So what’s my beef, then? A little thing called continuity.

(Spoiler Alert)

Before my screening at the El Capitan Theater, the audience was treated to a song and dance routine performed by the stars of the film, Belle and the Beast. No complaints there. Belle is even hotter in person than she is in the movie, and the Beast looked pretty bad ass himself, except for that stupid blue suit they had him wearing. All in all, it was an enjoyable experience… or so I thought.

At the end of the film, I watched the Beast transform back into a handsome prince. This raises an important question; If the Beast is no longer a monster, then who in the hell was that dancing on stage before the screening? Sure, it looked a lot like the Beast, but logically, that’s impossible, because the curse was broken, and the Beast as we knew him no longer exists! Does Disney think that just because the crowd was made up of children and movie bloggers that we wouldn’t be able to figure it out? I might be stupid, but I’m not blind! While I’m not blind, I am insulted. For all I know, that was some hairy drunken hobo prancing around on stage with Belle, ’cause it sure as hell wasn’t the Beast! For shame, Disney.

7 photosEmma Watson

Guillermo del Toro, quickly realizing that he had nothing planned for March of 2012, quickly rectified the situation by attaching himself to a feature adaptation of the classic Beauty and the Beast. The news comes from Crazy. Stupid. Love. producer Denise Di Novi, who revealed that she had been developing an adaptation of the story with del Toro, and that Emma Watson was attached to star. So much for feeding your inner artist with a bunch of indie films after Harry Potter. Can’t say I blame her.

Guillermo del Toro’s next film is Pacific Rim, starring Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, and Charlie Day, while Watson’s next is acting opposite Logan Lerman in The Importance of Not Being A Wallflower. The timeline for Beauty and the Beast hasn’t been divulged, as the project seems to be in its infancy, but details on a project this big should be forthcoming shortly.

Disney started their Blu Ray venture with classic animation titles like Sleeping Beauty, which they restored to amazing color and detail. You could see the original brushstrokes and texture of the cels. Now they’re hitting their ‘90s era rebirth with the Oscar nominee Beauty and the Beast.

This is an interesting case study because it’s a blend of styles. There are still hints of the hand crafted animation with a pristine sheen of digital assistance. In a few establishing shots, the clarity is so unreal you’d think these animated locations really existed and they pointed a camera at them. Other times, you totally see a still background with moving cel characters in front.

Cool details to notice include the texture of the paper behind drawn French shops, and white specs of uncolored paper where a brush may have missed a spot. The character art is flawless, especially now with the sharp lines of high definition. Somehow, they made the snow glow like crystal.

Most impressively, the colors blend together. It’s nice when colors pop out of a scene, and Beauty and the Beast is certainly a colorful movie set in a European fantasy realm. Perhaps the advance in animation was blending the colors in a way that simulates a realistic scene. That stands out on the Blu Ray.