Movie review of Beauty and the Beast 3D.
Beauty and the Beast 3D is wintertime gift to fans who cherish family entertainment of Tiffany caliber.
Beauty and the Beast Returns to cinemas as Disney's sophomore 3D re- release after a limited theatrical run last year at the El Capitan cinema in Los Angeles.
Think of it as a wintertime gift to children of all ages who cherish family entertainment of Tiffany caliber.
The lure of its 3D is modest, especially a 3D conversion as nonexistent as this one. The appeal of Beauty and the Beast 3D is simply the chance to see Beauty And The Beast in theaters one more time.
As an added bonus, Disney opens the feature with the fun animated 3D short Tangled Ever After featuring Rapunzel (Mandy Moore) and all the lovable characters from its 2010 hit movie Tangled back again for Rapunzel's marriage to Flynn Rider (Zachary Levi).
A beautiful girl named Belle (Paige O'Hara) (with an even more beautiful singing voice) agrees to take the place of her captured father locked away in a castle and ends up rescuing a spoiled prince (Robby Benson) who's cursed as a beast.
Beautiful animation mixes perfectly with Alan Menken's Oscar-winning music and Howard Ashman's clever lyrics.
Linda Woolverton heads up a team of writers to adapt the classic French children's tale and combines good-natured humor with fairy tale staples like a magic mirror and an enchanted rose.
Beauty and the Beast, which celebrated its 20th Anniversary last November, lands in cinemas in the footsteps of its recent release on Blu-Ray 3D.
It's worth noting that Beauty And The Beast was a digital animation; meaning it was colored and shot in the computer, and so very adaptable to the 3D conversion.
A lot has happened in the 20 years since the film's initial release in theaters. Beauty and the Beast continued to be a Broadway touring show staple, a best-selling DVD and Blu-Ray and responsible for warehouses full of merchandise.
It's good to hear Jerry Orbach's voice boom from cinema speakers as he sings the showstopper number Be Our Guest (Orbach sadly passed away in 2004).
Finally, Beauty and the Beast offers a chance for a new generation of children to break free of their couch-viewing habits and watch the modern Disney classic in cinemas instead of on mobile devices and home cinemas.
The 3D re-release schedule continues with Finding Nemo 3D landing Sept. 14 but Disney fans continue to clamor for re-releases of the Mouse House's golden age classics, Snow White, Dumbo and Pinocchio.
One can hope, for the sake of kids and adults who only know the films from DVD.
Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures
Cast: Paige O'Hara, Robby Benson, Jerry Orbach, Angela Lansbury, Richard White, David Ogden Stiers, Jesse Corti, Rex Everhart, Bradley Michael Pierce, Jo Anne Worley, Kimmy Robertson
Screenwriter: Linda Wolverton
Director: Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise
Editor: John Carnochan
Music: Mervyn Warren
Producers: Alcon Entertainment
Running Time: 118 minutes
Rating: Rated PG-13
Release Date: January 13, 2012