‘Beauty and the Beast’ to Return to Theaters for Disney’s 100 Year Celebrate!!

Disney is bringing back the 1991 classic Beauty and the Beast for the studio’s 100-year celebration as the movie will run in select theatres starting this weekend. The animated musical romantic fantasy is among the jewels that came out of Disney’s Renaissance period which also gave us classics like The Little Mermaid (1989), Aladdin (1992), The Lion King (1994), Pocahontas (1995), and more. Nonetheless, the charm of the classic directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise stands apart as the movie was way ahead of its time in its themes and visual aesthetic.

The Legacy of Beauty and the Beast

The movie, based on the 1700s fairy tale of the same name by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, tells the heart-wrenching tale of a prince, who was turned into a Beast and his servants into household objects as punishment for his arrogance. He must learn to love Belle — a girl he imprisoned in his castle in exchange for her father’s freedom — and have her reciprocate that love before the last petal falls from an enchanted rose, or he’ll remain a beast forever.

Beauty and the Beast left a lasting impression on audiences of all age groups and was critically acclaimed for its animation, writing, direction, performances, and musical numbers. Despite being an animated feature the movie went on to bag a nomination for Academy Award in Best Picture, and won the Best Original Score and Best Original Song categories. Since then there have been many iterations of the film in live-action but nothing surpasses the charm of the original.

The movie casts Paige O’Hara as Belle, Robby Benson as the Beast, Richard White as Gaston, Jerry Orbach as Lumière, David Ogden Stiers as Cogsworth, Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Potts, Bradley Pierce as Chip, and Rex Everhart as Maurice, Bell’s father. Further rounding off the extensive cast are Jesse Corti as LeFou, Jo Anne Worley as the Wardrobe, Hal Smith as Philippe, Jack Angel, Phil Proctor, Bill Farmer, and Patrick Pinney as Tom, Dick, Stanley, and Gramps, respectively, along with Brian Cummings, Alvin Epstein, Tony Jay, Kimmy Robertson, and Frank Welker.