Beauty And The Beast - Belle's Magical World (Special Edition) Reviews

• The NOT-SO-SPECIAL Edition on DVD!

  
  By A3EFLT5PI0TU57 on 2003-02-15
  Arriving in today's post Disney's Beauty and the Beast: Belle's Magical World SE on DVD was a surprise as I had forgotten I had ordered it. The cover is very nice and you can imagine how delighted I was (as a 24 year old male) to have a Belle compact mirror attached to it to add to the excitement.
  The DVD loads up showing trailers for Finding Nemo, Stanley March 11th, Lion King SE, Sleeping Beauty SE (with no more news on a release date) as well as the Disney Princess toys/clothing trailer.

  The nicely animated view of the castle acts at the animated dvd menu. The animation here features swallows oddly flying through falling snow?! Whatever, it's pretty and marked with SFX as well as a subtle underscoring musical narrative from the feature.
  Bonus features include Belle's Delightful Dinner Game which actually transpires to a three screen static hide and seek game. Once completed a series of 8 questions to light eight candles results in footage from the feature of Belle and Beast eating dinner.
  Disney's Song Collection is less of a collection as two unmemorable songs which can be played with onscreen lyrics. Yawn.
  The truly spectacular thing here is the Enchanted Environment - it's an animated change of season taken from the very beginning of the original Beauty and the Beast - the bit with the parting trees and the waterfall. Birds fly, trees blow, snow falls, icicles form, dappled light penetrates through the forest and mists come and go. The music has a very relaxing non-synth sound and you can toggle between five soundtracks or just the SFX. It is probably the best feature of the disc. I love it.
  As for the feature I am actually quite disgusted. The dust grains on the feature are too often and too bad for a DVD SPECIAL EDITION!!! I bought Fritz Lang's Metropolis made in 1927 which has a cleaner presentation. The additional CGI linking each tale really does no favours and merely highlights the varied quality - Belle looks disfigured sometimes due to a lack of continuity in her animation. 22 minutes are added and these are pretty good - again making the rest look inferior.
  Sneak peeks allow you to view the aforementioned trailers as well as those for the future Kiki's Delivery Service, Stitch! The Movie and Tuck Everlasting. Nothing we haven't seen before.
  Instructions: Angle the the free Belle mirror to catch the reflection of the DVD - to fool yourself into thinking this feature is twice what it it is - and then you'll feel you haven't wasted your money!
  
  

• A BEAUTIFUL FAMILY CLASSIC STORY!

  
  By A3FYYUVPCWH8H0 on 2000-10-17
  I THINK THIS STORY TELLS A GOOD SIDE OF VALUES FOR OUR OWN SELVES WHO WATCHES CLASSIC VIDEO'S WITH THEIR FAMILIES!!!!! I LOVE THE CHARACTERS,THE MUSIC,THE BRIGHT COLORS IN THE BACKGROUND,OF EVERY SCENE..I EVEN CRY WHEN I SEE THIS CLASSIC{WELL MAYBE SOMEDAY SOON}.I THINK DISNEY NEEDS MORE OF THESE STORIES IN THE FUTURE...I'M LOOKING FORWARD OF SEEING IT WITH MY DAUGHTER AGAIN,YEARS FROM NOW...
  
  

• Disney's Done It Again!!! :^ )

  
  By A2EVPZGOC7OWJF on 2003-04-21
  I just read some of the reviews for this movie. I must disagree. This is a wonderful movie. It is wrong to be expectant of same or better results from the first movie. This isn't a part III. It's the third movie, but all on it's own. It is targeted for General Audiences of all ages, but mostly aimed towards children. It has a few "short stories". In my opinion, I think it is teaching things to it's young viewers, as well as older audiences of things we may overlook in everyday life. I really think it is worth every penny. I do recommend this movie very much. Please take a chance on it. There are so many new characters, which is a nice touch to it. Take care.
  
  

• Very dissapointed!

