Toon Talk: Beauty and the Beast Platinum Edition
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The two discs are set in the two unique worlds of the film: disc 1 in Belle’s village, disc 2 the Beast’s castle. Both discs are narrated by David Ogden Stiers, who narrated the prologue in the film as well as voicing Cogsworth.

The Film: As noted, there are three different versions of the film available on disc 1:

1. Special Edition: The version which played in IMAX and other large format cinemas at the beginning of this year; includes the newly animated musical number “Human Again”, which was cut from the original film prior to animation.
2. Original Theatrical Release: How the movie was seen in theaters in 1991.
3. Work-in-Progress Edition: This ‘dirty laundry’ cut of the film was screened at the New York Film Festival in October, 1991, prior to film’s original release. It was the first time that such standard animation techniques as pencil tests, storyboards and story reels were seen by the general public, now common with the advent of DVD. The response was overwhelmingly positive, earning a standing ovation from the jaded cineaste crowd.

All three versions of Beauty and the Beast are presented in the original theatrical aspect ratio (1.85:1). The three versions of the film are available both in the Set-Up and Bonus Features menus.

Sing-Along Track: Could it be that somebody actually heard my request for this (back in my Newsies review a few months back)? A great addition, turn this option on while watching any of the three film versions and the lyrics appear on screen for each song, including the end title song, so you can sing along with Belle, Lumiere and Mrs. Potts.

Audio Commentary: Provided by producer Don Hahn (who we hear and see a lot of in this set), directors Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale, and composer Alan Menken. Available on the Special Edition only.

The Top Twenty Things We Learn from the Commentary:

1. The deer and birds seen in the prologue first appeared, over fifty years earlier, in Bambi.
2. “Belle” was the first song written for the film.
3. Unlike other animated films, all the songs in Beauty were recorded like an original Broadway cast album, with all the singers and orchestra together in the studio.
4. Belle’s father Maurice originally had a song, titled “The Invention Convention”, that explained why he was an inventor.
5. Lyricist Howard Ashman patterned Maurice after such great Disney inventors as Ned Brainard and Merlin Jones.
6. Beauty and the Beast was produced in just two years, as opposed to the normal three to four for an animated film.
7. Most of the voice casting was done in New York, relying heavily on such Broadway talent as Paige O’Hara (Belle), Richard White (Gaston) and, of course, Jerry Orbach (Lumiere) and Angela Lansbury (Mrs. Potts).
8. Belle’s movements were inspired by ballet dancers.
9. Casting news: one of the auditioners for the role of the Beast was … Regis Philbin???
10. A continuing motif used in the film was windows, for ‘eyes are the windows into the soul’. Aside from the stained glass windows in the prologue, note how many times the camera pulls into or out of a window throughout the film.
11. Blooper alert: watch for the creeping bearskin rug and disappearing chair in the “Gaston” reprise.
12. The character of Chip was originally only in one scene, with one line. But after they cast young Bradley Pierce in the role, his voice was so enjoyable that Chip’s role was expanded
13. Chip’s bigger role took the place of an enchanted music box that was originally Belle’s companion in the castle.
14. The music box can still be seen sitting next to Lumiere at the beginning of the battle scene.
15. Cogsworth’s “promises you don’t intend to keep” line was ad-libbed by Stiers.
16. Jeffrey Katzenberg loved the title song so much, he wanted more verses added. Ashman graciously declined, saying he had no more rhymes for the word ‘beast’.
17. Storyman Joe Ranft (who would go on to voice Heimlich in A Bug’s Life) provided the screams in the battle scenes.
18. Obscure Cinematic Homage Alert: watch for the baby carriage bouncing down the staircase in the battle scene, a reference to a classic scene in Sergei Eisenstein’s The Battleship Potemkin.
19. More Ham-Fisted Symbolism from the Folks Who Brought You The Hunchback of Notre Dame: When Gaston falls to his death, he has skulls in his eyes.
20. Belle and the Prince’s final dance was ‘borrowed’ from Sleeping Beauty.

Maurice’s Invention Work-Shop Game: By answering trivia questions about the movie, players help Chip finish building Maurice’s new contraption, needed to get into the Beast’s castle to save the Enchanted Rose from destruction, thereby dooming all the castle’s inhabitants to remain in their enchanted forms. Upon completion of your task, Chip provides you with the combination to enter the forbidden West Wing to continue the game on disc 2.