Beauty and the Beast

Disappearing Disney Classics Get Them Before They Are In The Vault

April 26, 2012 By Momstart 186 Comments

Disney Favorites are heading back to the vault, get them before they are gone. Or before you have to wait for another re-release. It’s always difficult when you want to get a specific Disney movie as a Christmas present so now is the time to get these particular classics.

Two of Disney’s beloved animated hits on Blu-rayTM and DVD Combo Pack. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: DIAMOND EDITION and BAMBI: DIAMOND EDITION will return to the Disney Vault on April 30, 2012.

One of the most critically acclaimed animated films of all time, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is a favorite for all ages. The Diamond Edition was spectacularly restored using the latest digital technology, including the release of the film on spectacular Disney 3D, bringing the characters, sound and storyline to a whole new immersive dimension. The ‘tale as old as time,’ BEAUTY AND THE BEAST continues to resonate with millions of adoring fans around the world, and is a story to be enjoyed time and time again.

Generations of Disney fans have fallen in love with BAMBI since its premiere in 1942. It’s the endearing tale of a young fawn that learns valuable life lessons about friendship, love and the miracle of life. This BAMBI Diamond Edition was developed with families in mind, providing the ultimate, interactive home entertainment experience featuring an enhanced digital restoration, including picture and sound, that includes games, activities and more for the whole family. Named one of the top animated films of all time by the American Film Institute (AFI’s “10 Top 10,” 2008), BAMBI is a timeless film that no film collection is complete without.

Featuring heartwarming stories and lovable characters, these classic, animated titles will only be available through April 30, 2012, from The Walt Disney Studios.

In addition to these Diamond Edition titles, time is also ticking for the chance to own a copy of:

• • •

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: THE ENCHANTED CHRISTMAS SPECIAL EDITION

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: BELLE’S MAGICAL WORLD SPECIAL EDITION

BAMBI II: SPECIAL EDITION

VAULT DATE: April 30, 2012

This giveaway has ended. Congratulations to the winner, Jaque R.

Please see the giveaway rules.

Filed Under: giveaway Tagged With: Bambi, Bambi 2, Beauty and the Beast, Disney, giveaway

Raving Review: Beauty and The Beast in 3D January 13th

January 12, 2012 By Momstart 3 Comments

By Summer,

Everyone has a favorite Disney princess! Mine is Belle from Beauty and the Beast. I think I like that she’s intelligent and “odd” in addition to being beautiful. So, you know I’m more than excited for the re-release of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast in 3D on January 13; check your local listings for show times in your area.

I love that this classic story is retold with the Disney spin. Belle is being pursued by her small town’s dimwitted handsome brut. Belle wants out of the town and finds herself in a position to sacrifice her freedom for her father’s freedom and becomes a prisoner to the beast in his enchanted castle. The beast was transformed by an enchantress who saw no love in his heart, but when he learns to love and earn that person’s love in return the spell will be broken. In true Disney fashion the boy and girl fall in love and live happily ever after!

So what’s new with the 3D? The placement of the characters and backgrounds; everything simply has more dimension. Nothing comes out at you and nothing was altered for the original film to accommodate a “thrilling” 3D experience. Disney simply has the right money making idea, in my opinion: Re-release a DVD and they’re buy it. Re-release a movie in the theaters and they’ll come see it.

As far as the 3D, the best parts are the background. I love the depth of the rose garden in the beginning and end of the movie. The girl sitting next time actually tried to reach out to them. The lively color mixed with the more realistic renderings (as they’re not cartoony) makes you wish the film was “4D” with the actual smell of rose. Disney has hit their job of 3D spot on AGAIN (remember they did the same to The Lion King).

I’d see Beauty and the Beast in the theater in 3D or not, and I think my generation would go for nostalgia. The newer generations will want to go to the theater because they know and love the film at home but want to go to the theater. Who doesn’t love going to the movies?!? We own Beauty and the Beast (how could we not, it’s my favorite “princess” movie) but my 2YO and I totally enjoyed our mom-son time at the theater.

My Mom Start Review Grade for Disney’s Beauty and the Beast 3D in Theaters: A+

About Summer:

Summer is very active in our Local MOMS Club chapter, she is the mother of two adorable active boys, and is always thinking of ways to help others. She is a friend, a wife, and always busy as all mommies are. She is very active on Facebook, addicted to Geocaching and very interested in organic and green living while cooking up a storm

Filed Under: Movie review, Summer Tagged With: 3D, Beauty and the Beast, Movie review, review

Inside the Movie Beauty & The Beast 3D: Interview with Paige O’Hara

January 9, 2012 By Momstart 5 Comments

Beauty and the Beast 3D enchants it’s way into theaters January 13th, giving audiences the chance to share the magic of their childhood with their children. I remember seeing Beauty and the Beast in the theaters and being amazed at the screen with how far technology had come combining hand drawings with a few computer enhancements mixed in. It was amazing and the 3D is pretty fascinating as well. Today, I had the opportunity to interview Paige O’Hara over the phone and it reminded me of a year and a half ago when I met her in person for the Beauty and the Beast Blu-ray release.

