Disc Details
Special Features:	Widescreen anamorphic format Chapter selection 2 disk set 3 Versions Of The Film: Special Edition: 90 minute running time Original Theatrical Edition: 84 minute running time 1991 New York Film Festival "Work In Progress Edition" Audio Commentary Sing-Along Track Maurice's Invention Workshop Game Featurette: "The Story Behind The Story" Featurette: "The Making of Beauty and the Beast" Mrs. Potts Personality Profile Game "Beauty And The Beast" Music Video By Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson "Beauty And The Beast" Music Video By Jump 5 Behind the scenes footage Original Art and Character designs Animating with Computers Music Documentary Voice cast featurette The Broadway Musical featurette Story development Music design Layouts and backgrounds Tricks of the trade Chip's Musical Challenge Game Disney's Animation Magic "Break The Spell" Adventure Game
Video Format:	Widescreen (1.85:1) [SS-SL]
Languages:	English (Dolby Digital 5.1) English (Dolby Digital 5.1) THX certified
Subtitles:	English.
Captions:	Yes
Casing:	2-Disc Keep Case

Belle (Paige O'Hara) is the loving daughter of bumbling inventor Maurice (Rex Everhart). Maurice makes the mistake of stealing a rose from the garden of the Beast (Robby Benson). The Beast agrees to spare Maurice's life if he will send his daughter to live in with the Beast. Belle loves her father. She agrees to go and live with the Beast. As we know from the opening credits, the Beast was a vain prince who was turned into a horrible Beast. If he can find someone to love him for who he is inside, the curse will be broken.

This DVD includes three versions of the film. The original theatrical version has a running time of 84 minutes. The "Special Edition" runs 6 minutes longer. The "Special Edition" includes the song "Human Again" which was included in the IMAX presentation of the film. The song involves the Beast's staff singing about what it will be like when the curse is lifted and they return to their human form. The third version of the film on this DVD is the "Work in Progress" that was shown at the 1991 New York film Festival. The "Work in Progress" version will be of interest to animation buffs. Some of the scenes are in their finished form, but many scenes are just the pencil drawings, or drawings that have been partially inked. It gives you some great insight into the process of animating a feature length film.

Picture Quality: 10/10
A beautiful digital transfer. Rich deeply saturated colors. One of the finest examples of feature film animation you will ever see. No artifacts, pixilation or delineation problems. The "Gaston" song scene is a great example of how wonderful the colors are. The scene takes place on a snowy night. The warmth put off by the roaring fireplace permeates the scene. Wonderful animation from pen to ink.

Sound Quality: 10/10
"Beauty and the Beast" won the Oscar for Best Score. Three songs from the film were nominated for Best Song. One of them won. The THX certified soundtrack highlights the wonderful music. Great balance between the high and low ranges. No distortion in the low ranges. "Be Our Guest," "Belle" and "Gaston" all sound almost as if you were in the studio when the songs were recorded.

Menu: 10/10
There is a ton of material on these two DVDs. The menu is very easy to navigate. That is a blessing considering how much stuff you have to wade through. Nice design.

Extra Features: 10/10
WOW! Tons of great extras that appeal to fans of all ages. There are games for the little ones, and behind the scenes featurettes for older fans.

The “Special Edition” version of the film has a commentary track with producer Don Hahn, co-director’s Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale. Alan Menken makes a special appearance on the commentary track a lot. I really enjoyed the commentary. The guys sounded like they had a lot of fun making the movie. It is also neat to have them point out all of the intentional and unintentional goofs in the film’s animation.

On Disk One, you have a "Sing Along Track." The lyrics of the songs will pop up on the screen during the songs when you select this feature.

Disk One also includes "Maurice's Invention Workshop Game." Before you can move on the further games on Disk Two, you have to help Chip assemble a getaway contraption. Each time you answer a trivia question about the film, you get another piece of the cart. Once you complete the level, Chip gives you the combination to the gate to enter the games on Disk Two.

Moving onto Disk Two, we find a menu divided up into three categories. Choose the Chip Icon to get to the kids stuff. First off is a "Music Video" of the song "Beauty and the Beast" by "Jump 5." My 4-year-old liked the music. I was a bit nauseous, but hey, this is the kid's section. Next is "Chip's Musical memory Game." A song is played a note at a time. You click on the note to move to a more difficult level. Each level includes the musical not from the lower level plus a new one. The featurette "Disney's Animation Magic" is hosted by Red and Louis Stevens from the Disney Channel's "Even Stevens." The brother and sister take the kids on a 15-minute tour of Disney animation. The segment includes easy to understand explanations about how cartoons are made. Included are many clips from Disney cartoons through the years.

The next section is the "Mrs. Potts" menu. The "Mrs. Potts" menu is aimed at the entire family. First is the second "Beauty and the Beast" music video with Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson. Next, Celine Dion hosts "The Making of 'Beauty and the Beast.'" The 28-minute featurette includes interviews with the producer, co-directors, artists, screenwriter, Roy Disney, Robert Osborne and others. Included are drawings showing the development of the film's characters. Next is the "Mrs. Pott's Personality Profile Game." There are separate sections for boys and girls. You answer questions and Mrs. Potts will tell you which character from the film you most resemble. I was most like Lumiere! One of the best features on the entire DVD is "The Story Behind the Story." This 25-minute featurette tells behind the scenes stories about seven Disney animation classics. Angela Lansbury, Robby Benson, Ming Na, James Earl Jones, Paige O'Hara, Jodi Benson and David Ogden Stiers take you on a journey through the making of these great movies. Lots of great facts and conceptual drawings.

The next menu is the Lumiere and Cogsworth menu. This menu deals with the entire story of the development, production and release of the film and subsequent stage version. The 50-minute featurette repeats many of the things found on the "Making Of" featurette from the "Mrs. Potts" menu. It does include interviews and behind the scenes footage with more cast members. It also deals with the stage play, so, it isn't entirely redundant.

Finally there is the "Breaking the Spell" menu. This is where you will find the games. Take the code given to you by Chip from Disk One and enter the castle gate. Once in the castle, you follow Chip through a number of obstacle courses to get to the enchanted rose before all the petals fall off. The graphics are excellent. The game is one of the best DVD games I've ever seen. There are seven levels to the game.

The Final Word:
"Beauty and the Beast: Platinum Edition" is a must have DVD. Disney is pulling it from circulation in January 2003. Get this one now while its available. One of Disney's best films given the royal treatment in one of the best DVD packages I've come across.

Rusty White