Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)

Lore & Background

Walt Disney had attempted to adapt 'Beauty and the Beast' into an animated film during the 1930s and 1950s. Inspired by the success of The Little Mermaid (1989), the studio enlisted Richard Purdum to adapt the fairy tale, which he originally conceived as a non-musical period drama. Dissatisfied with Purdum's efforts, Disney executive Jeffrey Katzenberg ordered the entire film reworked into a musical with original songs by The Little Mermaid's songwriting team, lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken. First-time directors Trousdale and Wise replaced Purdum, and Woolverton's involvement made Beauty and the Beast Disney's first animated film to utilize a completed screenplay prior to storyboarding. The film was the second fully made with Computer Animation Production System (CAPS), which enabled seamless blending of traditional and computer animation, particularly during its ballroom scene. Beauty and the Beast is dedicated to Ashman, who died from AIDS eight months before the film's release.

Reader's Guide

Beauty and the Beast premiered at the New York Film Festival with an unfinished version on September 29, 1991, before its wide release on November 22. It received widespread acclaim for its story, characters, music, and animation, specifically for the ballroom sequence. With an initial worldwide gross of $331 million, the film finished its run as the third highest-grossing film of 1991 and the first animated film to gross over $100 million in the United States. Subsequent re-releases (IMAX in 2002 and 3D in 2012) later increased the film's all-time gross to $451 million. Among its accolades, Beauty and the Beast was the first animated film to win the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and the first to receive a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Picture. At the latter's 64th ceremony, the film received five other nominations, ultimately winning the Academy Awards for Best Original Score and Best Original Song ('Beauty and the Beast') and considered as one of the greatest animated films of all time. In 1994, Beauty and the Beast became the first Disney film adapted into a Broadway musical, which won a single Tony Award; the show ultimately ran for 13 years. Other derivate works include three direct-to-video follow-ups, a television series, a live-action remake in 2017, and a live-action/animated television special in 2022. In 2002, Beauty and the Beast was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being 'culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant'.

Did You Know?

• Beauty and the Beast was the first animated film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.
• The film was the second fully made with Computer Animation Production System (CAPS).
• It was dedicated to lyricist Howard Ashman, who died from AIDS eight months before the film's release.
• In 2002, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.