My Movie Review on Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas · 6:09pm Dec 17th, 2018
Yo, what’s up, peoples?! I’m back with another review.
Today, as part of the Christmas rush, I will be reviewing “Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas”, a midquel to the original film taking place during the time Belle is a prisoner at the castle.
In this story, when Belle (played by Paige O’Hara) discovers that the Beast (played by Robbie Benson) has banned Christmas from the castle, she decides to spread some holiday cheer by bringing it back to the castle and helping everyone have a great time, particularly the Beast, who banned Christmas because of it being the day that he and everyone else in the castle were cursed by the Enchantress (cameo voiced by Kath Soucie). However, the castle's composer-turned-pipe organ, Forte (played by Tim Curry), becomes opposed to Belle's presence and her holiday decorating, as he actually enjoys being an organ instead of a human, and has the position as Beast’s confidant and advisor. Not wanting the curse to be broken, he schemes to put an end to both her relationship with Beast and any Christmas festivities to boot.
I realize that in many ways, and for many people, this film isn’t the best out of Disney’s direct-to-video stock. But, I actually really enjoyed this movie.
Admittedly, I don’t think the comedy gags in the film were the best, particularly when you compare them to the comedy of the original film. However, the creativity and timing of the comedy was definitely something that can earn smiles and chuckles.
For a direct-to-video feature, the film had impressive animation. I was especially impressed by the computer animation used on the character of Forte and the animation used with the green-magical music notes.
The story and plot line was intriguing & well-done as a plus. I loved how it further fleshed out what’s been going on during the time Belle had to stay at the castle, as well as give further backstory on the curse and when it took place. All of it taking place on Christmas! And, despite being in some ways darker than the original, it keeps perfectly in tone with it as well.
The music and songs, of course, may not be anything compared to that of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman’s work in the original, but, they’re still pretty memorable and fun. The credit goes to composer Rachel Portman and lyricist Don Black for putting in enough effort to provide a good time.
Finally, it all comes down to the voice-acting, characters, and character development.
The voicing of the old characters is still as spritely as ever thanks to the old cast members returning, the only exception coming from Bradley Pierce as Chip because of growing up years before (he was replaced by Haley Joel Osment). Anyway, the old cast members were able to perfectly keep up the great work with playing their characters, especially Paige O’Hara, who continued to imbue Belle’s innocence and warmth.
The old characters were even able to retain why we all love them so much, and I loved how Belle was able to touch the lives of the others by spreading Christmas cheer and giving everyone hope in having a Christmas celebration. The Beast also continues to be one of the most complex characters I’ve ever seen, and he has had great development throughout just like the last film.
The new characters were also really fun to watch, and the people who played them were on the level awesome!
Bernadette Peters gave her character of Angelique such brilliant personality, and the character of Fife (played by Paul Reubens) was so lovable. He also had brilliant character development throughout the film, as he went from being a mere comic-relief and blind follower of the villain to someone who wants to do what’s right and look out for others. Jeff Bennet is also someone whom I believe steals the show with his vocal talent as Axe.
The biggest standout out of all of the new cast members, obviously, comes from that of Tim Curry and his portrayal of Forte. He does often play a lot of villains in the animation industry, but, his portrayal of Forte clearly said that he was meant to play the role. Aided by the animators, he made something so brilliant out of the character. And as always, his singing was really top-notch.
The character of Forte as a plus is someone whom I find to be an excellent Disney villain. He has a certain complexity about him, as well as a sinister and manipulative nature. What drives him as a villain among other things is that he wants to be an important part of something and to be noticed by others, even if it means causing harm to another.
In conclusion, “Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas “ is actually a definite winner when it comes to being both a midquel to its predecessor, and as a film to watch whenever Christmas is around the corner.
So, I rate this film five out of five stars.
The direct-to-video stuff usually kind of pales in comparison to the originals, but yeah, I liked this one too. Nice to see that I'm not the only one.
4982351
Me too.
This one sounds really good too! I’ll definitely watch it someday (not for a long time though). I didn’t even know it existed!
But it sounds really good! 
Forte's CGI really made me shudder as a kid. He was creepy then, and he's still creepy now. I think it's dated.
4982363
Dated? What do you mean by that?
4982366
Like, uncomfortably. It feels old looking at him years after I last watched it.
4982368
Now I see.
Totally love the movie. And Tim Curry is one of my favorite actors, he plays such great villain roles.
(Shudder) Forte as a pipe organ is so creepy. He reminds me of the Wizard in the Wizard of Oz before he revealed himself.
never seen it, not interested in this kind of stuff.
4982386
That's right, he also acted as Pennywise in the creepy original It film.
4982411
I know. Also as the devil Darkness from the 1985 movie 'Legend' and Dr. Frank N. Furter from the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
4982386
At times in movies it is the British accent of what makes a villain sound more scary. Don't you think?
4982424
Ah, yes.
Captain Hook's British too, right?
4982427
Yep, he sure is, being based on famous pirates like Blackbeard.
There is one reason why I do not like this movie.
It's admittedly a fairly petty reason, but the reason is there nonetheless.
According to the original book, the castle was cursed durring the coldest time in winter; literally the harshest time possible for the Prince (Beast) to turn away the Enchantress (whom masqueraded as an elderly woman) who then cursed him and his castle as punishment for his utter lack of humanity and empathy.
For France, the country where the story takes place; winter is coldest in January, not December.
To me it makes the movie feel like a cynical cash grab, using Christmas as a hook.
4982473
How do you know winter is coldest in January, exactly?
4982504
Observing the changing of the seasons and such is significant to my spiritual beliefs; thus why I would know on hand when it would be the coldest for the Northern Hemisphere (since I happen to live in it).
Here is a non-religious answer is backed by science.
Winter is often defined by meteorologists to be the three calendar months with the lowest average temperatures. This corresponds to the months of December, January and February in the Northern Hemisphere, and June, July and August in the Southern Hemisphere.
Thus for France, a country in the Northern Hemisphere; the month of January is in the middle of winter, making December and Febuary more mild as they are closer to Autumn and Spring.
4982504
So...I just realized that my responce may have come off as combative; and for that I apologize.
To better simplify what I should have said:
I recall things about seasons and lunar phases in the same context you would recall parts of Scripture.
Blessed be
4983187
That’s alright.