REVIEW – BEAUTY AND THE BEAST 3D

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST 3D
Directed by: Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise
Written by: Brenda Chapman, Burny Mattinson, Brian Pimental, Joe Ranft, Kelly Asbury, Chris Sanders, Kevin Harkey, Bruce Woodside, Tom Ellery, Robert Lence
Starring: Paige O’Hara, Robby Benson, Richard White, Jerry Orbach, David Ogden Stiers, Angela Lansbury

When I first saw BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, I was only in first grade, so I didn’t get more out of the movie than its fantastic music and that the Beast was going to eat me in my sleep.

Revisiting the film as it was released on blu-ray and again with its 3D theatrical re-release lead me to notice more about the film: that it was structured almost exactly like an Andrew Lloyd Webbber musical like EVITA or JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT, in which there’s very little story that’s told by dialogue, and almost everything that’s going on in the story and with the characters is told through song. I also noticed other things: the plot isn’t quite as air tight as my six year old self might have thought beforehand, there are some logistical and story errors in the narrative and lines and looks, as they always seem to when you’re older, take a darker tone, but BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is still a fantastic film and definitely worth revisiting in 3D.

From the opening prologue, in which we learn that a superficial prince was turned into a beast for not being able to see inner beauty, the 3D is used incredibly effectively, giving added depth to the matte paintings make it feel like you’re moving through a storybook instead of just watching one. This manages to bring new magic to audiences revisiting the film and makes newcomers even more engaged by it – there were audible “Oooh”s from the various children in our screening.

We meet Belle, a young girl living a provincial life somewhere in France. The opening number, “Belle”, tells us everything we need to know: she’s different from everyone else and feels stuck in the simple life she’s leading, with books as her only respite. I will admit though, during this song, I was singing this version in my head.

Things change after her father, Maurice, an eccentric inventor gets lost in the woods and is imprisoned in the Beast’s castle. Belle exchanges his freedom for her own and over time, the Beast softens and begins to fall for Belle, but can she grow to love him before the last rose petal falls and the Beast remains cursed forever?

Since many, if not all, of us have seen BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, the real question here is whether or not you should pony up the extra money to see this film in 3D. The short answer is yes. I liked the 3D here more than I did in THE LION KING, which was also recently was re-released in 3D, and I think it was because BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is more obviously a fairly tale and is at times evocative of other Disney films like SLEEPING BEAUTY or BAMBI in the way that it layers its matte paintings to create depth. With the addition of 3D, that depth looks even more remarkable, and it really creates a greater sense of scope; the exterior of Beast’s castle is huge and winding and menacing and the final fight of the film is all the more exciting because the space that’s created in 3D makes the battle feel even more vertiginous. This effect is also very effective during interior shots in the castle; the library that Belle is given seems so huge it borders ludicrous.

While the 3D largely works, there are some spots here and there, mostly in which 3D is added to moving images, that aren’t as effective as others, but on the whole, it’s a better post conversion than I’ve seen in many other movies and worth the extra money. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST in 3D is as good as you remember it and now has a little extra sparkle in 3D.

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST 3D OPENS JANUARY 13, 2012

Before the main feature is a short called “TANGLED EVER AFTER”, it picks up almost immediately after the action in TANGLED and centers around Rapunzel and Flynn’s wedding day. It features the best parts of TANGLED (Pascal and Flynn’s Horse), some pretty fantastic action and stellar 3D. Check out the preview below.