By BRUCE KIRKLAND QMI AGENCYPosted 19 hours agoMemories of great movies are intensely personal, both for the collective of creative people who made them and for the people who were inspired or otherwise marked by the arrival of those movies in their lives. So it is with the Disney animation classic, Beauty and the Beast. The arrival of the Blu-ray combo pack, Beauty and the Beast: Diamond Edition, was a thrill, and not just because it is of the finest, and one of my favourite, Disney animations. The Diamond Edition is also the film's debut in glorious high definition. So, more than ever before in home entertainment, it showcases the genius of composer Alan Menken, who visits with us on the Blu-ray, and the late lyricist Howard Ashman, who died before Beauty and the Beast was finished. Plus we see how Disney animators reached a new plateau of creativity.The three-disc set is extensive, offering both cuts -- the Oscar-nominated theatrical version and the 2001 extended version with seven minutes of extra footage, including the song Human Again -- plus loads of extras. The two-disc DVD-only version comes out Nov. 23. For me, this is all very personal. I attended the world premiere of Beauty and the Beast at Disney World in 1991. Because it was a family event, I took my then 19-year-old daughter Kelly Jaye. At the original screening, I watched as a typically cynical but savvy teen was mesmerized, as I was. We became like children, innocent and giddily in awe of the film's artistry. Then we attended the Disney party, an enchanted event at the theme park. Be our guest, Disney offered, and we entered through a corridor of intertwined boughs. Inside, we found ourselves in a real-life replica of the late 18th century French village from the film. A fair beckoned, with games to play, food to sample, people to meet. Cast & crew mingled with we mere mortals. Singer-actress Paige O'Hara, the voice of Belle, proved to be as charming as her fictional character. Robby Benson, the voice of Beast, was a lot friendlier than the monster we first encounter in the movie. He stopped to chat with Kelly Jaye, a fan of his work. Flash forward to today, 19 years later. The film is legendary, for its music, for its enduring quality, for its status as the first animated feature ever nominated in Oscar's best picture category, for the Broadway spin-off show. And I find myself chatting again with O'Hara and Benson, this time by telephone from Los Angeles. "I don't know if they do that any more," Benson says, remembering the Beauty and the Beast party, "and it was marvellous. They made it so whimsical and real." For both O'Hara and Benson, they now know they are part of a triumph in the history of the Walt Disney Animation Studios. "It's wonderful," O'Hara offers. "I grew up loving the princesses and loving Mary Poppins and Cinderella and Snow White. To actually be part of the legacy of a classic from Disney is a very special thing." "I have to say," Benson says with a chuckle, "I actually grew up watching Dr. Strangelove and The Wizard of Oz." But he still loved ending up in a Disney classic. "For me, I just feel blessed and incredibly lucky ...When you're part of something that is brilliant and stands the test of time (as he says Beauty does), for me it is very, very lucky." |
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