It's nomination for an Academy Award, the first time ever for an animated feature, was more than just a testament to the quality of the film, but also a celebration of the return of Disney animation. The 1990s were a new Golden Age and this was one of their new masterpieces.
Belle (Paige O'Hara, ENCHANTED) is a book worm who doesn't fit into her provincial life. Her father Maurice (Rex Everhart, SUPERMAN) is an inventor who might have created the one device that might give him the fortune and respect that he has been eluding him. The town hunk and egotist Gaston (Richard White) wants to marry Belle because she is the most beautiful girl in town. Belle of course wants something more from her husband than simply good looks. On the way to the fair, Maurice stumbles across the castle of the Beast (Robby Benson, ICE CASTLES), a young prince who was transformed into a hairy creature for slighting an enchantress. In an effort to save her father, Belle trades herself for her father's freedom.
This deal excites the Beast's court of enchanted objects. If the Beast can get Belle to fall in love with him, the spell on them will me lifted. So Lumiere the candelabra (Jerry Orbach, CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS), Cogsworth the clock (David Ogden Stiers, LILO & STITCH), Mrs. Potts the teapot (Angela Lansbury, TV's MURDER, SHE WROTE) and Chip the teacup (Bradley Pierce, JUMANJI) make Belle a cherished guest at the castle. Over the course of her stay, Belle breaks down the Beast's gruff demeanor and discovers his kind soul underneath, and the Beast finds the inner beauty of the smart young woman.
Alan Menken won one Oscar for his score and a second with Howard Ashman for the title song. The song writing duo was also nominated for the film's tunes "Be Our Guest" and "Belle." But any of the film's songs could have been nominated or won. Like all great musicals, the songs develop character and/or push the plot forward. Screenwriter Linda Woolverton and the story team led by Roger Allers worked precisely with the song writers to craft a story that doesn't have an ounce of fat on it.
We're also given some of the best characters in any Disney princess film. Up until that moment, Belle was the first complex and deep "princess." She had more on her mind than simply falling in love with a prince. But this also matches the theme of the story wonderfully. Belle has an inner beauty that Gaston and the Beast lack. But the difference between Gaston and the Beast is that the Beast is just hiding his inner beauty because he is so ashamed of outer ugliness. If other princess tales were shallow, Disney corrected that with this nuanced masterstroke.
On a technical note, the film was the first to incorporate CG animation into the feature animated film. The 360-degree pan as Belle and the Beast dance in the castle's grand hall is a marvelous moment because of it. It's a perfect example of technique serving story.
The Oscar nomination also signified something else. Animation was starting to be looked at as more than "kids' stuff." With its mature characters and Broadway-style musical numbers, this film was truly made for the whole family in mind. Adults were freed from having to drag children along with them to see an animated feature. With this film, animation grew up in many ways.
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Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
