| Beauty and the Beast | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Isadore Freleng |
| Produced by | Leon Schlesinger |
| Starring | Bernice Hansen Billy Bletcher |
| Music by | Norman Spencer |
| Animation by | Rollin Hamilton Jack King Bob Clampett |
| Color process | Cinecolor |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation |
Release date |
|
Running time | 7 minutes |
| Language | English |
Beauty and the Beast is a 1934Warner Bros.Merrie Melodiesanimatedshort film, directed byFriz Freleng.[1] The short was released on April 14, 1934.[2]
Except for its title and the inclusion of a "beastly" character, the film has nothing in common withthe fairy tale of the same name.
As the clock strikes ten, a young girl sneaks out of her nursery for a late night snack of fruit and chocolate, which may be the cause of the strange dream that follows. On her return to the nursery, theSandman comes to life from the nursery mural, and sends her in a dream to Toyland, inhabited by fairyland characters. A trio of identical heralds sing her a welcome song, but also warn her of the Beast she must avoid, lest he eat her.
The girl witnesses a toy parade and is smitten with a toy soldier ("Ain't he cute?"). The soldier takes her to Fairytale Land, where they open a huge book titled "Beauty and the Beast" and, reading the text, sing a song about a girl menaced by a monster. When they turn the page, the huge, shaggy, half-human Beast leaps out of the book and seizes the girl. The toy soldier sends a toy airplane to attack the Beast, and tries to fire a cannon at him, but these tactics prove ineffective.
And just as it appears that the girl is doomed, she awakens on the floor of her nursery, and when she realizes that it was all a bad dream, she leaps into her crib and cowers under the covers as the flap of her pajamas falls open, revealing her bare buttocks.
By early 1934,Friz Freleng was appointed the main director of theMerrie Melodies, following the departures of other directors from Leon Schlesinger Productions (the company later known asWarner Bros. Cartoons).Beauty and the Beast (released in April 1934) was the firstMerrie Melodies animated short film directed by Freleng. It was a color film, using a two-color process. However, following its release, Freleng would direct six short films inblack-and-white. Among them wereThe Girl at the Ironing Board andThe Miller's Daughter.[3] From November 1934 onwards, theMerrie Melodies switched to only including color films. The sibling seriesLooney Tunes continued to be produced in black-and-white.[3]
Animation historianMichael Barrier reports that other than the use of color, there is little to setBeauty and the Beast apart from a typicalMerrie Melodies film, as directed byRudy Ising. Freleng as a director was extending and revising formulas established by Ising.[3] Part of the strong resemblance was unsurprising. Freleng himself had drawn the character layouts for most of Ising'sMerrie Melodies. But there were also other similarities; down to the details. For example, the little girl of the film exclaims "Ain't he cute?". A very similar phrase, "Ain't that cute?", was used asBosko'scatchphrase in multiple Harman and IsingLooney Tunes films.[3]
The plot of the film follows a formula that had been previously used in Ising'sMerrie Melodies and in earlySilly Symphonies. The films of this type opened with characters dancing and singing, then these activities were interrupted by the actions of avillain. The defeat of the villain required the combined efforts of the dancers and singers.[3] Freleng would follow this formula in several of his subsequentMerrie Melodies.[3]