| Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas | |
|---|---|
 North American VHS cover | |
| Directed by | Andy Knight |
| Written by |
|
| Produced by | Susan Kapigian |
| Starring | |
| Edited by | Daniel Lee |
| Music by | Rachel Portman |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Walt Disney Home Video |
Release date |
|
Running time | 72 minutes |
| Countries | United States[1] Canada[2] |
| Language | English |
Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas is a 1997direct-to-video animated Christmasmusicalfantasy film produced byWalt Disney Television Animation[3] andDisneytoon Studios, as a sequel to Disney's 1991 animated feature filmBeauty and the Beast. While aframe story is set after the events of the original film, the main narrative is aflashback recountingBelle andthe Beast's firstChristmas together. The film sold 7.6 millionVHS tapes in 1997.[4] The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised its return of the original cast from the first film, but criticized its story.
Several months after the Prince was returned to human form, a Christmas party is held at the castle, with most of the villagers in attendance. While reminiscing about the previous year's celebration, Lumière and Cogsworth get into an argument over who "saved" that Christmas, leading Mrs. Potts to tell the villagers the story.
A few weeks after the Beast saved Belle from thewolves, Belle and the servants are anticipating the coming Christmas. However, the Beast is not because Christmas is when the spell was cast. After bumping into each other in the courtyard, Belle teaches the Beast how to skate. They are observed from a room in the West Wing by Forte, the castle's music conductor who was transformed into apipe organ, and hispiccolo minion, Fife. Forte has a passion for ominous music that went underappreciated when he was human, but his music is now more appreciated because it makes the Beast feel better, leading Forte to no longer wish to become human again.
Forte sends Fife to sabotage Belle and the Beast's newfound friendship by promising to give Fife a solo, causing Belle and the Beast to crash into the snow. When Belle makes a snow angel, the Beast sees his beastly snow figure and storms off in anger. Despite the Beast's misgivings, Belle decides to celebrate Christmas, even enlisting the help of Angelique, the castle's decorator who was transformed into an Angel ornament. She and Chip try to find a goodChristmas tree, but all of the trees on the castle's premises are small and underwhelming. Forte lures them in his room, where he suggests that they can retrieve a larger tree from the Black Forest. Though this would break her promise to not leave the castle's premises, Belle agrees in hopes it will make the Beast happy.
When the Beast looks for Belle, Forte lies that she abandoned him and manipulates him into a rage. The Beast destroys the Christmas decorations in the dining room before storming off to look for Belle. In the Black Forest, Belle and Chip find a good tree, unknowingly followed by Fife. Fife accidentally startles Phillipe, causing a chain reaction that leads to Belle falling through ice and almost drowning. The Beast saves her, but confines her to the dungeons as punishment for leaving the castle's premises. While Belle is comforted by the servants and Fife, Forte tempts the Beast to destroy the rose when a petal falls on the storybook that Belle made for him. After reading it, he realizes that she wants him to be happy, the Beast goes to Belle and apologizes for the cruel treatment and agrees to celebrate Christmas.
Not wanting his music to be underappreciated again, Forte attempts to destroy the castle with his music, thinking that Belle and the Beast cannot fall in love if they are dead. Fife tries to stop Forte, thinking that this is too extreme, but Forte rebukes him and reveals he was never planning to give Fife a solo. Belle and the Beast confront Forte while Lumière, Cogsworth and Angelique save the rose. Forte's music disorients the Beast, but Fife reveals that Forte's power comes from his keyboard. The Beast separates Forte's keyboard from him and smashes it before Forte's bolts rip from the wall, causing Forte to crash to the floor and killing him. Despite learning Forte's true nature, the Beast still mourns his friend's death. Soon after, the castle is repaired, the Beastpardons Fife, and Christmas is celebrated.
As she finishes the story, Mrs. Potts concludes that it was Belle who saved Christmas. Belle and the Prince enter the court to greet their guests, giving Chip a storybook as a gift. While new music conductor Fife leads the orchestra, Belle and the Prince share a moment on the balcony where he gives her a rose as a gift.
In the wake of the success ofThe Return of Jafar (1994),The Walt Disney Company opened theWalt Disney Animation Canada studios in January 1996 to produce direct-to-video and potential theatrical films, as well as utilize the talent pool of Canadian animators.[5] With 200 animators hired, Disney Animation Canada had two separate animation facilities inToronto andVancouver which were supervised by Joan Fischer, a former Canadian public television executive.[6] Their first project wasBeauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas, which went into pre-production later that spring.[7][8] Additional animation work was done byWalt Disney Television Animation Australia,Wang Film Productions Co., Ltd. located inXindian District,Taipei,Taiwan, and Character Builders. It was Disney's first direct-to-video animated film to usedigital ink and paint.
