La Belle et la Bête 2 : Le Noël enchanté

The thing that really hurts this sequel (other than the lackluster work from all the normally superb voice actors, and deflated story) is the fact that this is OBVIOUSLY an afterthought of a sequel. The main villain, as well as some additional characters, were not even mentioned in passing in the 1991 film. There is really no need for this movie at all.

The only exceptional thing about this sequel is Tim Curry's excellent voice-over work, and the CGI imaging of his character, even if it is misplaced alongside the traditional animation. I'd say skip this altogether if you really enjoy the classic 1991 feature, as I do.

When I first heard that a sequel to BATB was to come, I was surprised: how is it possible that the Prince is the Beast again? But when I saw the film, I found it quite good - it was nice to see something new happening in the castle. And I liked the "nature of a beast" which the enchanted Prince seemed to have more than in the original story. I must confess that Forte was really frightening! And the best in the whole movie was the coming of the Enchantress and the transformation of the Prince into the Beast. Yes, I really liked the film very much.

Don't get me wrong this was not a bad movie, I just didn't think that it fit somehow. It didn't seem like a sequel or the "missing middle chunk" of the beloved cartoon. The first film, to me, seemed to have been set in the middle to late fall, I can stretch my imagination and see it possibly being November but not December. I think they could have made Forte' much more interesting and menacing and Fife was cute, but I think the real kudos goes to Haley Joel Osment's Chip. Paige O'Hara's Belle sings a lovely song about story books and this little sequence was charming, but still it seemed to lack the essence that made the original so magical. I rarely watch these Disney sequels anyhow due to the animation not being what it's like in the originals. I took a gamble and watched this and it was good, but nothing like the first and finest.

It was in Disneyworld where I first came across this direct to video sequel for Beauty and the Beast. Being a fan of the first movie and a Disney fan in general, I bought it. I wondered how the prince turned into a beast again. Finally I put it in the hotel VCR and started watching. The Enchanted Christmas is not near as half as good as the first movie. I felt it was a real shame that Dinsey made this sequel as it some how slightly ruined the first Beauty and the Beast. I will hand it to Dinsey for getting -most- the original voices back. But still this movie did not have that charm that Disney movies should have. One huge let-down was the awful soundtrack. Besides "As Long As There's Christmas" I didn't think highly of any of the other songs. Forte was such a dull villain, I could actually hate Gaston but Forte was more annoying than evil. However the computer animation of him was not bad at all but didn't really blend in with the animation. The voices were good but the characters were just so dull in this movie. Lumiere, Cogswarth and Mrs. Potts didn't have that funny charm they had in Beauty and the Beast. Haley Joel Osment, I will admit did a good job as Chip- all the cast members did splendid jobs, but the characters were still not lively like in the first, the songs were dull and the story was the biggest let down. Why Disney feel they have to make a sequel to all their classics is beyond me... well money I suppose but what ever happened to 'the sake of the art'? I mean Picasso didn't make The Blue Period II: The Return of Depression, now did he?

The original film is such a masterpiece that it sets the bar so high for this sequel, and you have to keep this in mind when you sit down to watch this. First of all, I think it is such a delight to have the entire cast from the original back and at it. I think the film would really have been hurt if even one of the voice actors had been replaced.

I think what made the original so strong was the music and lyrics of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. Every song was beautiful, witty, and did so much to develop the story and characters. There a but a few songs in The Enchanted Christmas, and the only one that is somewhat memorable is the song "Stories", whose melody becomes a sort of musical motif that recurs throughout the film. The interesting animation sequence during this song is one of the highlights of the film, and it is nothing like anything featured in the original.

If you are a die-hard fan of Beauty and the Beast like myself, you will enjoy seeing the characters in action... but, sadly, it feels different and less magical than the original. The script is a little thin, and the voice acting isn't totally consistent with the original. For example, Robby Benson, who voices Beast, sounds very strange at times and seems to be overacting. But it seems that the Beast in general is very exaggerated throughout the film so this is probably not Benson's fault. Paige O'Hara as Belle as always has a remarkably beautiful voice, whether she is singing or talking. It is so wonderful to hear her put life into the character again.

One thing that I feel was very wrong with this film is that an entire sequence was devoted to showing how the Prince turned away the Enchantress on Christmas and became the Beast. I think that the original film did a marvelous job by telling this part of the story through the stained glass sequence in the beginning, but seeing it portrayed here again sort lacks that fairy-tale wonder to it that the images in stained glass conveyed so well.

Aside from this minor point, I believe if you enjoyed the original like myself, you won't have too hard a time of enjoying this film. Like I mentioned, it would be impossible to match the beauty and magic of the original solely in that the music just cannot match the genius of the Menken/Ashman collaboration. Even though the animation is low-budget, a wonderful soundtrack would have made the sequel great.

My commentary on the Special Edition DVD is that I thought the behind-the-scenes feature was wonderful, and although it is short, you get some really great interviews from the voice actors including Tim Curry who makes his debut as the story's new villain. You don't get to see Paul Reubens though, whose voice and character I found rather annoying. No big loss. One problem I had, however, is with the quality of the image. The Special Edition of the original on DVD has an amazing picture quality, and the colors are so lucid and spectacular, yet in the Enchanted Christmas DVD the colors are somewhat dull and faded. Aside from that, the other special features are just some nonsense that is thrown in just to satisfy the Special Edition title, but the behind-the-scenes feature is good enough for me.

On a final note, I noticed that there are Roman numerals on the side of the DVD cases of both films. Supposedly there will be a third Beauty and the Beast Special Edition coming out soon. Can't wait.