Beauty and the Beast - 3D
Directors: Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise
Voices: Paige O'Hara, Robby Benson, Angela Lansbur
Excluding the wilderness years of the late 1970s and early 1980s (when they made forgettable movies such as Oliver & Company and The Fox and the Hound), the animation studios at Disney could always be relied upon to deliver beautifully crafted, enjoyable and fun movies for children and their parents. With the release of 1991's Beauty and the Beast, the studio went one better, making a film that was a work of art and a joyous musical to be appreciated by everyone - whether or not you have children - and one that deservedly became the first animated movie to be nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award. More than 20 years later, and following last year's successful reboot of The Lion King, the film has been given a 3D re-release. And happily, while the film doesn't need the 3D treatment, it doesn't suffer because of it, either. The rose in the glass dome looks just as beautiful and alive as it did in two dimensions, the ballroom sequence now seems to sparkle even more and great care has been taken to make sure the whole conversion looks as lush and stunning as possible (shame the same can't be said of other 3D conversions, such as fuzzy-looking The Phantom Menace). It helps that the movie was so fabulous to look at and enjoy to begin with. Based on a classic fairy tale and buoyed by the memorable Oscar-winning score and lovely songs, it remains a classic love story told with wit and charm that was always meant to be appreciated on the big screen.
* Joanna Berry
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