Beauty and the Beast Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.5

Beauty and the Beast Blu-ray Movie Review

Disney has re-released the beloved animated film 'Beauty and the Beast' to Blu-ray, following the original 2010 Diamond Edition and the 2011 3D Diamond Edition. This 25th anniversary 'Signature Collection' release contains two unique cuts of the film and a sing-along version. It also contains several new on-disc special features and carries over the audio commentary track from the original. Unfortunately, most of the supplements are digital-only, accessible only by redeeming the Disney digital code included with purchase. Also disappointing is the absence of the 3D disc. Picture and sound qualities are identical between releases. See the supplemental section of the review below for more information.

Belle and Beast.

Beauty and the Beast Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Beauty and the Beast contains the same 1080p video presentation as the previous release. Please click here for a full review.

Beauty and the Beast Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Beauty and the Beast contains the same DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack as the previous release. Please click here for a full review.

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

This Signature Collection Blu-ray release of Beauty and the Beast contains two unique cuts of the film: Original Theatrical Edition (1:24:54) and Special Extended Edition (1:31:44). Also included is a sing-along version of the theatrical cut, available in English only. Several new supplemental features are also included and the disc carries over the commentary track from the previously released Blu-rays. Many additional supplements are available digitally only, some of which carry over from either this or the previous Blu-ray, and many more that are new to any release of the film on the Blu-ray format. Below is a breakdown of what's included, where, and whether it's new or carryover. Note that every extra on this disc is also available digitally (except for the short extra advertising the digital extras), but not vice-versa, obviously.

On-disc supplements:

• Always Belle (1080p, 11:32): Paige O'Hara discusses her involvement in the film, portraying Belle, a quarter- century ago. She discusses her musical history, her move to New York to pursue her career, her passion for art, her work on stage, landing the part, preforming voice work, working with Howard Ashman, life after the part, and more.
• Menken & Friends: 25 Years of Musical Inspiration (1080p, 19:06): Robert Lopez, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Lin- Manuel Miranda, Stephen Schwartz, and Alan Menken gather to sing songs from Beauty and the Beast and reminisce about the film.
• #1074: Walt, Fairy Tales & Beauty and the Beast (1080p, 9:36): A look back at Walt Disney's travels to Europe and opening a gateway to European Fairy Tales in Disney animation. It looks back at the early listing of the idea for Beauty and the Beast, Kay Nielsen's contributions to Disney, the project's potential to transition to TV decades prior to its film release, problems bringing the story to the screen, inspirations from a long-lost Nielsen drawing, and other projects that got off the ground in the years since.
• The Recording Sessions (1080p, 3:48): A quick look at original recording studio videos that the animators used to aid character depictions for the film. This is a very interesting and entertaining extra; it's a shame there's no option to watch the entire movie with the studio voice clips playing picture-in-picture for the duration.
• 25 Fun Facts About Beauty and the Beast (1080p, 5:24): Stuck in the Middle's Kayla Maisonet and Best Friends Whenever's Gus Kamp quickly run through some interesting trivia about the movie.
• Beauty and the Beast Sneak Peek (1080p, 1:24): An all-too-brief behind-the-scenes preview for the live- action film, coming in March 2017. Don't expect to see much that hasn't already been shown elsewhere.
• Song Selection (Sing-Along Edition Only) (1080p, 22:52 total runtime): Fans can jump directly to their favorite songs from the Sing-Along version of the film. Included are Belle, Belle (Reprise), Gaston, Gaston (Reprise), Be Our Guest, Something There, Beauty and the Beast, The Mob Song, and Beauty and the Beast (Reprise).
• Audio Commentary (Extended Edition Only): Directors Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale, Producer Don Hahn, and Composer Alan Menken. This is the same track available on the previous release. See that review for more information.
• Classic Bonus Preview (1080p, 0:43): A short ad for all the features available digitally.

• A Transformation: Glen Keane (3:12)*
• Character Development: Lumiere (2:50)*
• Camera Move Test (2:03)*
• The Transformation: Pencil Version (5:22)*
• Character Development: Mrs. Potts (2:14)*
• New Digital Horizons (4:21)*
• Beyond Beauty: The Untold Stories Behind The Making Of Beauty And The Beast (53:24)*
• Character Development: Beast (3:49)*
• Animation Tests, Rough & Clean Ups (4:54)*
• Early Presentation Reel (2:48)*
• Character Development: Gaston (3:12)*
• Will vs. Nik (3:15)*
• Character Development: Cogsworth (2:53)*

• Deleted Scene: Belle In The Library With Introduction By Roger Allers (9:05)*
• Deleted Song: "Human Again" (6:57)*
• Deleted Song Sequence "Human Again:" Introduction By Don Hahn (0:45)*
• Deleted Song Sequence "Human Again:" Introduction By Alan Menken (0:41)*
• Alternate Story Open With Introduction By Peter Schneider (18:57)*

• Always Belle (11:32)
• Searching For Beast's Castle (17:51)
• Acting As A Team (6:45)*

• The Beauty Of Voice Acting (10:25)
• Frame By Frame: A Thumbnail Sketch Of The History Of Animation (14:18)*
• #1074: Walt, Fairy Tales & Beauty And The Beast (9:35)
• Disney: A Fairy Tale (8:28)*

• Song Selection: Beauty and the Beast (Reprise) (0:49)
• Song Selection: Belle (Reprise) (1:01)
• "Beauty And The Beast" Music Video (Preformed By Celine Dion & Peabo Bryson) (4:24)*
• Jordan Sparks "Beauty And The Beast" Music Video (3:26)*
• Menken & Friends: 25 Years Of Musical Inspiration (19:05)
• Song Selection: Gaston (3:08)
• Song Selection: The Mob Song (3:27)
• Broadway Beginnings (13:07)*
• The Recording Sessions (3:47)
• Composing A Classic: A Musical Conversation With Alan Menken, Don Hahn & Richard Kraft (20:18)*
• Song Selection: Belle (5:06)
• Alternate Version: "Be Our Guest" (4:51)*
• Alternate Score: The Transformation (1:59)*
• Song Selection: Something There (1:56)
• Song Selection: Beauty and the Beast (2:47)
• Song Selection: Be Our Guest (3:40)
• Full Circle To Broadway (10:25)*
• Ever A Surprise: A Portrait Of Howard Ashman (13:49)*
• Song Selection: Gaston (Reprise) (1:08)

• Beauty And The Beast With Audio Commentary (1:31:43)*
• Beauty And The Beast Work-In-Progress Edition (1:25:39)*
• Beauty And The Beast Sing-Along Edition (1:24:53)*
• Beauty And The Beast Original Theatrical Edition (1:24:53)*
• 25 Fun Facts About Beauty And The Beast (5:22)
• Beauty And The Beast Special Extended Edition (1:31:43)*

• TV Spot #1 (0:32)*
• TV Spot #3 (0:32)*
• Large Format Release Trailer (2:31)*
• TV Spot #4 (0:15)*
• TV Spot #2 (0:32)*
• Original Release Trailer (2:29)*
• Beauty And The Beast Sneak Peak (1:23)

• The Beauty Of Voice Acting (10:25)

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

Beauty and the Beast's 25th Anniversary/Signature Collection release leaves a bit to be desired. Make no mistake, the movie is fantastic, the technical presentation is top-notch, and the new supplements are fine (including a more straightforward menu layout, which is much appreciated). The lack of the 3D disc is disappointing and the failure to drop all of the extras onto disc is a shame. Still, for fans who have missed out on the previous release, everything (and more) is here, be it physically or digitally, minus that 3D disc. A must-buy for those who missed out on the release the first two times, but only the most hardcore fans should double (or maybe even triple) dip on this.