Beauty and the Beast

Once more we reach a Disney film that holds a special place in my heart. Much like Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast is one of those films that I remember watching again and again with my family. Having grown up with it, this film has always been a favourite and it's easy for me to see why this film nearly won an Oscar award for Best Picture. So what is it about this film that just works so well? In short, everything.

Starting with the music there is not a single dud in this film. All of the songs are fully enjoyable, catchy and manage to entertain - especially the show-stopper feeling Be Our Guest. For once I'm even going to stop and mention how even the score is really quite beautiful and works so well with the rest of the film. One thing that is rather rare in the Disney films is that we get two songs from our villain for a change, the ego charged 'Gaston' and later on we get the 'Mob Song' as the mob advances upon the castle and our heroes.

On the topic of villains, Gaston is one villain where he really seems to start out much more in the shady grey area. While he does have all the obvious signs of being a villain, all he really wants initially is to marry Belle for reasons motivated by vanity. When his pride gets in the way of multiple rejections, this is when he shifts more and more into the villainous role. What works really well about this, is that initially Beast starts out more like the villain as he locks Maurice away in the tower before finally agreeing to let Belle be his prisoner. He starts off much more hostile before he very gradually warms up and takes his time to evolve into our hero. Leading the film is our heroine, Belle, who doesn't really want or expect to be a princess and for the entire film simply wishes to have adventures and wants more than what her small town can provide. This is certainly something anyone from a small town can relate to quite easily which cements Belle as being more likeable. Rounding out our cast is a large group of transformed servants who are all enjoyable and play off of, not only each other, but off of our heroes really well.

So. Onto the animation. This film is simply gorgeous to watch. Beast alone is a really well done amalgamation   of various animals that looks and feels natural instead of simply looking silly, which was a very real possibility upon seeing early concept art. The ballroom scene during the song 'Beauty and the Beast' is quite beautiful and makes really good use of camera movements and angles, all while looking amazing. Aside from these two points, the last for animation I want to point out is simply the sheer level of detail put into this film. There is so much to look at, especially during scenes when we are travelling down the hallways. Countless horrific statues are on display, twisted from their original forms, and it would take multiple viewings just to take in all of the details put into this film.

Given how one reviewer once said that this film is as close perfection as possible, I would be quite inclined to agree.

5/5