Why So Blu?

Beauty and the Beast Arrives on Blu-ray Oct. 5th!

One of the biggest movies in Disney history,  Beauty and the Beast is finally coming to Blu-ray October 5th in a new Diamond Edition release! The only animated movie to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture until another Disney/Pixar release of  Up eighteen years later, it won a ton of awards including Oscars for its music and  the first Golden Globe Best Picture (Comedy or a Musical) win for an animated film. This film was in the works for decades as Walt Disney attempted to bring it to the screen both in the 1930’s and again in the 50’s but could not come up with a suitable script.  It may have taken a long time for Disney to bring to life but when they did, they did it with a bang!  This movie is full of memorable characters such as the cursed Beast, the beautiful but lonely Belle, the arrogant Gaston, and of course the animated servants of the Beast’s castle.  As befitting a diamond edition release, this 3 disc set is chuck full of extra goodies which made the wait  worthwhile! Let’s take a look at what you can find on this fantastic set…

A Beloved Fairy Tale Is Restored To All New Heights On Blu-ray™!

Disney’s Academy Award®-Winning Animated Classic

Beauty and the Beast: Diamond Edition

On Blu-ray™+ DVD Combo Pack – October 5, 2010

And Standard Definition DVD – November 23, 2010

Burbank, Calif., Sept 21, 2010 – Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (WDSHE) proudly announces the Blu-ray high-definition debut of Disney’s animated masterpiece, Beauty and theBeast 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.

Bonus Features include the following and more:

DVD

Three Versions of the Film

• Original Theatrical Release
• Special Extended Edition
• NY Film Festival storyboards of the film

Disney Backstage

• Beyond Beauty: The Untold Stories Behind Making Beauty and the Beast – journey back through time as we look at the personal stories from the creators of this award-winning animated film.
• Broadway Beginnings: Up-close and personal celebrity interviews with Nick Jonas, Donny Osmond, Jamie Lynn Sigler, Deborah Gibson and others who have starred in the Broadway production.
• Composing A Classic: A Musical Conversation with Alan Menken, Don Hahn & Richard Kraft where they reminisce, sing songs and share personal stories of the times during production of Beauty and the Beast.

Deleted Scenes

• Alternate Opening and Ending
• Belle In The Library – never before seen moment where Belle meets four new characters in the Library

Music And More

• New Jordin Sparks “Beauty and the Beast” Music Video
• Sing-Along – when you select this option, the words to the song appear on the screen so you can sing along to your favorites.
• Audio Commentary – by Don Hahn (Producer), Kirk Wise (Director), Gary Trousdale (Director) and Alan Menken (Composer)

Family Games & Activities

• Chip’s Musical Challenge
• Mrs. Pott’s Personality Profile Game

BLU-RAY (All of the above plus…)

Additional Version of the Film

• Original Storyboard – Original theatrical version with a picture-in-picture of the storyboard version running simultaneously throughout the entire feature. With introduction by Don Hahn.

Backstage Disney

• Beyond Beauty: The Untold Stories Behind Making Beauty and the Beast. This interactive experience allows fans to expand areas of the documentary to uncover even more about each topic making have up to 3 hours of additional content. Areas include the story of Beauty and the Beast, Walt’s fascination with fairy tales, the Purdum Reel and Kurt Wise/Gary Trousdale short, tribute to Howard Ashman and much, much more…

Music And More

• Beauty and the Beast Music Video Performed By Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson
• Alternate Version of “Be Our Guest”
• Alternate Score of “The Transformation”
• Introduction To Deleted Songs By Don Hahn: “Human Again”
• Introductions To Deleted Song By Alan Menken: “Human Again”
• Deleted Song: “Human Again”

Family Games

• Bonjour, Who Is This? A Disney TelePlay Game powered by BD-Live. Using any phone, guess the identity of the other players before they guess yours. Available in the US and English speaking Canada only. Requires BD-Live enables Blu-ray player and internet connection.
• Enchanted Musical Challenge: A DisneyQuest Game

DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE:

• The Beauty of Voice Acting – Learn about the extremely talented and creative actors who have performed some of Disney’s most memorable and endearing characters – from Walt Disney himself (the voice of Mickey Mouse), to Cliff Edward’s Jiminy Cricket, to the cast of Beauty and the Beast. Paige O’Hara (Belle), Robby Benson (Beast), Angela Lansbury (Mrs. Potts), Richard White (Gaston), Jerry Orbach (Lumiere) and David Ogden Stiers (Cogsworth) tell in their own words how some of the movie’s most sensational moments came to be. Featuring rare archival interview footage of the late Jerry Orbach and exclusive new interviews with Richard White and David Ogden Stiers.

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 Beauty and the Beast: Diamond Edition 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 writer, actor, director Robby Benson delivers a powerful portrayal of the Beast. Three-time Oscar®-nominated screen star (The Manchurian Candidate in 1963, The Picture of Dorian Grey in 1946, and Gaslight in 1945) and six-time Golden Globe® award winner (TV’s “Murder, She Wrote” in 1992, 1990, 1987 and 1985, The Manchurian Candidate in 1963, and The Picture of Dorian Grey in 1946), Angela Lansbury gives a bubbly performance as Mrs. Potts. The late Jerry Orbach (TV’s “Law and Order,” “House of Mouse”) shines as the voice of Lumiere, the passionate candelabra, and David Ogden-Stiers (TV’s “M*A*S*H,” Lilo & Stitch) 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.

Order your copy today!