  
  By A1M2AIH3G2Z6GX on 2003-02-26
  The quality of the animation is nowhere near as high as the original Beauty and the Beast. None of the characters look the same. The story lines are uninteresting. I would have been embarrassed to release this DVD if I worked for Disney! It hurts my eyes to watch the poor quality of this movie. Why couldn't they have made something new that was of the same caliber as the original Beauty and the Beast? They certainly have the resources to have done a better job! I am very disgusted!
  
  

• love it

  
  By on 2003-09-21
  My kids don't watch this every day, because they love to watch all three parts. But they enjoy it, the animation in beautiful and the story lines have a lesson. I don't think you can go wrong with this one. I even love to watch them with my children.
  
  
• Heavy Handed
  By A2AOZQ3WTNVVOK on 2005-11-02
  I find it interesting that many of the reactions to this collection of shorts are extremely hostile. The shorts are not that bad, but neither are they that good. This DVD is much like three Saturday morning cartoons that are in one collection. My only complaint is that the price of the DVD is quite high for the value received, which may have been the reason some reviewers were upset.
  
  The title of the first story is "The Perfect Word." In this story the Beast and Belle disagree and there is a copious amount of rudeness and insensitivity all around. The story heaps on the need for each of the characters to forgive each other, which I found distracting. The story made the point early and was relentless in setting up the need for people to apologize and forgive.
  
  The second story is "Fifi's Folly." This time Fifi, Lumiere's girlfriend, is upset with Lumiere because she thinks that Belle is trying to steal Lumiere away. Fifi acts meanly and tries to sabotage the evening that she thinks Belle and Lumiere are going to have. Of course, the evening is for Fifi and Lumiere and the plan predictably backfires. Once again the story was heavy-handed because the point was made early in the short, but the point was continually ground in until the final moments of the short.
  
  The final story is "Broken Wing," which I found charming in some ways. Belle rescues a small bird with a broken wing. The Beast first wants to throw the bird out and then he wants to cage the bird. I was annoyed that the Beast's behavior was so awful. I thought that some younger children might find the beast to be terrifying in some places, particularly as the Beast seemed prepared to hurt the bird. However, the bird was nicely animated and Belle tried her best to get the Beast to be kind. This story has a nice ending if you can reach it through the Beast's heavy-handed and over-the-top behavior.
  
  In addition to the three shorts are a variety of other features on this DVD. While some of the features are interesting, the value of this DVD should be the "feature," which is not a feature because the three stories are independent stories. The voices of Robby Benson, Paige O'Hara, Jerry Orbach, David Ogden Stiers and others are unable to make this DVD a must have. The stories are too forced and try too hard to capitalize on the success of the original "Beauty and the Beast" movie. I recommend this movie only to those who must have all the "Beauty and the Beast" movies, or all Disney movies. Everyone else should move on to better Disney movies.
  
  
  
• I enjoyed this!
  By A5G49ZZVC403M on 2003-01-26
  I really liked this movie as well as the other two Beauty and the Beast! I think they still should have made it a little better though. I feel that there should have been more songs and a soundtrack to this! Why NO SOUNDTRACK DISNEY? I would like a soundtrack to all of the Part IIs! I like most of the songs! I hope someone from Disney is reading this!

  I cannot wait to get this on DVD to complete my collection! :)
  
  

• Save your Money
  By A3CI06KIAL7EZ6 on 2003-03-19
  This DVD was a huge dissapointment! The animation was poor and there was almost no plot. As a huge Beauty and the Beast fan I was really let down.Consider yourself warned!
  
  
• Even my two year old Belle fanatic daughter did not like it
  By A3USVSWHNE6HV5 on 2006-08-29
  The animation is grainy, the stories trite, and even my two and a half year old daughter, who loves all things Belle and watches the original over and over, could not stand it.
  
