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Beauty and the Beast | 1991 | G | - 2.4.1

A young woman (voiced of Paige O'Hara), scorned by her neighbors for being intellectually inclined, finds herself imprisoned in a castle by a mysterious beast (voice of Robby Benson) when she tries to save her father. As the two spend more time together they both realize that the feelings they have for each other may uncover the beast's true nature and free him from a horrible curse. Also with the voices of Rex Everhart, Richard White, Jesse Corti, Angela Lansbury, Jerry Orbach and David Ogden Stiers. Directed by Kirk Wise & Gary Trousdale. [1:24]

SEX/NUDITY 2 - A man and a young woman kiss and caress each other. A man and a woman dance and kiss.
 Three young women swoon over a man in several scenes and in one scene they surround him while he sits in a chair (one at his shoulder, one seated next to him and one on the floor with her hands resting on his knee).
 Three young women talk about a man and refer to him as "dreamy." A man proposes to a young woman aggressively, chasing her around a cabin, and he pins her against a door and tries to kiss her; the young woman opens the door, the man falls out and tumbles into a mud puddle and he becomes very angry. A man tries to convince a woman to join him and pulls her by the arm; she pulls away and says she's not interested. A woman wearing a low-cut top (her cleavage is visible) and carrying a feather duster tickles a man with it as she walks past; he makes a suggestive sound and follows her off-screen (nothing else is shown). A talking candlestick (male) and a talking feather duster (female) flirt and she says, "I've been burned by you before" as he dips her. A talking candlestick kisses a young woman's hand. A beast and a young woman hold hands. A young woman and a best dance together. A beast caresses a young woman's hair. A beast caresses a young woman's face tenderly.
 A young woman and a beast sing about their romantic feelings for each other. Two talking household items talk to a beast about how to woo a young woman and make her fall in love with him.
 Three well-endowed young women are shown wearing deeply cut dresses that reveal cleavage, bare shoulders and backs. A woman wears a low-cut dress that reveals her cleavage, bare shoulders and back. A man's shirt creeps up and reveals his bare abdomen and belly button in a couple of scenes. A man accidentally pulls his pants down and we see his boxer shorts. A man's pants fall down and we see his boxer shorts. There are several statues of men that reveal bare chests, abdomens and legs. We see a beast in a bathtub and then drying up with no clothes on (he's fur covered). We see paintings of cherubs with bare chests, abdomens, buttocks and backs and statues of cherubs with bare chests, abdomens and legs. A man comes out of a cupboard dressed in a woman's bra and pantaloons with a wig and lipstick on (he runs away screaming).

