Beauty and the Beast

Out of all of the Disney princesses, Belle is probably my favorite. Because the movie has such a great main character it gets to be known as one of my favorite Disney movies. I have always thought of this one as my mom's favorite, because she likes it so much, but after watching it again I decided it's definitely one of my favorites as well. The characters, the music, and the story are all fantastic.

Belle is one remarkable Disney princess. There is something about her that is just great. She has more spunk that the meek, earlier princesses, like Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, and she's a smart cookie. She's kind of dorky too - I like a girl that walks around town reading books all day! And watching it this time around, I am also moved by her bravery. The fact that she follows her father out to this spooky castle, and then volunteers to take his place, is quite impressive for a young girl.

There are so many fun characters in the castle. Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, Chip - all of them are quite fun. And the beast is pretty adorable, in a frightening sort of way. In some sense he becomes the awkward teenage boy who manages to do and say all of the wrong things when he's around the girl that he likes.

Finally, I love the ending of the movie. The bad guy gets what he deserves (and truly gets what he deserves, not just tied up and thrown into a boat *Pocahontas, cough cough*), and true love breaks the spell just before it's too late.

The Music
Beauty and the Beast continues the tradition of this time period (apparently known as the Disney renaissance, according the wikipedia) with an amazing soundtrack. Again, it's not just one or two great songs, it's all of them. It's hard to pick a favorite - I love both "Belle" and "Be Our Guest." But I would suppose that "Be Our Guest" is probably the most iconic and the most Disney-esque. And, of course, the song "Beauty and the Beast" is a beautiful one. Apparently, in the 2002 special edition they added the song "Human Again," but since I have the old school VHS I'm not familiar with that one, so I don't know if it's any good. Overall the soundtrack is great, which is probably why it makes such as good stage play as well.

The Villain

Actually, I think Gaston is kinda lame as far as Disney villains go. I mean, he's so arrogant and completely obnoxious, but he lacks the true evilness of other villains. It's just obvious that everything he does is because of love for self and his foolishness as a result of that, instead of more evil motives (though arguably, being that pompous and disrespectful of other people is evil in and of itself). But still, he's not some sorcerer and he doesn't have any crazy powers. Of course, his most evil moment comes at the very end. The Beast spares his life and Gaston returns the favor by stabbing him in the back. So Gaston completely deserves the end that he gets. I'd probably rate him in the middle/mid-high level on the scale of greatest Disney villains.

The Disney World Connection

Beauty and the Beast is pretty popular in WDW. Hollywood Studios has a whole 30-minute show dedicated to it, which is basically a condensed version of the movie. In the Magic Kingdom, you can get snacks at Mrs. Potts' cupboard. Belle is a popular character around the park, making frequent appearances in shows and at certain dining venues. Apparently, Disney is planning a big expansion of the Magic Kingdom in 2012 and 2013, and it will include a whole "land" dedicated just to Beauty and the Beast. Jason and I will have to plan another trip once they've finished adding all this new stuff :)

My rating: 9.5 out of 10

Jason's rating: 8 out of 10