Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation, released to theaters on November 23, 1991 by Walt Disney Pictures. The story is based on the fairy tale La Belle et la Bête by Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont, who was uncredited in the English version of the film but credited in the French version as writer of the novel[2] and also uses some ideas derived from the 1946 French film.[3] It centers around a prince who is transformed into a Beast and the beautiful young woman whom he imprisons in his castle.
This is the thirtieth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and the third animated feature released during a period known as the "Disney Renaissance", which began in 1989 with The Little Mermaid and ended in 1999 with Tarzan. It is widely considered one of Disney's greatest animated films, and is the first of only two animated films to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture (the other being Disney/Pixar's 2009 film Up). Many animated films following its release have been influenced by its blending of traditional animation and computer generated imagery.
The film was adapted to an animation screenplay by Linda Woolverton, directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, and produced by Don Hahn. The music of the film was composed by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, both of whom had written the music and songs for Disney's The Little Mermaid. Upon its release, Beauty and the Beast was a significant commercial and critical success, [4] earning $403 million in box office earnings throughout the world, [5][6] in addition to three Golden Globe Awards - including Best Picture – Musical or Comedy - and two Academy Awards. [7]
A direct-to-video midquel, Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas, was released in 1997. It was quickly followed by another midquel, Belle's Magical World, which was released in 1998. A theatrical stage production and a television spin-off series, Sing Me a Story with Belle, were also produced. An IMAX Special Edition version of the original film was released in 2002, with a new five-minute musical sequence included.
n the film's prologue, an enchantress disguised as an old beggar woman offers a young prince a rose in exchange for a night's shelter. When he turns her away, she transforms him into an ugly Beast and turns his servants into furniture and other household items. She gives him a magic mirror that will enable him to view faraway events, and also gives him the rose, which will bloom until his 21st birthday. He must love and be loved in return before all the rose's petals have fallen off, or he will remain a Beast forever.
Years later, a beautiful but unusual young woman named Belle lives in a nearby village with her father Maurice, who is an inventor. Belle loves reading and yearns for a life beyond the village. She is also the object of unwanted attention from the arrogant local hero, Gaston.
Maurice's latest invention is a wood-chopping machine. When he rides off to display the machine at a fair, he loses his way in the woods and stumbles upon the Beast's castle, where he meets the transformed servants Lumiere, Mrs. Potts and her son Chip, and Cogsworth. The Beast imprisons Maurice, but Belle is led back to the castle by Maurice's horse and offers to take her father's place. When the Beast agrees to this and sends him home, Maurice tells Gaston and the other villagers what happened, but they think he has lost his mind, so he goes to rescue her alone.
Meanwhile, Belle refuses the Beast's invitation to dinner, and the Beast orders his servants not to let her eat, but Lumiere serves her dinner anyway and Cogsworth gives her a tour of the castle. When she finds the rose in a forbidden area, the Beast angrily chases her away. Frightened, Belle tries to escape, but she and her horse are attacked by wolves. After the Beast rescues her, she nurses his wounds, he gives her the castle library as a gift, and they become friends. Later, they have an elegant dinner and a romantic ballroom dance. When he lets her use the magic mirror, she sees her father dying in the woods and, with only hours left before the rose wilts, the Beast allows her to leave, giving her the mirror to remember him by. This horrifies the servants, who fear they will never be human again. As he watches her leave, the Beast admits to Cogsworth that he loves Belle.
Belle finds Maurice and takes him home, but Gaston arrives with a lynch mob. Unless she agrees to marry Gaston, the manager of the local madhouse will lock her father up. Belle proves Maurice sane by showing them the Beast with the magic mirror, but Gaston arouses the mob's anger against the Beast and leads them to the castle to kill him. He locks Belle and Maurice in a basement, but Chip, who hid himself in Belle's baggage, chops the basement door apart with Maurice's machine.
While the servants successfully drive the mob out of the castle, Gaston finds the Beast and attacks him. The Beast is initially too depressed to fight back, but regains his will when he sees Belle arriving at the castle. After winning a heated battle, the Beast spares Gaston's life and climbs up to a balcony where Belle is waiting. Gaston follows the Beast and stabs him from behind, but loses his footing and falls to his death.
