Beauty and the Beast - 10 stars out of 10

Beauty and the Beast - 10 stars out of 10

There is a reason that "Beauty and the Beast" is the only hand-animated film to ever be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar - it revolutionized animated films.  The magic begins with its stained glass introduction, serving as a mysterious prologue to prepare the events to come.  I was always bored with this introduction as a child but as an adult, I really appreciate the artistry of this storybook technique.  The writers make the audience fall in love with the main character from the very start with her self-titled song, "Belle."  The details of her personality are revealed through the observations of the French townspeople, singing verses about this peculiar but beautiful heroine.  The combination of her intelligent personality, brown eyes, and gorgeous singing voice of Paige O'Hara make Belle my undisputed favorite Disney Princess.  All of the Disney Princesses show some sort of kindness, but Belle is willing to give up her life to save her father, and all within the first fifteen minutes!  She is simply an amazing character with an amazing voice actor and this story wouldn't work with any other Disney Princess in her position.  As the movie progressed, I was struck by the dark nature of this film.  Unlike many Disney films that provide lengthy comedic scenes to break up the darkness (Timon and Pumbaa, all of the time that Aladdin is "Prince Ali"), "Beauty and the Beast" often has a string of dark scenes, occasionally interrupted by a brief visual gag.  It has an interesting dynamic, with Lumiere and Cogsworth (the comic relief characters) existing within the dark atmosphere, and yet they never seem out of place.  The idea of a "bad guy" is fascinating in this film because it is hard to define.  The Beast is the bad guy for a while, but then Gaston (who is pretty likeable in a dimwitted way) establishes himself as the villain.  Don't forget about Monsieur D'Arque, the owner of the insane asylum and a facilitator in Gaston's scheme.  I enjoy the musical numbers in the film, though I think that they fall short of the memorable songs of the two Disney films that followed (Aladdin and Lion King).  The true stroke of genius by Alan Menkin is his scoring of the soundtrack, manipulating the themes from  Belle and Beauty and the Beast into minor and sometimes frightning renditions.  The most striking example is when Belle first discovers the rose in the West Wing.  It is one of my favorite musical moments in any film, automatically sending chills down my spine.  It is no surprise that Menkin received an Oscar for his scoring of this film.  Everything about this film is right, from the animation of the enchanted castle to the use of Angela Lansbury in a motherly role to the hysterical moments provided by Le Fou.  "Beauty and the Beast" will take you on a journey as a heartless villain turns to a compassionate hero.  Its showstopping numbers intermingle with tender, gentile characters.  The songs will make you smile while the tragedies make you cry but in the end, you'll find that "there's something there that wasn't there before."