I have a special fondness for Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.
First off, it was one of the first Disney flicks I actually went and saw as an adult.
Second, it features a protagonist who walks around with a book in her hand. I have a small figurine in my office of Belle doing this. Since I do it at lunch all the time, that means a lot to me.
Thirdly, I very much relate to the Beast. A fearful, awkward, not-quite-human creature, laboring under a curse, redeemed through love by a wonderful, intelligent, caring woman. My marriage to Margie feels very much like that, thank you.
So, yeah, as we were watching the movie tonight with Katherine, I got rather weepy at various points … Belle reft from her father … the painful argument through the door … the rescue from the wolves … the Beast releasing Belle from her captivity … the Beast’s death and resurrection … the final ballroom dance …
So, okay, I’m a sentimental romantic. And Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite Disney flicks.
Well, in the Disney Animation panel I saw the opening musical number of the soon (I can’t remember when) to be released “Beauty and the Beast” in 3-d, and it looked great. Since it wasn’t made in 3-d, it doesn’t have many of the traditional goofy 3-d tricks, but it does have a deeper, richer look. And beautiful color.
Also coming in October, the Toy Story 1&2 3-d double feature – I am so there.
Yeah, I knew they were releasing a 3D version soon. I sort of eyed the movie last night bearing that in mind. It’s certainly a movie that has a lot of visual movement, changes in perspective, etc., in its different musical numbers — that should lend itself to a 3D revision.
On the other hand — leaving well enough alone isn’t a bad tactic. The cases are not directly analogous (the 2D version isn’t going anywhere), but one could argue this isn’t too different from colorization of black and white films.
I remember when I first saw Beauty and the Beast. The opening sequence was classic opening Broadway Musical – it had me in tears. was so much better than most of the musicals out there (Sondheim and a couple of others excepted), then and now. I was pleased that one of the New York critics put it on his \Best Broadway Musical\ list that year.
As for 3D, I know how to fiddle with the controls to de-colorize colorized films, I’ll be interested in what it takes to flatten the classics.