Other voice characters include Mrs. Potts (Angela Lansbury), a living teapot and as cozy, nurturing a teapot as ever poured itself; Lansbury, by the way, sings the title song, sounding rather like a cross between the cook in "Upstairs, Downstairs" and the estimable Verna Felton, the voice of the fairy godmother in CINDERELLA. Jerry Ohrbach did the voice of Lumiere, the candelabra (natch), and David Odgen Stiers the clock, Cogsworth. At first blush, one might think, as I did watching trailers for this film earlier this fall, anthropomorphized bric-a-brac was more than a little too cute. But instead, I was charmed by them and amazed at how thoroughly personalized they were.
In fact, looking at the above voice cast, one is struck by the quality overall. The Broadway musical is alive and well in the cartoon and this is a dream cast that no producer could pay enough to appear live on stage for a year. The music is excellent and quite different from the score of MERMAID. Only one big production number, no ethnic overtones. Instead, operetta-like songs and numbers, including a classic curtain raiser that gets a lot of characters singing together and antiphonally. The influence of Andrew Lloyd Webber is there to some degree and they add to the development of the characters.
The script is funny, exciting, resonant, and entertaining to the kids and the adults. The animation is very imaginative and detailed. The Beast's castle is a masterpiece of Gothic brooding. The animators used a multiplane camera and some rather flashy computer animation, especially in the ballroom scene that seemed to approach photorealism at moments. The story opens with a prologue told by a voice-overs and stained-glass-like illustrations, a motif we return to at the end. The story-telling is clear, precise and uses state-of-the-art techniques to advance the story.
I can cheerfully recommend BEAUTY AND THE BEAST to you at full prices.
-- Frank Richard Aloysius Jude Maloney .
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