“Beauty and the Beast: Diamond Edition” Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack

I love Beauty and the Beast and was so excited to have the opportunity to review Beauty and the Beast: Diamond Edition in the Blu-ray and DVD Combo Pack.  The last time I saw Beauty and the Beast was when my parents owned it on VHS.  I missed purchasing it the last time it was available on DVD, so I was looking forward to when it would be released again.  I love the music, the characters, and the story!  My boys love it as well!  Walt Disney Studios Home Enertainment released Beauty and the Beast: Diamond Edition in the Blu-ray and DVD Combo Pack on October 5, 2010.  The 2-Disc standard definition DVD will be available on November 23, 2010.  You can purchase it online and in stores in the 2-Disc DVD set for $29.99 or the 2-Disc Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack for $39.99.

Beauty and the Beast is Disney’s most requested film and has been unavailable in any form since 2003.  It is the first of only two animated films ever to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture (the second is 2009’s Up).  Beauty and the Beast earned six Academy Award nominations and won two Oscars in 1992 for Best Original Song (“Beauty and the Beast”) and Best Original Score.

DVD SYNOPSIS:

Set in and around a quaint French village during the late 18th century, Beauty and the Beast follows the fantastic adventures of Belle, a bright and beautiful young woman who finds escape from her ordinary life, and the advances of a boorish suitor, Gaston, by reading books.  Meanwhile, off in a castle in the distance, a cruel young prince is cast under the spell of an enchantress who turns him into a tormented beast, while transforming his servants into animated household objects.  In order to remove the curse, the Beast must discover a true love who will return his affection before the last petal falls from an enchanted rose.  When Belle’s inventor father stumbles upon the Beast’s castle and is taken prisoner, Belle comes to the rescue and agrees to take her father’s place.  With the help of the castle’s enchanted staff, she sees beneath the Beast’s exterior and discovers the heart and soul of a human prince.

FILM ACCOLADES:

Beauty and the Beast received two Academy Awards for music in 1992, three Golden Globes for Best Motion Picture, Best Original Score and Best Original Song in 1992, and two Grammy Awards in 1993.  Listed as number seven on the American Film Institute’s Top 100 Animated Films, Beauty and the Beast helped define Disney animation for a new generation as the second film in the “Disney Animation Renaissance” (1989-1999) which launched with The Little Mermaid and revitalized animated features by captivating mature audiences while still delighting young viewers.

Beauty and the Beast features a cast of top vocal talent.  Veteran stage actress and singer Paige O’Hara is the voice of Belle, one of Disney’s most beloved and independent heroines, and Robby Benson (TV’s “American Dreams”) delivers a powerful portrayal of the Beast.  Three-time Oscar-nominated screen star (The Manchurian Candidate in 1963, The Picture of Dorian Grey in 1946, and Gaslight in 1945) and six-time Golden Globe award winner (TV’s “Murder, She Wrote” in 1992, 1990, 1987 and 1985, The Manchurian Candidate in 1963, and The Picture of Dorian Grey in 1946), Angela Lansbury gives a bubble performance as Mrs. Potts.  The late Jerry Orbach (TV’s “Law and Order,” “House of Mouse”) shines as the voice of Lumiere, the passionate candelabra, and David Ogden-Stiers (TV’s “M*A*S*H,” Lilo & Stitch) is Cogsworth, the tightly-wound mantel clock who functions as the head of the household.

Beauty and the Beast was also the first Disney animated film to inspire a Broadway stage production by the same name.  Highlighting the film’s music by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, seven new songs were written for the stage musical.  Beauty…was nominated for nine Tony Awards in 1994 and ran on Broadway for 5,464 performances until 2007, becoming Broadway’s sixth-longest running production in history.

ABOUT THE DISC:

BLU-RAY

Street Date:  October 5, 2010
Suggested Retail Price:  2-Disc BD + DVD Combo Pack: $39.99 (US) / $47.99 (Canada)
Feature Run Time:  90 minutes
Rated: G
Technical: FastPlay enabled
Aspect Ratio:  Widescreen (1.78:1); Enhanced for 16×9 televisions
Sound:  7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, 5.1 DEHT French and Spanish Language Tracks
Languages:  English SDH, English ESL
Subtitles:  French subtitles (Canadian disc), Spanish subtitles (US disc)

DVD

Street Date:  November 23, 2010
Suggested Retail Price:  2-Dic DVD:  $29.99 (US) / $35.99 (Canada)
Feature Run Time:  90 minutes
Rated: G
Technical:  FastPlay enabled
Aspect Ratio:  Widescreen (1.78:1), Enhanced for 16×9 televisions
Sound:  5.1 Disney Enhanced Home Theater Mix (DEHT), 5.1 DEHT Spanish Language Track (US disc), 5.1 DEHT French Language Track (Canadian Disc)
Languages:  English SDH
Subtitles:  French subtitles (Canadian disc), Spanish subtitles (US disc)

MY THOUGHTS

My boys and I really enjoyed watching Beauty and the Beast: Diamond Edition.  The Blu-ray disc is full of Special Features you’ll definitely want to check out!  I love the music, characters, and overall story of Beauty and the Beast!  My favorite characters in Beauty and the Beast are Belle and Mrs. Potts. Belle would totally be my rolemodel if I were a single young woman. She is smart, inquisitive, happy, beautiful, and nonjudgmental. Mrs. Potts is amazing because she is a mom to so many teacups….I mean kids. My favorite song is “Be Our Guest” and “Beauty and the Beast.” For the Special Features, you definitely want to check out “Broadway Beginnings” and the “Bonjour, Who Is This?” Game! If you don’t own Beauty and the Beast yet, now is your chance to add it to your collection. I am so glad we can finally add it to our DVD/Blu-ray collection! Thank you Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment for an amazing movie!

I received a copy of “Beauty and the Beast: Diamond Edition” in the Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment to facilitate this review.  All opinions expressed in this post are 100% mine.