As the Beast dies from his injuries, Belle whispers that she loves him, breaking the spell just before the last petal drops from the rose. The Beast comes back to life, and he and the servants become human again. The last scene shows Belle and the prince dancing in the ballroom as her father and the servants happily watch them.
This is the thirtieth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and the third animated feature released during a period known as the "Disney Renaissance", which began in 1989 with The Little Mermaid and ended in 1999 with Tarzan. It is widely considered one of Disney's greatest animated films, and is the first of only two animated films to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture (the other being Disney/Pixar's 2009 film Up). Many animated films following its release have been influenced by its blending of traditional animation and computer generated imagery.
The film was adapted to an animation screenplay by Linda Woolverton, directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, and produced by Don Hahn. The music of the film was composed by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, both of whom had written the music and songs for Disney's The Little Mermaid. Upon its release, Beauty and the Beast was a significant commercial and critical success, [4] earning $403 million in box office earnings throughout the world, [5][6] in addition to three Golden Globe Awards - including Best Picture – Musical or Comedy - and two Academy Awards. [7]
A direct-to-video midquel, Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas, was released in 1997. It was quickly followed by another midquel, Belle's Magical World, which was released in 1998. A theatrical stage production and a television spin-off series, Sing Me a Story with Belle, were also produced. An IMAX Special Edition version of the original film was released in 2002, with a new five-minute musical sequence included.
n the film's prologue, an enchantress disguised as an old beggar woman offers a young prince a rose in exchange for a night's shelter. When he turns her away, she transforms him into an ugly Beast and turns his servants into furniture and other household items. She gives him a magic mirror that will enable him to view faraway events, and also gives him the rose, which will bloom until his 21st birthday. He must love and be loved in return before all the rose's petals have fallen off, or he will remain a Beast forever.
Years later, a beautiful but unusual young woman named Belle lives in a nearby village with her father Maurice, who is an inventor. Belle loves reading and yearns for a life beyond the village. She is also the object of unwanted attention from the arrogant local hero, Gaston.
Maurice's latest invention is a wood-chopping machine. When he rides off to display the machine at a fair, he loses his way in the woods and stumbles upon the Beast's castle, where he meets the transformed servants Lumiere, Mrs. Potts and her son Chip, and Cogsworth. The Beast imprisons Maurice, but Belle is led back to the castle by Maurice's horse and offers to take her father's place. When the Beast agrees to this and sends him home, Maurice tells Gaston and the other villagers what happened, but they think he has lost his mind, so he goes to rescue her alone.
Meanwhile, Belle refuses the Beast's invitation to dinner, and the Beast orders his servants not to let her eat, but Lumiere serves her dinner anyway and Cogsworth gives her a tour of the castle. When she finds the rose in a forbidden area, the Beast angrily chases her away. Frightened, Belle tries to escape, but she and her horse are attacked by wolves. After the Beast rescues her, she nurses his wounds, he gives her the castle library as a gift, and they become friends. Later, they have an elegant dinner and a romantic ballroom dance. When he lets her use the magic mirror, she sees her father dying in the woods and, with only hours left before the rose wilts, the Beast allows her to leave, giving her the mirror to remember him by. This horrifies the servants, who fear they will never be human again. As he watches her leave, the Beast admits to Cogsworth that he loves Belle.
Belle finds Maurice and takes him home, but Gaston arrives with a lynch mob. Unless she agrees to marry Gaston, the manager of the local madhouse will lock her father up. Belle proves Maurice sane by showing them the Beast with the magic mirror, but Gaston arouses the mob's anger against the Beast and leads them to the castle to kill him. He locks Belle and Maurice in a basement, but Chip, who hid himself in Belle's baggage, chops the basement door apart with Maurice's machine.
While the servants successfully drive the mob out of the castle, Gaston finds the Beast and attacks him. The Beast is initially too depressed to fight back, but regains his will when he sees Belle arriving at the castle. After winning a heated battle, the Beast spares Gaston's life and climbs up to a balcony where Belle is waiting. Gaston follows the Beast and stabs him from behind, but loses his footing and falls to his death.
As the Beast dies from his injuries, Belle whispers that she loves him, breaking the spell just before the last petal drops from the rose. The Beast comes back to life, and he and the servants become human again. The last scene shows Belle and the prince dancing in the ballroom as her father and the servants happily watch them.
