Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Beauty and the Beast 3D Blu-ray Movie Review

Disney did not release the live action 'Beauty and the Beast' in 3D in the United States, where the format is, by most accounts, fledgeling, despite a dedicated group of collectors and enthusiasts. This region-free release carries over, essentially, the same 2D Blu-ray as was released in the US with the 3D disc added to the mix. Read below for more on what's included and how the 3D fares.

Beauty and the Beast 3D Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Beauty and the Beast graces Blu-ray 3D with a rather good overall extra-dimensional presentation. The image is largely about depth with a few extra-screen effects to enjoy. The rose seen in the film's first shot is impressively shapely, round on the whole and with obvious space between its individual petals. The ballroom to follow is visually grand and very large, more obviously so once the haggard old woman transforms into a glowing being to illuminate the surroundings. She extends the rose back at the viewer for one of the film's first effective pop-out moments. Others include a lightning strike sending debris flying into the theater around the 19-minute mark and a snow wolf's body and snout appearing to extend beyond screen's confines moments later. The candelabrum character Lumière extends his candle arms towards the viewer 32+ minutes into the movie in what might be the most prominent extra-screen effect. The movie's signature scene, the dance Belle and Beast share later in the picture, offers a very pleasing moment when the lights go down and, as they return, the room is suddenly filled with floating points of light; it's a great effect, particularly as some appear to reach beyond the screen's front-edge confines.

Such pop-out elements are relatively few and far between, but Beauty and the Beast certainly makes them count as they appear. General depth and space are the image's trademarks, however. The opening song in Belle's small village is a great example. An overview landscape appears to stretch on for miles, and as the sequence shifts to the village interior, the sense of space between the rather tightly grouped buildings is obvious. Additionally, larger interiors -- whether a bar in town or any of the Beast's magnificently spacious and sprawling rooms -- reveal unusually impressive volume. Various odds and ends within his castle are demarcated by a very impressive sense of general space. The glass vase holding the rose is noticeably rotund, and characters are decently shapely, though not significantly so. Indeed, basic depth rules the day with this one, and there's always, at the very least, a sense of space between the screen and the closest foreground object.

Image basics are handled very well on the 3D disc as well. Colors are bold and don't miss a beat in 3D. The sequence introducing Belle as she gracefully glides around town is superb. Every color, and there are a lot of them, reveals pleasing vibrance and vitality. Natural greens are splendidly bold, too. Shadow details, critical in the oftentimes lower light interiors in Beast's castle, are very firm. Textural goodness abounds, whether practical sets and costumes or digital constructs, particularly all of the come-to-life characters in Beast's castle. This is a very good total package 3D release. It lacks the absolute 3D wizardry of the best, but as a good general 3D view it more than satisfies.

Beauty and the Beast 3D Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Beauty and the Beast's 2D and 3D discs contain the same core DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack as found on the U.S. Blu-ray. For a full audio review, please click here.

Beauty and the Beast 3D Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Beauty and the Beast's 3D disc contains no extras, but the bundled 2D Blu-ray disc contains all of the extras from the US release. For a full supplemental review, please click here. For convenience, below is a list of what's included.

• Enchanted Table Read
• A Beauty of a Tale
• The Women Behind Beauty and the Beast
• From Song to Screen: Making the Musical Sequences
• Extended Song
• Deleted Scenes
• Making a Moment with Celine Dion
• "Beauty and the Beast" Music Video by Ariana Grande and John Legend
• Making the Music Video: "Beauty and the Beast"
• Disney Song Selection

Beauty and the Beast 3D Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Beauty and the Beast's live action adaptation cannot match the classic animated original for grace, pace, and overall excellence, but it's a good film that offers an intriguing new spin on a tale as old as time. The Blu-ray 3D release, only available in the US via a region free option such as this one, is quite impressive. It's not a cream-of-the-crop, dazzle all the way through type, but for expansive depth and the occasional extra-screen goodie, it's hard to beat. Audio is strong and the bundled supplements on the 2D disc are enjoyable. This is well worth importing for US 3D fans. Recommended.