  
• I loved the songs!
  By on 1999-09-27
  Last time I saw this movie was at the age of 11, but I still watch it now and then just to listen to the songs. They are amazing. Especially the first one, it's the kind of song you'd want to hear again and again. Paige O'Hara is a really gifted singer, what would I give to have a voice like hers! And I really like the plots of the stories, the third one made me cry almost. I wish they'd have released a soundtrack for this movie.
  
  
• Don't waste your money!!
  By A83DC5N6NMMAX on 2003-03-17
  I was very disappointed. The quality was definitely not what I expected from a Disney animation. There was no real storyline. The animation was pitiful. They didn't even have the entire original voice cast for the characters. I was so disgusted I was ready to turn it off within the first few minutes. It was very excruciating to sit through the entire film. There must have been a very low budget for this film and it shows!
  
  
• It's not really a feature.
  By on 2003-06-15
  Many other reviewers have mentioned the lack of consistency between the segments of this "feature" movie. The reason is that "Belle's Magical World" is not really a feature. It is my understanding that three episodes were made for a possible Beauty and the Beast TV series. When it was decided not to go ahead with the idea, rather than bury the animation in the vaults forever, interstitial segments were made to try and cobble the whole thing together for a Direct-to-Video release. And it shows. Considering its origins, the effort is better than might have been expected. The same process was used for Cinderella II, which in my opinion is far worse.
  
  
• Not worth the paper it was animated on
  By A3A3RB38KY7WTM on 2005-05-02
  Readers and shoppers alike have to understand that this film justifies many of the complaints it has received by other Amazon members. I have a BA in animation and am a long time Disney fan. However this work represents the all time low Disney is able to hit these days. It is a series of three cartoon shorts, and every story teaches "a lesson". That may sound like a good idea for a children's film, but it fails in this DVD miserably. Disney may indeed make 'kids movies' but a great many adults love them too. They market many things to adults, and overall one would hope you could pick up ANY Disney movie and be entertained even a bit. No wonder so many adult Beauty and the Beast fans will no doubt be disappointed in what the DVD has to offer. I consider myself a diehard Beauty and the Beast fan. I own the VHS...I will not buy the DVD. Truth be told if you're a fan it's best not to expose yourself to this, it's not worth the extra screen time of your favorite characters no matter how much you think it is.
  
  In the first episode, "The Perfect World", Belle and the Beast get into a fight over dinner. Neither will apologize. A rather boring new group of servants is introduced, and they decide to fake an apology on behalf of the Beast to make things right. They are discovered and things become worse ending in everyone learning about the importance of forgiveness.
  
  The second episode is "Fifi's Folly" The feather duster & Lumiere are about to celebrate their anniversary. Lumiere is nervous and doesn't know what to do or say and asks for Belle's help. It strikes me as incredibly odd that Lumiere of all people would lack romantic wit and ideas for an anniversary. The first two films paint him as a suave multi-dating he-man of the romance world. So the fact that he needs help is a pathetic story line. As the story goes on Fifi mistakes Belle's help in the matter to be a romantic affair between Belle & Lumiere. She promptly decides to leave the castle for good (and she will go where now?). Of course in the end we all learn about the value of trust.
  
  The third episode is "Broken Wing." Belle misses a lunch date with the Beast when she finds a wounded bird to the dismay of the servants. As it seems..the Beast hates all animals especially birds. (Beast liked birds enough when He and Belle fed them in the movie?!) When Beast discovers her reason for having stood him up he becomes furious and demands the bird be caged as his prisoner and demands it sing for his pleasure. Of course the bird is unhappy and will not sing. Belle pleads for him to release the bird and we are all shown the value of freedom.
  
  When this was brought to DVD an additional story was added called "Mrs. Potts' Party". I have not seen this as I own the VHS. However the voice of Mrs. Potts is a very poor knock off of the original that even your kids won't dismiss. (a really really poor knock off) So I can't imagine why anyone would decide to give this character enough screen time to have their own episode, but they did.
  
