Beauty and the Beast in IMAX

BEAUTY & THE BEAST (1992)

Starring the voices of Paige O’Hara, Robby Benson, Jerry Orbach, Angela Lansbury, David Ogden Stiers and Richard White. 

Screenplay by Linda Woolverton.

Directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise.

Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures.  84 minutes.  Rated G.

How do you take a nearly perfect piece of entertainment and make it even better?  Well, Disney is doing it by releasing their classic animated film Beauty & the Beast in selected cities in giant screen IMAX theaters.   Beauty was already the studio’s finest example of the renewed spark of animation in the 90s.  In fact, the film deserves mention with the greatest Disney films ever, like Peter Pan, Bambi and Fantasia.   The new giant screen version just emphasizes the brilliance of the film.

At first, seeing the film this huge is almost overwhelming, but soon you just sit back and let the warmth and brilliance of the animation wash over you.  Beyond the fine art, the story is exciting, the lines are funny and the music is as fine as any animated musical.  The new sequence for the song “Human Again” makes the film even more special, though it is probably the weakest musical number of the bunch.  If you have a chance to see this special IMAX version, do not let it pass by.  It is an eye-popping achievement for children and adults.  (1/02)

Jay S. Jacobs

Copyright © 2002 PopEntertainment.com All rights reserved.  Posted: January 6, 2002.