Paige is an amazingly talented Broadway singer who found out she was going to be the voice of Belle in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast just after getting engaged so it was like icing on top of the cake for her at that time. As you can imagine, She was really excited. During today’s interview Paige was asked if she had any idea that Beauty and the Beast would be the hit that it remains to be when she played the part of Belle from the beginning, she said not at first. It wasn’t until the screening when the movie received a standing ovation that people realized it was going to be great. It was so good that it was the first animated film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. Paige said it was quite an exciting time and because the music was nominated as well, she was asked to sing live on stage at the Oscars.

Trying to imagine being on stage like that just makes me really nervous, and Paige said she was shaking with nerves at that point, and Angela Lansbury was standing next to her shaking with nerves as well. She was going to announce Paige on stage, and she leaned over to her and said, someone as old as I am knows when to be nervous and when not to be, and honey with a voice like yours you have nothing to be nervous about. Paige said that it was an amazing compliment to her for Angela to say to her. I’ve heard her sing in person without any music, Paige O’Hara is an amazing, very personable and kind Hollywood talent.

Paige has been doing oil painting for Disney for about two years now and I wanted to know if she had any input in the 3D version of Beauty and the Beast. She said she hasn’t seen the entire 3D version yet, but there wasn’t any animation differences in the characters or scenes. It was just changed into 3D. She said the only scene she’s previewed was the ballroom scene which is my favorite scene in any version!! And her favorite character is The Beast.

What was Paige O’Hara’s favorite scene? Her favorite scene in Beauty and the Beast is when Belle realizes she’s starting to fall for the beast and she sings about the changes they are both going through. How he’s never looked at her that way before. And her favorite song, she couldn’t pick just one. She found Belle to be a very relatable character to her childhood. She enjoyed classical music and theater at a very young age, plus she said, “I really was not looking for a male”. She wanted to travel with her career and have great adventures like Belle dreamed of. Being Belle still resonates with her and she is amazed and quite proud of being part of the Disney Princess legacy. Children meet her and realize that she’s Belle and ask her where her ball gown is. She just loves that. She also loves that she’s going to touch generations and generations through her role of a Princess with big dreams.

Don’t forget…. Beauty and the Beast 3D enchants it’s way into theaters January 13th 2012.

Filed Under: Movie review Tagged With: Beauty and the Beast, Beauty and the Beast 3D, Belle, interview, Paige O'Hara, theaters January 13th 2012

Beauty & The Beast Does 3D January 13, 2012

January 6, 2012 By Momstart 17 Comments

3D movies are all the rage and with the success of Lion King 3D in theaters this past summer, Disney is rereleasing the family favorite Beauty and the Beast in 3D.

I have all the songs in Beauty and the Beast almost memorized as we’ve watched this movie at home many many times, and still love listening to them. It was hard to keep myself from singing along in the theater with other people around me. I’ve seen Beauty and the Beast in 3D and I’m writing this review assuming that you’ve seen Beauty and the Beast before. If you haven’t why don’t you check out this trailer: Plus you can read our review on Beauty and the Beast when it came out on Blu-ray. Beauty and the Beast Blu-ray Review January 13, 2012.

Next week, I’m also going to share Summer’s perspective on the movie, she’s going to watch it on Saturday with her youngest son and Beauty and the Beast is one of her favorite children’s movies. For now, here’s my perspective on Beauty and the Beast 3D…….

Want to know my opinion on the 3D? I’m really picky when it comes to 3D. Some scenes in Beauty and the Beast 3D were fabulous, while others just seemed a bit flat for 3D. I think I would have loved to have interviewed someone about why they did it this way. It seemed like they were trying very hard to stay with the original look as much as possible but made it look 3D. I’m also thinking that the things about the scenes were done on purpose. The main characters were well done but the characters in the background just seemed a bit neglected. I think I’m the only one that had this crazy opinion, everyone I talked to after the viewing loved it, Which makes me think this really had to do with how tired I was. So take my review with that knowledge in mind and look forward to Summer’s review. Now, for me the true test of the success of the 3D version of Beauty and the Beast was in the ballroom scene, where they sing Tale as Old as Time. I have to say it was pretty spectacular. Ever since I was a little girl this scene was my favorite scene. The way they did it originally I felt like I was in that room. The background looked so real. I’m quite happy to say that even in 3D it looks real. The candlesticks in the background look like they are real brass with real flames. Really beautiful scene.

