Beauty and the Beast

Movie Details:

Cast & Characters:

• Robby Benson as Beast
• Paige O’Hara as Belle
• Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Potts
• Jerry Orbach as Lumière
• David Ogden Stiers as Cogsworth / Narrator
• Richard White as Gaston
• Jesse Corti as Lefou
• Rex Everhart as Maurice
• Bradley Pierce as Chip (credited as Bradley Michael Pierce)
• Jo Anne Worley as Wardrobe
• Mary Kay Bergman as Bimbette
• Tony Jay as Monsieur D’Arque
• Alvin Epstein as Bookseller
• Hal Smith as Philippe (the horse)
• Kimmy Robertson as Featherduster
• Frank Welker as Footstool
• Alec Murphy as Baker

Storyline:

Having lived a life in selfishness, young Prince Adam is cursed by a mysterious enchantress to having the appearance of a monstrous beast. His only hope is to learn to love a young woman and earn her love in return in order to redeem himself. Ten years later, his chance shows itself when a young maiden named Belle (Paige O’Hara) offers to take her ill father Maurice’s (Rex Everhart’s) place as his prisoner. With help from the castle’s enchanted staff, Belle learns to appreciate her captor and immediately falls in love with him. Back in the village however, unscrupulous hunter Gaston (Richard White) has his own plans for Belle.

About Movie:

Beauty and the Beast is an American animated musical romantic fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Based on the 1756 fairy tale by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, which is an abridged version of Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve’s 1740 story, the film also draws inspiration from Jean Cocteau’s 1946 French film adaptation. Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise directed the film in their feature directorial debuts, and Linda Woolverton wrote the screenplay.

The story centers on the relationship between the Beast, a prince transformed into a monster as punishment for his arrogance, and Belle, a young woman who becomes his prisoner in exchange for her father’s freedom. To break the curse that has befallen him and his servants, the Beast must learn to love Belle and earn her love in return before the last petal of an enchanted rose falls.

The voice cast includes Paige O’Hara as Belle and Robby Benson as the Beast, alongside Richard White, Jerry Orbach, David Ogden Stiers, Jesse Corti, Rex Everhart, Jo Anne Worley, and Angela Lansbury.

Walt Disney had previously attempted to adapt Beauty and the Beast into an animated film during the 1930s and 1950s without success. After the success of The Little Mermaid in 1989, Disney decided to revisit the fairy tale. Initially conceived as a non-musical period drama by Richard Purdum, Disney chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg ordered a musical format similar to The Little Mermaid. Composer Alan Menken and lyricist Howard Ashman returned to create the film’s memorable songs. Ashman served as executive producer but sadly passed away from AIDS-related complications shortly before the film’s release; it is dedicated to his memory.

Beauty and the Beast premiered at the New York Film Festival on September 29, 1991, before its theatrical release at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on November 13. The film grossed approximately $331 million worldwide against a budget of $25 million and received widespread acclaim for its romantic narrative, stunning animation (notably the iconic ballroom scene), characters, and musical numbers.

The film won several awards, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, making it the first animated film to win that category. It was also nominated for Best Picture at the 64th Academy Awards—another first for an animated feature—and won two Oscars for Best Original Score and Best Original Song for its title track. Additional nominations included Best Original Song for “Belle” and “Be Our Guest,” as well as Best Sound.

In April 1994, Beauty and the Beast became Disney’s first animated film adapted into a Broadway musical, which ran until 2007. An IMAX version was released in 2002 that included a new song titled “Human Again.” In recognition of its cultural significance, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2002.

The film was reissued in 3D in 2012 following the success of its re-release strategy with other Disney classics. In 2014, Beauty and the Beast was ranked by Time magazine as the greatest film of the Disney Renaissance and one of the greatest animated films of all time.

Additionally, a live-action remake directed by Bill Condon was released on March 17, 2017, receiving generally positive reviews. A musical presentation of Beauty and the Beast aired on ABC in 2022 as part of The Wonderful World of Disney. Overall, Beauty and the Beast remains a landmark achievement in animation and storytelling within cinema history.

Budget & Box Office Collection: