Jeff's Reviews

Thoughts on every movie I've ever seen.

Beauty and the Beast (1991)

Directed by Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise

Starring Paige O'Hara, Robby Benson, Richard White, Jerry Orbach

Author

Neat stained glass introduction, and pretty good animation overall, except that some parts looked like a Saturday morning cartoon. Some cheesy-ass dinnerplate and silverware computer animation didn’t help. Disgustingly fast cuts, almost like an exaggeration of Post-Modernism. It really screws up the story by not letting the viewer absorb the beauty of the artwork. Older Disney movies were much better in that sense. This film really doesn’t feel like a traditional Disney film. The characters are OK. They should have used more of that cool, bassy, rumbling growl for the Beast.

The story, which is pretty much a musical, is kinda touching, and the end is good. It’s amazing how Disney still has that nostalgic attachment to the past, when the world was a much more wondrous place. Disney is also a big proponent of gender stereotypes. Funny “of course it was a happy ending” line at the end.

What was that other movie where a visiting female protagonist wasn’t allowed to “go into the west wing”? Hmm. That handsome prince looked amazingly like Jesus.

Cartoons are cool to study because they portray “ideal” films. They can ideally manipulate the image to create ideal cinematography, acting, and action in ways that live crews can only dream of and strive to do.

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