Beauty and the Beast 3D
Has it really been 20 years since Disney’s take on the old fairy tale charmed critics and audiences and revitalized the animated feature? Yes, it has. Did it really need to be converted to 3-D? No, it didn’t. As a matter of fact, the 3-D adds little, while the polarized glasses dim the brilliant hues of directors Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise and art director Brian McEntee. But never mind: This is still one of the great animated features and one of the great movie musicals, the career pinnacle of songwriters Alan Menken and Howard Ashman (who didn’t live to see it released), and a high point for the whole voice cast (Paige O’Hara, Robby Benson, Angela Lansbury, Jerry Orbach, Richard White, David Ogden Stiers, etc.). Welcome back, all of you. (One quibble: Why did they cut the added song “Human Again”?)
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