VIOLENCE/GORE 4 - A beast is shot in the back with an arrow and he roars loudly: he is kicked onto a roof and he slides down the shingles and onto a ledge, a man with something heavy approaches and prepares to strike him, the beast snatches the weapon and they fight; the beast holds the man by the throat and over the edge of the roof, then puts him down, and we see the beast lying wounded on the ground and he closes his eyes (he appears dead). A beast is stabbed in the side (we see a bloody slash on his side), he swings around and strikes a man behind him, and the man falls off the roof and into a deep cavern (we understand that he is dead).
 A beast enters a room where a man is seated, we see his glaring eyes and sharp teeth, we see the fur on his back standing up and his sharp claws are visible as he snarls and growls and threatens the man; the beast picks the man up and charges out of the room (we later see the man locked in a dark cell). A beast enters a room where a young woman speaks to her father who is locked in a dark cell; he snarls and threatens the young woman, they agree that the she will stay in the man's place and the beast drags the man out of the castle and throws him into a coach that takes him away as we hear him pleading to get out.
 A young woman rides her horse through dark woods, they are surrounded by snarling wolves that snap at the horse, the horse is frightened, runs across ice that breaks under them, it throws the young woman, the wolves snap, and she beats them away with a stick; a beast attacks the wolves and they jump on him biting him, he throws one against a tree and they all run away (we see a bloody gash on the beast's arm and he collapses to the ground).
 A man drives his horse and cart through thick and dark woods, we see the silhouette of a wolf nearby, the horse gets spooked, it backs up and hits a tree and many bats fly around it; the horse charges toward a cliff and nearly falls over the edge, the man is thrown and the horse runs away leaving the man surrounded by wolves that snarl and bare their large teeth, the man runs away, the wolves chase him, he runs through a gate and closes it behind him (the wolves snap at him from the other side of the gate and one grabs his shoe and the man is frightened but unharmed).
 A young woman rides a horse to the gates of a large, dark castle; she dismounts and enters the house, she calls out for her father, she searches through the house and finds him locked in a cold, dark cell. A man approaches a large, dark castle and enters when no one answers the door.
 People carrying axes and bows and arrows march toward a castle where a beast is; they are attacked by household items when they go inside, several are knocked out and one man is locked in a trunk. People with torches and pitchforks gather outside a man's house and yell that he is crazy so that staff from an asylum will take him away. A teapot and several teacups spill hot coffee on a man and he yells while an oven blows large flames across a kitchen and other men run away.
 A man is thrown out of a pub and into the snow outside. A man holds his fist above another man's head, and then strikes him (the man seems dazed for a moment). A man slams a musical instrument over the head of another man; the man struggles to free himself but is OK. A man slams a mug into another man's face, it sticks to his face and he struggles to get it off. A man grabs another man by the collar and yells at him. A man hits another man and he is thrown across a room. A man throws several men into a pile on the floor and then lays on top them. A man throws a drink in another man's face.
 A young woman and a man are locked in a dark basement until a machine is driven through the door and they break out. A young woman panics when she sees her father unconscious in snow and rides out on a horse to find him. A young woman sneaks through the darkened hallways of a castle and enters a dark room that is in shambles; a beast sees the young woman, lunges toward her and roars loudly.
 A beast snarls and yells and pounds on a door where a woman is, and then yells "Go ahead and starve; if she doesn't eat with me, she doesn't eat" and storms away. A man pleads for help from his neighbors and they mock him and laugh at him.
 There is an explosion in a house and smoke billows from the windows; a young woman runs to the house and we see an elderly man stuck head first in a barrel, he coughs and yells and kicks a piece of machinery. A machine clatters and makes noises, an ax on the machine slams down into a piece of wood and the machine throws the wood across the room and into a pile against a wall (a man and a young woman duck as the wood sails overhead). A man throws two mugs filled with alcohol into a fireplace and flames shoot out toward him (he is not harmed).
 We see a beast several times in heavy shadow with his large, pointed teeth and blazing eyes glowing in the dark. A woman gasps when she sees a beast for the first time. We see a picture of a "haggard" woman with deep facial wrinkles. We see a huge, dark castle surrounded by heavy clouds and thunder and lightning crashing in the distance. We see heavy, dark gargoyle-typed creatures decorating a dark castle in several scenes. Bright lights flash and shoot around a beast that appears dead; he is taken up into the air, we see his features transform from beast to human and he is gently placed on the ground (he's OK).
 A duck is shot out of the sky; we see the bird flinch when it is struck (no blood is evident), it stops flying and crashes to the ground next to a man carrying a bag. A large amount of snow piles on top of a man, covering him (we see him with blue-tinged skin later).
 A woman is closed inside a room and the door is locked; she throws herself onto a bed and cries. A creepy man from an asylum shows up at another man's door and he and two other large men take the man away in a carriage.
 A man describes a beast as being hideous, another man says, "It'll make off with your children" and then "We aren't safe until its head is mounted on my wall." We hear that a man sends a beggar away from his door for being ugly, she curses him and he is transformed into a hideous beast.
 A man is startled when a clock and a candlestick talk to him, he pokes the clock in the abdomen and turns its key (the clock seems uncomfortable) and drops the candlestick on the floor (the candlestick seems unharmed). A man sneezes on a clock and fogs up its glass. A teacart runs over a clock (the clock seems OK). A pile of dirt lands on top of a clock, covering it. An animated clock burns its hands on a candlestick's lit candle flames (the clock exclaims but appears OK). A talking clock falls head first into a Jell-O mold and struggles to free itself. Something runs over a clock and we see a tire track on its back (it's OK). A man throws a book into a mud puddle. A man puts his muddy boots onto a book that sits on a table.
 A man makes insulting and demeaning remarks about a woman who likes to read: "it's not right for a woman to read," "get ideas," "thinking," etc. Townspeople talk about a young woman being "odd."
 A man spits and what he spat ricochets around a pub (no one is harmed). A beast eats sloppily and we see his face and fur splattered with food.
 Household items walk and talk and move as if they are alive and we understand that they have been placed under a spell. Household items talk about "being human again." We see a hallway lined with suits of armor and spears.

LANGUAGE 1 - Name-calling (selfish, spoiled, unkind, odd, strange, funny, crazy, old loon, hunk of junk, boneheaded contraption, rude, conceited, boorish, little wife, hideously ugly old man, monster, hopeless, despicable, stupid, fools), exclamations (dog gone it).

SUBSTANCE USE - We see several men gathered in a pub and holding mugs of beer in a couple of scenes (no one is shown drinking).

DISCUSSION TOPICS - Love, kindness, spells, gender roles, conceit, greed, judging people, women being intelligent, curiosity, genuine goodness, provincial attitudes, beauty, wanting more from life, dreams, anger, imagination.

MESSAGE - Don't be deceived by appearances.

CAVEATS

Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.

We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.

Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.


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