  
  
  In conclusion those who say it's a direct to video and not meant to be taken, or mistaken, for the original I disagree. Disney has along record of meeting certain standards...and people expect their films to live up to a certain standard. Certainly this isn't a full length theater release. I don't think ~any~ adult would think it was. However compared to the Rerun of Jafar, or even the TV series The Little Mermaid & Aladdin had....it's an incredibly weak film with little to no entertainment value. Yes is was made for kids...but is that really an excuse for Disney hitting rock bottom? This ladies and gents IS the rock bottom for Disney, and it's very sad that it has happened. If you are opposed to DtV films...STOP BUYING THEM. Disney makes them cheaply and reaps huge profits. Do your part to stop poor animation...rent them if you have to, but don't buy them.
  
  
• Very nice stories and delightful characters.
  By on 2000-07-01
  BELLE'S MAGICAL WORLD really fascinated me from the first time I watched it. My favourite among the stories is Broken Wing, and I also especially like The Perfect Word, although maybe it's meant for a little younger watchers than me. Fifi's Folly is funny as well, but at the first time I was a little disappointed that on the video there was a story with no the Beast at all.

  The songs, especially the first one, are beautiful as expected. The funniest of the new characters is Webster the Dictionary, and on my opinion, the Beast is treating him and his pen really unfairly.

  In Broken Wing it's absolutely evident that the Beast is not really what he seems because he doesn't let the little bird remain free, and he is also behaving especially selfishly, imagining he can command a wild bird to sing only for his pleasure. In any case, just because of the theme of imprisoning and setting the bird free that story is the best part of the video.
  
  

• It just doesn't work
  By A3N1FNJ22SO2UZ on 2002-07-05
  I tried to do what I did with BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: THE ENCHANTED
  CHRISTMAS,which was to make a list of everything that conflicted
  with BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. I gave up after a while,because the
  whole thing is just {bad}and no one in their right mind would
  ever take it seriously.The writing is absolutely awful and the
  animation is cruddy at best. The stories don't work at all because the viewer is asked to accept inaccuracies about the
  characters. Embarrassing and excruciating to watch.
  
  
• what in the world is this???
  By on 2002-11-23
  It was worthless to make this video. What were those people at Disney thinking?? The only segment I enjoyed was "Fifi's Folly". "The Perfect Word" was weird, and it was stupid to put a story like "Broken Wing" in this movie because if you notice in "Beauty and the Beast" (1991) you'll notice that in one scene the Beast actually cares for the birds when they sing "Something There". He feeds them with Belle's help. Stay away from this video! You're gonna grimace.
  
  
• perfect transaction!!
  By A641GLF87S32S on 2006-04-26
  was here in a few days new as promised. Daughter is very happy!!
  
  
• my kids and their cousins love it
  By A270DPHLT95L4B on 2003-01-20
  for the adults wanting to watch this, yes stay away; i fell asleep. but the kids watch this and all of disney over and over and over ad nauseum. they love it. i gave it 4 stars for their sake. they don't care about inconsistencies...they just love the characters . if disney makes 20 more with the same characters, the kids will want them. i am just happy they are fond of any movie without bloody dismembered body parts, cursing and sex
  
  
• about this animated movie......
  By AP839YM0XJ664 on 2003-03-05
  I find that the animated characters are well drawn and their kind of reaction and personality breath new life to these characters(which are in fact we people's kind of characters and personality). The movement of each characters resembles that of human life. Disney Amimators and all professionals dealing with Arts, I salute to you for your great work. The story base of this movie is not that good as compared to Enchanted Christmas(where there is a plot) and Beauty and the Beast part 1. I find that there is nothing much to talk about the relationship between each animated characters in the castle but to make up stories to make it more interesting to watch just like our human life. The story of this movie is separated into different parts to talk about Mrs pots, Lumiere and cogsworth etc etc which I find is different from part 1 of Beauty and the Beast and part 2 Beauty and the Beast(The Enchanted Christmas).
  
