Editor Reviews:

Product Description:
Disney's Classic

Amazon.com essential video:
The film that officially signaled Disney's animation renaissance (following The Little Mermaid) and the only animated feature to receive a Best Picture Oscar nomination, Beauty and the Beast remains the yardstick by which all other animated films should be measured. It relates the story of Belle, a bookworm with a dotty inventor for a father; when he inadvertently offends the Beast (a prince whose heart is too hard to love anyone besides himself), Belle boldly takes her father's place, imprisoned in the Beast's gloomy mansion. Naturally, Belle teaches the Beast to love. What makes this such a dazzler, besides the amazingly accomplished animation and the winning coterie of supporting characters (the Beast's mansion is overrun by quipping, dancing household items) is the array of beautiful and hilarious songs by composer Alan Menken and the late, lamented lyricist Howard Ashman. (The title song won the 1991 Best Song Oscar, and Menken's score scored a trophy as well.) The downright funniest song is "Gaston," a lout's paean to himself (including the immortal line, "I use antlers in all of my de-co-ra-ting"). "Be Our Guest" is transformed into an inspired Busby Berkeley homage. Since Ashman's passing, animated musicals haven't quite reached the same exhilarating level of wit, sophistication, and pure joy. --David Kronke --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Rating : - Big screen? Wait for a newer edition
This is one of my favorite Disney films. I was excited when I pulled it out of the box to show it to my 3-year-old daughter for the first time.

Unfortunately, I was extremely disappointed with the quality of the DVD. I'm not sure if it's a bootleg copy or if it's just because my vendor shipped the Canadian version (the DVD box was white), but other people have complained about Disney shoehorning too much stuff onto the DVD.

The quality of the images is inconsistent. In some places, it looks chunky and lo res. Belle's Papa's eye color keeps changing.
But worst of all, my 6-month-old DVD player keeps putting a blue bar across the top of the screen with a little movie projector icon every time there's a difference between the regular and work-in-progress edition.

I'm ready to give the DVD to Goodwill and wait for the next version to come out. Buy Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella or Snow White and wait it out.