Initially, the film was going to be a direct sequel to the original film with the main villain slated to be Gaston's younger brother Avenant, named for the antagonist of the French 1946 live action black and white filmBeauty and the Beast (La Belle et la Bête). Avenant's goal was to avenge Gaston by ruining the lives of Belle and the prince and threatening to kill them, reportedly using sorcery to transform the prince back into a Beast and frame Belle for it. Although he was cut out of the story and the plot had changed, these traits were incorporated into Forte, the pipe organ, who did not want the Beast to become human again.[9][failed verification] Unlike the other characters, Forte was entirely computer animated.[10]
The film was first released on VHS andLaserDisc byWalt Disney Home Video in the United States and Canada on November 11, 1997.[11] FourBeauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas snow domes could be obtained with the purchase of the video andOcean Spray products,[12] as well as a $5 mail-in rebate from Lever 2000.[13] A bare-bonesDVD was released on October 14, 1998.
Both editions were quickly taken out of print, and the film remained unavailable until Disney released the Special Edition DVD and VHS on November 12, 2002, just a month after the studio released the original film's Platinum Edition DVD and VHS release. The new DVD featured a remake music video of the song "As Long As There's Christmas" byPlay. Also featured was a game titled Forte's Challenge, a 10-minute behind-the-scenes featurette, Disney Song Selection, and Enchanted Environment, where it shows the Beast's Castle during the different seasons. The original film's Platinum Edition and this film's Special Edition were taken out of print at the same time in January 2003.
A Special Edition of the film was released on DVD and onBlu-ray/DVD combo packs on November 22, 2011,[14] following the release of the Diamond Edition of the first film on October 5, 2010. In Australia, the film was released onRegion 4 DVD on November 3, 2011, with the same features as the originalBeauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas DVD. The Blu-ray release was placed into theDisney Vault along with the other two films.
A little over one month after the first film's 25th anniversary Signature Edition was released,Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment re-releasedBeauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas on October 25, 2016, on DVD as well as a Blu-ray / DVD /Digital HD combo pack — the latter of which was a Disney Movie Club Exclusive.
In 2019, the film was released onDisney+.
Review aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes reported that the film has an 11% "rotten" approval rating with an average rating of 4.1/10, based on nine reviews.[15]
Ty Burr, reviewing forEntertainment Weekly, graded the film a C−, concluding in his review, "All in all, a pretty soggy Christmas fruitcake. Will your kids eat it up? Sure, and that makesEnchanted Christmas worth a rental. But Disney really wants you to put this sucker in your permanent collection. And next toBeauty and the Beast — still the company's crown jewel —Christmas looks like a lump of coal."[9]
| Award | Result |
|---|---|
| Annie Award: Outstanding Individual Achievement for Directing in an Animated Feature Production for directorAndrew Knight | Nominated[16] |
| Annie Award: Outstanding Individual Achievement for Music in an Animated Feature Production for "As Long As There's Christmas" byRachel Portman andDon Black | Nominated[16] |
| Annie Award: Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Male Performer in an Animated Feature Production forTim Curry | Nominated[16] |
| Annie Award: Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Male Performer in an Animated Feature Production forJerry Orbach | Nominated[16] |
| Annie Award: Outstanding Individual Achievement for Writing in an Animated Feature Production for the Writers | Nominated[16] |
| Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Various Artists | |
| Released | September 16, 1997 |
| Genre | Soundtrack/Christmas |
| Length | 46:44 |
| Label | Walt Disney |
| Producer | Bambi Moe Jay Landers Harold J. Kleiner |
A soundtrack was released on September 16, 1997. The original score and songs were composed byRachel Portman with lyrics written byDon Black, marking the first time in history that a Disney animated feature film has been scored by a woman. The film's songs were recorded "live" with an orchestra and the cast in a room, similar to the first film.
"Stories", sung byPaige O'Hara, is about what Belle will give the Beast for a Christmas: a story book, and is heavily based on the motif in the finale ofJean Sibelius'symphony no. 5. "As Long As There's Christmas", the theme of the film, is about finding hope during Christmas Time. The song was sung by the cast of the film with a back-up chorus and is sung when Belle and the enchanted objects redecorate the castle for Christmas. "Don't Fall In Love", sung byTim Curry, displays Forte's plan on keeping the Beast away from Belle to stop the spell from breaking. "A Cut Above The Rest", also sung by the cast, is about how teamwork and friends are very important in life.
"Deck The Halls" is performed during the opening title byJerry Orbach,David Ogden Stiers,Bernadette Peters, and the Chorus. Tracks 8 to 15 also act as a Christmas album of traditional carols sung by Paige O'Hara.
All tracks are written byRachel Portman.
| No. | Title | Performer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Deck The Halls" | Jerry Orbach,David Ogden Stiers,Angela Lansbury,Bernadette Peters & Chorus | |
| 2. | "Stories" | Paige O'Hara | |
| 3. | "As Long As There's Christmas" | Paige O'Hara,Jerry Orbach,David Ogden Stiers,Angela Lansbury,Bernadette Peters & Chorus | |
| 4. | "Don't Fall In Love" | Tim Curry | |
| 5. | "As Long As There's Christmas (Reprise)" | Paige O'Hara &Bernadette Peters | |
| 6. | "A Cut Above The Rest" | Jerry Orbach,David Ogden Stiers &Paige O'Hara | |
| 7. | "As Long As There's Christmas (End Title)" | Peabo Bryson &Roberta Flack |
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