Go see Beauty and the Beast in Theaters January 13th and comb back here and tell me what you thought of the 3D effect?

Travel and expenses were covered by Disney DreamWorks. .

Filed Under: Movie review Tagged With: 3D, Beauty and the Beast, movie, Movie review, review

Beauty and the Beast: Belle’s Magical World Special Edition

December 10, 2011 By Momstart 9 Comments

By Summer

I love watching Disney shows. Disney’s Beauty and the Beast: Belle’s Magical World is just that; there are 4 mini-movies or episodes on this one disc – “The Perfect Word”, “Fifi’s Folly”, “Mrs. Pott’s Party”, and “Broken Wing”. These shows were intended by Disney to be used in the TV series the “Princess Power Hour”. Thought this didn’t happen these cartoons offer some fun Beauty and the Beast entertainment as these shows fill in the months Belle spent in the castle with her enchanted friends.

The stories, SPOILER ALERT:

The Perfect Word – In this addition to Beauty and the Beast you meet Webster, the castle’s dictionary. The short feature is about emotions and explains many of the emotions using synonyms. Belle and the Beast are in a fight as are Lumiere and a new character, Chandeliera; their differences are solved with understanding and apologies. This short also includes a new song.

Fifi’s Folly – This cartoon is about jealousy. Many children face jealousy over toys, friends, and sibling-parent relationships. In this episode Belle is helping Lumiere prepare an anniversary celebration for Fifi; however, Fifi over hears and thinks Belle and Lumiere are pairing up. In the end it all gets straightened out, as usual, and all is well in the castle again!

Mrs. Potts’ Party – The beloved character, Mrs. Potts, suffers from SAD – Seasonal Affective Disorder – and the castle just can’t get it together enough to cheer her up as all the friends are fighting instead of working together to throw Mrs. Potts a “cheer up” party. Everyone is being mean and bitter which continues to bring Mrs. Potts down. In the end all friends work together AND the sun makes an appearance; all of this helps Mrs. Potts’ feel better. Belle caps off this episode with a cheerful song about friendship.

Broken Wing – Belle’s compassionate hearts again gets her into a pickle with the Beast when she rescues a bird with a broken wing. The wing is bandaged and on the mend, but the Beast tries to keep the bird for his own enjoyment. Belle turns her heart and eventually Beast releases the bird, but because of the kindness shown to the bird, it decides to stick around. This is a classic “If you love something so much then set it free to see if it returns” tale.

The animation is very close to the original. The colors are not as vivid as the original movie but they’re better than Beauty and the Beast: Enchanted Christmas. The talent of the shows is most of the original cast.

I really enjoyed these shows. The full disc is 92 minutes long. The length all in one stretch was too long for my straying kids. We had to take a snack break, but the best thing is you can select the stories you like best, and watch from there. You can’t however just choose the feature, you have to do a scene selection.

All and all we liked each! I do think Beauty and the Beast: Belle’s Magical World is worth owning on DVD.

My Mom Start Review Grade of Beauty and the Beast: Belle’s Magical World DVD: B+

Beauty and the Beast: Belle’s Magical World is now available, but only for a very limited time! Any Beauty and the Beast fan will love these little stories to have in their movie collection, though I do wish it was released in Blu-Ray or at least widescreen format.

We received samples.

Filed Under: Movie review, review Tagged With: Beauty and the Beast, Beauty and the Beast: Belle’s Magical World, Enchanted Christmas, Movie review, review, Special Edition

Discovering Beauty & The Beast Diamond Edition with Paige O’Hara

October 7, 2010 By Momstart 11 Comments

Thanks to Click Communications I had the opportunity to discover Beauty and The Beast with Belle herself, Paige O’Hara. Paige is just as spunky as Belle and listening to her sing in real life just amazes me. In fact, I would say she’s improved her singing skills since making the movie Beauty and The Beast. She was quite easy going and down to earth. As we all had dinner and enjoyed great conversation, we explored the Beauty and the Beast Diamond Edition Blu-Ray special features! And Let me tell you Beauty and the Beast Diamond Edition is all about the Blu-Ray features.

You know the story of Beauty and the Beast right? Belle is a beautiful young lady stuck in a small provincial town and practically bored to tears. The most adventure she has at any given time comes from her unpredictable inventor of a father. She is coveted by Gaston, and disguts him in return. Her father goes off to the fair and gets lost on his way. He looks for shelter in the castle that he finds but the Beast is not happy at all to have company. He locks him in the dungeon and when Belle comes looking for her father, her adventure begins.

