One of the best films of all time, period, and the best animated movie ever made. One of the greatest romances ever committed to celluloid. The animation and illustrations are the best the industry ever produced. The music, both the songs and the score, are revelatory. There isn’t a single bad song on the soundtrack, and unlike modern Disney musicals, this one is packed with songs.
The final 15 minutes are thrilling cinema, a feast for the both film connoisseur and their kids. The climactic fight on the ramparts is impeccable, spine-tingling stuff. The whole film recalls everything from Nosferatu and Frankenstein to Rebecca; the more cinema you watch, the more rewarding Beauty and the Beast becomes.
When the credits roll, it truly feels like this is a tale as told as time, with songs as old as rhyme. Before you’ve seen this film, you’ve heard this story, but this particular telling of it feels like a magic rendition that miraculously got captured on film.
Quite easily the best of the Disney films after Walt’s death, and the most compelling argument we have to date that children’s movies can be for adults too.