Beauty and the Beast to Receive 3D Release

by Angela Shambeda | More from this Blogger

02 Dec 2011 08:00 AM

After the phenomenal success of "The Lion King" 3D release, plans have resumed to bring "Beauty and the Beast" back to theaters - in 3D of course. Years ago Disney talked of bringing the Oscar-nominated film back to theaters in 3D, but things never coalesced.

For reasons known only to Disney execs, "The Lion King" was instead chosen as the first Disney film to get a 3D makeover. It was a wild success, with the nearly 20-years-old movie topping the box office for weeks ahead of brand new films.

With that resounding victory under their belts, now Disney execs have turned their focus back to "Beauty and the Beast." Its own 3D release will commence on January 13 of next year. I imagine it might even beat the records from "The Lion King."

The latter movie came out during a somewhat slow movie season, but business is rarely as tepid for the film industry as in January. Also, thanks in part to the success of the Disney Princess brand, "Beauty and the Beast" is more popular or at least better known with many children today than "The Lion King."

I didn't write about the re-release of "The Lion King" when it came out because I didn't think much of it; I wasn't interested in going to see it myself (that movie was my "Bambi," causing emotional scars so raw I still have to fast-forward through Mufasa's death scene) and I couldn't think of much to say about it. After it kept topping the box office week after week I felt silly for not drawing attention to its re-release here on the families.com Disney blog, but at that point it was too late to really say anything.

The return of "Beauty and the Beast" to theater screens, this time in 3D, gives me the chance to rectify my previous mistake. Of all of Disney's movies that could possibly return to theaters this is the one I'd anticipate the most, for the simple reason that it's my favorite Disney film.

Of course I have some reservations. I've got 3D fatigue. I've seen movies like "Thor" in 3D and it didn't really seem to add much to the experience, aside from a greater ticket price. If an action piece like "Thor" isn't that exciting in 3D, I can't see "Beauty and the Beast" really benefitting from the third dimension either.

Now normally I'd be up in arms about movie companies going back and messing with the animation or special effects from their old films. But actually I have hopes for the 3D-ification of "Beauty and the Beast."

Maybe it was the switch from VHS to DVD, but some of the actual animation of "Beauty and the Beast" doesn't look that great when upgraded to high definition. Background details are fine, but up-close things like Belle's face often look poorly drawn. Perhaps the 3D switch will change some of that.

Those who go to see "Beauty and the Beast" in theaters will also be rewarded by a screening beforehand of "Tangled Ever After." The original news story I found about the "Tangled" sequel had few details, but now I've learned that it will actually be just a short, and while it will make it to the Disney Channel, it will play first before the "Beauty and the Beast" re-release.

"Beauty and the Beast" isn't the only Disney movie coming back to the big screen in the next couple of years. "Finding Nemo," "Monster's Inc.," and "The Little Mermaid" also have 3D re-releases scheduled for dates scattered throughout 2012 and 2013.

Related Articles:

Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along

A Study in Princesses: Belle and Jasmine

A Tribute to Alan Menken

Waking Sleeping Beauty

Disney Parades on Once Upon A Time

*(This image by NightmareAcademy is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.)

Learn more about Angela Shambeda

Angela Shambeda lives in southern Maryland with her engineering husband plus two rescue pets. One's a dog named Chihiro and the other's a cat named Cole.

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