Beauty & the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas

Although a fair number of direct-to-video sequels aren't worth the tape they're duplicated on (the upcoming Prophecy II comes to mind), this charming Christmas tale--which actually takes place during the original Beauty & the Beast--is well worth the watch. Reprising their roles as the radiant Belle and the hirsute Beast are Paige O'Hara and Robby Benson, while Angela Lansbury, David Ogden Stiers and Jerry Orbach all return as Mrs. Potts, Cogsworth and Lumiere. New to the cast, and central to The Enchanted Christmas story, are Tim Curry as Forte, an evil computer-generated pipe organ and Paul Reubens (remember Pee Wee?) as Fife, his half-hearted henchman. With Christmas fast approaching, Belle wants to deck the halls, so to speak, and celebrate the holidays. The Beast, on the other hand, is not a big yuletide fan (it was on Christmas, you'll recall, that he lost his boyish figure and became the hairy, hulking grouch). Around this admittedly slender premise is draped a fairly engaging storyline as Belle's generous efforts (with the help of Christmas ornament Angelique, voiced by Bernadette Peters) come up against Forte's devilish plots. Five new songs from Oscar-winner Rachel Portman (Emma), solid animation (the menacing Forte is visually and aurally superb, thanks to excellent computer animation and Curry's lip-smackingly villainous interpretation), and a warm and witty script all combine to make for an enchanting time, indeed. Recommended. (R. Pitman)[Blu-ray Review—Nov. 22, 2011—Walt Disney, 71 min., G, $39.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1997's Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas boasts a nice transfer with DTS-HD 5.1 sound. Extras include the bonus episode “Stick to It (Don't Give Up)” from the Disney Channel-aired Sing Me a Story with Belle (23 min.), a behind-the-scenes featurette (16 min.), a sing-along mode, a song-selection feature, the music video for “As Long As There's Christmas” by Play, an “Enchanted Environment” fireplace screensaver, a bonus DVD copy of the film, and trailers. Bottom line: a fine Blu-ray debut for this winning Christmas title from the popular franchise.]