Beauty and the Beast The Enchanted Christmas [Blu-ray]

DVD Wholesale Quick Overview:

This direct-to-video sequel to “Beauty and the Beast” takes place in the middle of the original animated film, while Belle is still a prisoner in the castle. She is determined to celebrate Christmas with traditional holiday cheer, a prospect that does not appeal to the Beast.—Phil Fernando

I like the main song and they get points for having the original voice actors, but this movie is SO dark. They make the beast a sociopath!! Like, domestic violence vibes. And my 3 year old was scared of Forte, the organ (she wasn’t afraid of Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty or Te Ka from Moana but Forte was just too dark). I love Beauty and the Beast and I love Christmas but this was too dark to be a good holiday movie. Oh and don’t get me started on the Jewish stereotype that is the ax character! And how Forte is done in cheesy CGI but the rest of the movies are regular animation.

Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas is one of my “must-watch” videos during the Christmas season. Beauty and the Beast is my favorite Disney movie, and I was not disappointed in this one. The story takes place before the beast is transformed at the end of the original movie, but begins during the first Christmas the couple (and their faithful staff) celebrate. Chips begs Mrs Potts to tell him a story, and thus The Enchanted Christmas. There is a villain, Forte, who tries to prevent Beast from growing closer to Belle, and he is pretty intense. Some younger viewers might find the facial expressions (he is the organ) and loud, dark music to be frightening. There’s also a scene where two characters nearly drown.

The plot moves along quickly, and even though you know what is going to happen, it won’t matter one bit. Belle is sweet and strong-willed, Beast growls and is endearingly vulnerable, and Forte is one of Disney’s best and darkest villains. There’s humor, too, and a few jokes the adults will catch. The music is lovely and the singing is terrific and includes “As Long As There’s Christmas.” This appears to be a mix of CGI and traditional drawing. They work well together, though you can tell the difference. Not a bad thing. The colors are beautiful and are not washed out or pale.

The original voice actors are featured, along with Tim Curry (who sounds like he a great deal of fun playing the villian Forte) and Bernadette Peters as Angelique. Everyone puts a great deal of effort into their characters and making them come to life. Among the bonuses is a very interesting behind the scenes look at how the video was made.

A bit pricey, but for Beauty and the Beast fans, I highly recommend the splurge.

DVD Wholesale Main Features:

Actors: Paige O’Hara, Robby Benson, Jerry Orbach, David Ogden Stiers, Tim Curry
Directors: Andy Knight
Writers: Cindy Marcus, Flip Kobler, Bill Motz, Bob Roth
Format: Multiple Formats, Blu-ray, AC-3, Animated, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, NTSC, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen
Language: English (DTS-HD High Res Audio), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Subtitles: French, Spanish, English
Dubbed: French, Spanish
Region: Region A/1
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Number of discs: 1BD+1DVD
Rated: G-General Audience
Studio: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
DVD Release Date: November 22, 2011
Run Time: 71 minutes
ASIN: B0052OPJ1Y