Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas (1997)

Astonished to find the Beast has a deep-seeded hatred for the Christmas season, Belle endeavors to change his mind on the matter.

Director:

Andrew Knight (as Andy Knight)

Writers:

Flip Kobler, Cindy Marcus

Stars:

Paige O'Hara, Robby Benson, Jerry Orbach

2 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Paige O'Hara	...	Belle (voice)
Robby Benson	...	Beast (voice)
Jerry Orbach	...	Lumiere (voice)
David Ogden Stiers	...	Cogsworth (voice)
Bernadette Peters	...	Angelique (voice)
Tim Curry	...	Forte (voice)
Haley Joel Osment	...	Chip (voice)
Frank Welker	...	Phillippe / Sultan (voice)
Jeff Bennett	...	Axe / Poke (voice)
Jim Cummings	...	Various (voice)
Kath Soucie	...	Enchantress (voice)
Paul Reubens	...	Fife (voice)
Angela Lansbury	...	Mrs. Potts (voice)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Judith Blazer	...	Chorus (singing voice)
Jeff Blumenkrantz	...	Chorus (singing voice)

Storyline

Belle prepares the castle for Christmas against Beast's wishes, trying to bring him happiness for the season. Forte, a pipe organ, fears that Belle's plans may eventually bring about an end to the curse... the curse that brought him more importance in the Master's life. Forte uses Fife, a flute who desperately wants a solo, to destroy Belle's plans and get rid of her.

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Plot Keywords:

told in flashback | anger | bad temper | talking object | temper | 

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Genres:

Animation | Family | Fantasy | Music | Musical

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

official site

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 November 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Beauty and the Beast 2

Company Credits

Production Co:

Disney Television Animation, Disneytoon Studios, Walt Disney Animation Canada

Technical Specs

Runtime:

72 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

While Belle is singing during the "Stories" sequence, an image of Belle and the Beast flying together in the sky on a magic carpet can be seen. This is a nod to Disney's "Aladdin" (1992).

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Goofs

Chip makes it sound as if he's never experienced a Christmas before, though we see him in flashback (human form) celebrating Christmas Eve with the castle staff. He was already at least five-years-old when he was enchanted.

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Quotes

[looking out the window]
Fife: Wow! Will you look at that!
Forte: Well, I think I might. I'll just pick myself up and... oh! What's this? Heavens! I'M BOLTED TO THE WALL!

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Connections

Featured in Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse (2001)

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Soundtracks

O Christmas Tree
Traditional tune, lyrics by Ernst Anschütz
Performed by Paige O'Hara

User Reviews

A complete disappointment

Based on reviews of fans, I had some anticipation that this film would be one of the better Disney sequels. But, I was very disappointed with this sequel.

I must admit that this direct to video sequel had its good points. I really enjoyed the song, "Stories." First of all, it was nice for Belle to have a solo considering that many Disney heroines have solo songs in their movies. One can argue that the "Belle: Reprise" is a solo for Belle. But a reprise, technically, isn't an actual song. I did think "Stories" was the key highlight in this film. Not only that, bringing the back the original cast was a smart idea, considering that most Disney sequels don't have at least one key actor/actress from the original.

However, the movie did have several bad points. I was disappointed about the storyline. People complained about the story being "too dark for Christmas." I must agree with that consensus. I don't think they portrayed the "true meaning of Christmas." I honestly thought they spent too much time on Forte. I have no doubts about that. The songs were okay but not good as the original. I must give an exception for Stories. That was the only song that stood out for me. The animation was obviously "sequel-ish quality". Aside from that, I was stunned with the scene of peril towards the end. The castle nearing collapsing? I thought Disney went too far! No need for an action/adventure twist to this sequel about Christmas.

The bottom line: A 4 out 10 for this disappointing sequel.

A word to the parents: If you plan to buy this for a young child, be cautious and watch the film with them. There are scenes of peril and several dark scenes featuring the malevolent pipe organ. If they get too scared, at least you'll be around to console them. There is some brief language in one of the songs. So, if you're concerned about children hearing bad language, handle the situation with good and reasonable thinking.