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"BEAUTY AND THE BEAST" (1991) (voices of Paige O'Hara, Robby Benson) (G) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Mild Mild Heavy Moderate Moderate Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Mild Moderate Moderate None None Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Mild *Mild Mild Moderate *Moderate QUICK TAKE: Animated Musical: When an eccentric inventor is captured by an evil beast and locked away in a dark castle, his daughter offers herself in his place in order to free him. After becoming the creature's new "prisoner," she discovers looks can be deceiving. PLOT: Belle (voiced by PAIGE O'HARA) is a young girl living in a provincial French town with her father, Maurice (voiced by REX EVERHART), an eccentric inventor who loves his only daughter fiercely. Belle, bright and inquisitive with her nose always in a book, doesn't fit in with the other girls in her town, who do little more than ogle the resident eye-candy, Gaston (voiced by RICHARD WHITE). Belle dreams of a life beyond the confines of her town, and her father works hard to try to make her dreams come true. Gaston, on the other hand, notices that Belle is the only girl in town not competing for his affections and vows to win her hand in marriage, a prospect that disgusts Belle. In the meantime, in a dark, menacing castle, a prince has been cursed into the form of a hideous beast (voiced by ROBBY BENSON) due to his inability to love anyone but himself. If he cannot find true love by his 21st birthday, he is doomed to live his entire life in this form. He shares his castle with a menagerie of loveable servants, talking objects representative of the work they did before the curse fell upon the castle. These include Lumiere (voiced by JERRY ORBACH), a candlestick with a French accent and a saucy vocabulary, Cogsworth (voiced by DAVID OGDEN STIERS), a carriage clock who, like the object he is forced to occupy, is obsessed with being on time, Mrs. Potts (voiced by ANGELA LANSBURY), a kind-hearted teapot who tries to make Belle feel at home, and her precocious son, a teacup named Chip (voiced by BRADLEY MICHAEL PIERCE). When Maurice gets lost on his way to the city with one of his inventions, he becomes frightened and seeks refuge in the Beast's castle, where he is captured. Belle finds him and convinces the Beast to free her father and take her as his prisoner instead. Over time, the two develop a friendship that seems on the brink of blossoming into the true love the Beast has been waiting for. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? Kids who follow the Disney series will likely want to see this movie - girls, for the princess/fairy tale aspects; boys, for the cartoon action sequences. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: G For presumably not containing material to warrant a higher rating. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: Belle (voiced by PAIGE O'HARA) is a bright young woman who constantly has her head in a book. She has big dreams for her future, and isn't afraid to turn down the advances of her town's most eligible bachelor, seeing him for the chauvinist, arrogant man he is. She cares unconditionally for her father and his horse, and has an ability to see good in everyone. Beast (voiced by ROBBY BENSON) is a truly conflicted character. On one hand, he has a terrible temper and isn't afraid to lash out when he doesn't get his way. We are reminded that he was once a handsome prince, who was cursed into a hideous beast because of his inability to love anyone but himself. Though it takes Beast awhile to stop being angry about his situation, he gradually comes to treasure Belle and want to better himself for her sake. From the beginning, he is moved by the fact that she would trade places with her father to save his life, and he is never portrayed completely as the "bad guy." Gaston (voiced by RICHARD WHITE) is the town lothario, handsome, muscle-bound, and completely self-absorbed. He goes after Belle simply because she is the only woman in town who isn't completely smitten with him, but rather than trying to win her affections out of love for her, he disrespects her and vows to turn her into a "proper wife" (that is, one without ambition or regard for her own happiness). Selfish to the core, Gaston attempts to have Belle's father thrown in the asylum just so that Belle will beg Gaston to rescue him, and he leads the charge to kill the beast once he realizes Belle is in love with him. Gaston drinks beer and shoots guns. Maurice (voiced by REX EVERHART) is Belle's eccentric father. An older man, he spends his days creating new inventions. Like his daughter, he is a dreamer, and his passion for his work makes him oblivious to the town's constant speculation about his sanity. He works hard to provide for his daughter and is supportive of her ambitions, even if they will ultimately lead her away from him. Lefou (voiced by JESSE CORTI) is Gaston's simpering sidekick. Homely and short, with no life of his own, Lefou exists solely to praise Gaston and do his bidding. Like most characters in his position, he is oblivious to the fact that the object of his worship has no regard for him. Lumiere (voiced by JERRY ORBACH) is a talking candlestick who was once one of the Prince's (Beast's) servants before the curse swept through his castle. He is brave, with little regard for his master's outbursts, and is one of the first to embrace Belle and try to make her feel welcome as she gets used to the castle. He frequently tries to give Beast advice on how to woo Belle and make her like him. He is also a bit saucy, and flirts shamelessly with a dust mop that was clearly once a buxom French maid. Cogsworth (voiced by DAVID OGDEN STIERS) is a talking clock who, like his sidekick Lumiere, was once a human servant. Quite unlike Lumiere, however, Cogsworth is timid, always wanting to play by the rules and do the right thing so as not to upset the Beast. He keeps Lumiere from getting into too much trouble, but still knows how to have a little fun. He also gives the Beast love lessons. Mrs. Potts (voiced by ANGELA LANSBURY) is a talking teapot who was once a parlor maid. She is the hopeless romantic of the group, encouraging Belle to give the Beast a chance and in turn, teaching the Beast to keep his temper in check and pursue Belle. