News
Beauty and the Beast Diamond Edition coming to BD and DVD
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (WDSHE) proudly announces
the Blu-ray high-definition debut of Disney’s animated
masterpiece, Beauty and the Beast on October 5, 2010.
Disney’s most requested film, Beauty and the Beast, arrives for
the first time on Blu-ray Hi-Def as the second installment to
the company’s new Diamond Collection. The Blu-ray transformation
reveals the magic, music and majesty of the film as never before
experienced with state-of-the-art picture restoration, pristine
7.1 Digital Surround Sound and hours of additional viewing
experiences that include behind the scenes features, deleted
scenes, enhanced music tracks, immersive games and more.
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.
Unavailable in any form since 2003, Beauty and the Beast will be
released from the Disney vault for a limited time only, arriving
on a Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack (2 Blu-ray Discs + DVD) October 5,
followed seven weeks later with the release of a 2-Disc standard
definition DVD on November 23.
The Beauty and the Beast Blu-ray™ + DVD Combo Pack has a U.S.
suggested retail price of $39.99 and the 2-Disc DVD set has a
U.S. suggested retail price of $29.99.
Film 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 delivers a powerful portrayal of the Beast.
Three-time Oscar®- nominated screen star and six-time Golden
Globe® award winner, Angela Lansbury gives a bubbly performance
as Mrs. Potts. The late Jerry Orbach shines as the voice of
Lumiere, the passionate candelabra, and David Ogden-Stiers 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.