I decided to sit down and watch this again as I am in an orchestra, and
we're playing a suite of the music from the movie for a Disney concert. It has long been one of my favorite Disney movies, mostly because I related to Belle quite a bit as a child. I much preferred my books to being around people. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the animation still holds up very well, and the introduction looks as beautiful as I remember. The stained glass in the animation is still one of the prettiest things I remember seeing in a film.
The second thing I loved then, and still do, is the music. Watching it now, I appreciate the orchestral background music a lot more, since it sets the atmosphere with sound. The moment where Belle finds her father's hat in the castle's courtyard is very nicely done with the music. The songs are still fun to listen to as well, Gaston's song is perhaps one of the most cheerful villain songs I've heard. When Belle is exploring the forbidden west wing, there's a wonderfully creepy vibe to the music, but it's not spooky in a way that makes you want to draw your eyes away. There's an almost curious air to the whole scene.
The voice actors and actresses are also still enjoyable. Belle comes across as a young woman, her father as the quirky old inventor, Gaston as the complete macho ass. The Beast is interesting, as his voice is able to convey quite a bit of emotion in a short amount of time. Especially when he has a moment of kindness, then seems to remember his beastly appearance, and changes his voice to match. Or when he throws one of his temper tantrums.
One thing that I was also pleasantly surprised about are the bits of humor still come through very well. There were still many moments that made me chuckle. The line "flowers, chocolates, promises you don't intend to keep..." from Cogsworth when the Beast asks when he can do for Belle can hit a bit close to home, but it's still an amusing point.
The Major Characters
Belle - One of my favorite Disney princesses, she doesn't spend the whole movie screaming, crying, or being generally useless. That's something that's always bothered me in a lot of cases of Disney movies, even when I was younger. I was waiting for some of them to just get up and DO SOMETHING! She didn't annoy me as much as some could, especially Cinderella as an example. She doesn't change a whole lot through the movie, though she does have moments of developing, like when she stands up to the Beast after the chase through the woods. A bit flat perhaps, but still an enjoyable character to watch. I thought it was really interesting where she turns away and almost rides off after the wolf attack. She seems to consider leaving him to die for a few moments, but her kindhearted nature changes her mind. When Belle threw the snowball at the Beast in the courtyard, that was a nice way of showing that she's capable of mischief too, which doesn't come up very often.
Gaston - The funny thing about this character is he has a great many of the same characteristics as the hero in other Disney movies. If it wasn't said at the beginning that he intended to marry Belle against her will, there's a good chance he would have been a possibility as the hero. He's charming, handsome, charismatic, and popular with the villagers. This is especially noticeable near the end when he rallies the villagers to attack the Beast's castle.
The Beast - He changes the most as the movie progresses, even letting the one person capable of lifting his curse go so she can save her father. He definitely comes across as a spoiled rotten brat at the beginning, especially with all the temper tantrums when Belle doesn't do what he wants. But there's still a hint of humanity there, especially when he goes after Belle and saves her from the wolves. From that point, it's as if he reminds himself that he is human under it all, and he acts like it.
There are only a couple of points that I would nitpick at now that I've grown up, but they don't bother me all that much for the sake of the story.
All in all, this is still a very good movie!
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