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this animated musical that has been rated G. No profanity is present, and a few female characters are drawn as busty women, but nothing that's explicit. Violence involves some fighting (including a character battling some wolves). Some of those scenes, other moments of peril, and the Beast's initial appearances and demeanor might be unsettling, suspenseful or maybe even scary for very young viewers, but probably no one else. Various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes, some drinking occurs and tobacco is chewed (and spit), and some thematic elements (sexism, implied signs of early senility, etc.) are present. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Gaston drinks beer in a tavern. Others are seen filling and holding mugs of beer and dancing with them. BLOOD/GORE Beast gets wounded on the arm fighting with a pack of wolves and Belle uses a wet cloth to clean the wound. We see cartoon gashes and a bit of cartoon blood. Beast gets wounded in the side while fighting an angry mob intent on killing him. It first appears like he's going to die, but he recovers with a kiss from Belle. We see another red, cartoon wound. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Gaston tells Belle, "It's not right for a woman to read - then she starts getting ideas." Gaston calls Belle's father, Maurice, a "crazy old loon" and encourages the townspeople to agree with him. Gaston tries to pressure Belle into marrying him; she pushes him into a mud puddle. The Beast has a generally bad attitude toward everyone and everything. In particular, he despises strangers, so when Maurice happens upon his castle seeking shelter from a storm, the Beast roars at him and threatens him. Maurice runs, frantic, into the town tavern seeking help in rescuing Belle from the beast. The townspeople, egged on by Gaston, call Maurice names and tell him he's crazy. After mocking him, they throw him out into the snow. Gaston hatches a plan to have Maurice condemned and exchange his freedom for Belle's hand in marriage. The whole town laughs at Maurice as he tries once again to explain about the Beast, this time in front of the asylum manager. Gaston incites the town to go after the Beast; upon reaching his castle, Gaston tells them to steal whatever they want. FRIGHTENING SCENES The movie opens with a sequence of spooky scenes and music as the narrator shows us how the prince was cursed into the Beast. Maurice makes a wrong turn in the woods while traveling with his invention; the scene shows the woods as a menacing place with animals lurking in the darkness. Maurice and his horse try to run away but end up at the edge of a cliff, where a bolt of lightning sets nearby trees on fire. Maurice's horse runs away, and Maurice is left alone with an encroaching pack of wolves. Running for his life, Maurice comes to the frightening Beast's castle, where he seeks refuge, only to be captured. Maurice's horse brings Belle to the dark castle. Beast frightens Belle; after she agrees to trade places with her father, Beast frees Maurice and drags him outside to a waiting carriage as Belle watches. Beast roars at Belle after finding her in the area of the castle he told her was forbidden. She escapes but is soon pursued by wolves, who threaten to kill her. There is a fight scene where Beast scares away the wolves to save Belle. Using the Beast's magic mirror, Belle sees her father lying alone in the woods, sick. She is terrified that he is dying - we later see that he recovers. The town mob comes to drag Maurice to the asylum; the asylum manager is a sinister-looking old man. Gaston locks Belle and her father in the cellar so they can't warn Beast the mob is coming to kill him. Gaston stabs the Beast with a piece of wood as they fight with the angry mob in the background. It looks like the Beast is going to die; we later see that he recovers with a kiss from Belle. GUNS/WEAPONS Gaston has a hunting rifle that he shoots several times. He also uses a bow and arrow and stabs the Beast with a piece of wood. The "servants" (inanimate objects come to life) attack the town mob with resources from the kitchen: Fire, boiling liquid, knives and other sharp objects. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Crazy old loon." Belle carries Lumiere, a lit candlestick, around and puts him down without much regard for the fact that he could start a fire. The men in town are singing in the tavern; one man jumps across a row of other men's heads. Men spit tobacco. A man swings from a chandelier. Men wave pitchforks and other farming equipment. JUMP SCENES The Beast jumps out of nowhere and scares Maurice and the servants. The Beast scares Belle when she enters the castle for the first time. The Beast comes up behind Belle and scares her when she's exploring in the forbidden wing of the castle. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) A moderate amount of dark, tense, tone-setting music occurs in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None PROFANITY None SEX/NUDITY A man ogles a woman with big cleavage in the town marketplace; another man smacks him on the head. Lumiere flirts shamelessly with a "French maid" dust mop. Later, when the curse is broken and they are both changed back into people, she is depicted as a vampy French maid with a large bust, and they continue to flirt. SMOKING None, but characters do chew and spit tobacco in one scene. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Using the Beast's magic mirror, Belle sees her father lying alone in the woods, sick. She is terrified that he is dying - we later see that he recovers. Maurice begs Belle not to let the Beast trade her freedom for his. She insists, but then is not allowed to say goodbye to her father. This devastates her. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Sexism. Judging people based on who they are, not what they look like. Reaching out to someone who might need a friend. Sticking up for your friends and family, and not caring what other people think. Intelligence and self-confidence. Jealousy and selfishness. VIOLENCE The following is all animated, cartoon-based violence. A man hits another man on the head after he ogles an attractive woman in the marketplace. Gaston shoots a goose with his hunting rifle. We see a cartoon dead goose. Beast fights a pack of wolves. A bar fight breaks out in the town tavern (played for laughs). Beast's "servants" attack the angry town mob with a variety of household items. Reviewed off DVD / Posted September 28, 2007