Paige was interviewed and here are a few questions and answers:

How excited were you to be part of such a legendary Disney title?

You know, Mary Poppins is my favorite film and I loved Bambi and all the other Disney animated films. I was always an artist as well so I appreciated the animation too. Playing Belle was a dream come true.

What else do you remember about the experience?

It was fun being a part of the parties. Honestly, the worst part about the Oscars was that I didn’t like my dress—the one I performed in. They told the designer to put me in blue and it was this blue and white dress that looked more like Bo Peep or Dorothy. It was way too frilly and not very “Belle-y.” It was a checkerboard pattern. I had to perform in that dress, but afterwards I got to change into a beautiful Bob Mackie teal green gown. I even made one magazine’s Top 3 Best Dressed list!

You won a Grammy for a song from “Beauty and the Beast’s Children Singalong” too. What was that like?

It was incredible. Of course it won Best Children’s Album, which is the Grammy I have on my wall. The whole ride has been phenomenal. I am still recording as Belle all the time…CD ROMs and toys. I was just in the studio recording Belle the other day. 99% of the time I record in a studio here in Vegas. They patch me in over the phone.

Zoe has quite a hard time deciding between watching this new Princess and Tinker Bell and The Great Fairy Rescue. She likes Belle, Belle was the very first Princess dress that we found on sale and that was her first Halloween costume. Zoe said she likes Beauty and The Beast more than The Princess and The Frog because it wasn’t scary. She likes the Beast as a Beast and not when he turns into a Prince. Even though she enjoys watching Belle in Beauty in the Beast, her favorite princess is still Sleeping Beauty and we don’t even have a copy of that movie.

To me, Beauty and The Beast Diamond Edition blows my mind away. The color looks like it was pumped up and the details are quite amazing. It seems that cartoons were meant for Blu-Ray. The special features are quite amazing too, even though all of the insert disc one, insert disc two is a little frustrating. The way our system is set up whenever I try to go back it exits the DVD all together, but that’s just our system. I think if you have a normal DVD player it’s probably not as bad. Most of the special features are on disc 2.

The Special Features are hours and hours of content. One of the features, I think it was Beyond Beauty was the story of the making of Beauty and the Beast. The story included the evolution of the story and one of the previous story lines was pretty bad. We’re very glad Disney went the direction they went. Wow, I just can’t imagine a better story line.

3-Disc BD Bonus Features as listed on Amazon:

• Restored film
• Three versions of the film
• Original theatrical release
• Special extended edition
• Original storyboard version (BD-exclusive)
• Original theatrical version with a PIP of the storyboard
• Disney sing along mode
• Audio commentary
• Beyond Beauty: The Untold Stories Behind Making Beauty And The Beast (interactive)
• Broadway Beginnings – Up close and personal celebrity interviews with Nick Jonas, Donny Osmond, Toni Braxton, and others who have starred in the Broadway production
• Composing a Classic: A Musical Conversation With Alan Menken, Don Hahn, and Richard Kraft
• Deleted scenes
o Alternate opening (boards)
o Belle in the library – never-before-seen moment where Belle meets three new characters in the library
• Art galleries – Only available inside the “Beyond Beauty Experience”
• Family play games
o Enchanted Challenge: help Belle and the Beast fall in love in order to break the spell before the last petal falls (Disney Quest)
o Bon Jour, Who Is This? A Disney TelePlay Game – Powered by BD-Live. Using your cell phone, guess the identity of the other players before they guess yours
• Music & more
o All-new music video featuring Disney Channel star TBD
• Classic DVD bonus features

As I said, hours and hours of entertainment!

Save 10.00 on Beauty And the Beast Diamond Edition.

I received a copy of the movie in exchange for my honest review and met Paige on the Disney Blogger Day Event.

Filed Under: Movie review, review Tagged With: Beauty and the Beast, Beauty and the Beast Diamond Edition, blu-ray, Click Communications, Diamond Edition, Disney, DVD Review, Movie review, Paige O'Hara

A trip through Disney Princess’s with my Princess

March 11, 2010 By Momstart 7 Comments

I have to post this because I love Disney, and Disney Princesses. Even my three year old can name almost all of the Disney Princesses. I don’t get to give a copy of The Princess and the Frog, but I’m sure I’ll buy it on Blu-ray soon enough and I know that once all the giveaways are over, you might be buying it for the Princess in your life. There is a list of places to enter at the bottom of this post. Here is my princess and all the Disney Princesses too!