  
• A poor Beauty and the Beast movie
  By A1VNBODKWM31GK on 2006-07-24
  Belle's Magical World is the most poor Beauty and the Beast movie ever made. This movie shouldn't be released to DVD. I suggest you don't buy this DVD. It's a total waste of money.
  
  
• Cheesy
  By AWEQSILGPJFYY on 2006-11-12
  Wow, this was such a disappointment. For this to be a spinoff of an award-winning movie is just sad. The plot was unimaginative and trite, and the animation was comparable to an "okay" TV cartoon series. We wasted a free rental coupon from Blockbuster on this, and we felt very "ripped off." So definitely don't waste your time buying it.
  
  
• Stories better told in books
  By on 2001-06-14
  These didactic stories are boring and formulaic. The music is forgettable. The stories' themes (forgiveness, trust, freedom) come from classic folktales, fairy tales, fables, and myths. You'd be better off reading a good book of these with your child.
  
  
• I was cheated too...
  By A3E9M8DDOLW0JP on 2007-01-10
  Actually I thought was the original motion picture, instead is a serial of short TV style cartoons... my daughter is enjoying them anyway though. I am simply asking why they discontinue the production of the original movie...
  
  
• WARNING
  By A14U1G4ZC6MYNE on 2007-03-14
  The title of this DVD made me think it was the original movie. IT IS NOT.
  
  
• Why?
  By on 2004-05-17
  Beauty And The Beast - Belle's Magical World is sooo bad its not even posible... how can they get a classic like Beauty And The Beast and turn it into this? the christmas one was bad but not nearly as bad as this... i really dont care if disney likes to make bad sequals and prequals and whatever... but what the heck is this? its not even a disney "sequal" cartoon... its a anime gone bad... its just sick i almost cried when i first saw it! how dare they do this? the cover was nice ...so 1 star for that and half a star for using the name " Beauty And The Beast" wich is a classic and will live on forever. i know its a sequal...or whatever it is, but i have seen plenty of disney sequals like (101 dalmations 2, lion king 2, Peter Pan 2...and little mermaid 2 "but not really") this one has no excuse... its unforgivable!
  
  
• Great kids movie
  By AGEDWO8DD6537 on 2007-06-27
  I bought this movie for my two girls ages 2 and 5. They LOVE it. They are very into the princesses and have seen every princess movie TONS of times. This movie is composed of a couple of short stories based on the original. Characters are true w/ their true voices. Very cute and enjoyable.
  
  
• horrible
  By A1J8PEJV8MYV69 on 2007-07-31
  Not what I expected at all a waste of money belle wears same dress in all episodes it is a total waste of money.
  
  
• Good for little kids
  By A1O0RMV9N0DYSE on 2008-03-17
  Please keep in mind that this isn't a DVD for adults who enjoyed the original "Beauty and the Beast" on an adult level. It's made for kids and it works for kids - especially little girls who can't get enough of Belle.
  
  A few other reviewers have commented that the Beast was too scary in the last cartoon, where he keeps a little bird in a cage. Personally, we didn't think the Beast was scary. In fact, he acted a lot like a little kid having a temper tantrum, and our daughter thought he was funny. But, a word of caution: after the Beast finally set the bird free, our two-year-old decided to emancipate our pet bird, and became upset when she couldn't. So pet-owning parents should be prepared to have a long talk after viewing.
  
  On the whole, our daughter finds "Belle's Magical World" entertaining and, while it's not our favorite thing to watch, it was worth the price.
  
  
• Good dvd
  By A24OR077M1WO8G on 2008-03-30
  The dvd is not available at stores. Great to find it on line for my niece
  
  
• beauty nand the beast
  By A1R9G0YAC7YT6X on 2008-04-25
  my three year old daughter loves anything to do with Belle so she really enjoyed the movie
  
  

• The Little Mermaid (Two-Disc Platinum Edition)
• Sleeping Beauty (Two-Disc Platinum Edition)
• Aladdin (Disney Special Platinum Edition)
• Cinderella (Two-Disc Special Edition)
• Beauty and the Beast