Beauty and the Beast 3D review (3D Blu-ray) ★★★★

Beauty and the Beast was one of those movies that saw the once-mighty Disney corporation hitting  its stride again. After a series of not-quite-theres animated features such as Robin Hood, The Sword In The Stone, Basil The Great Mouse Detective and others, the animation company split into two directions – CGI and a back-to-the-roots approach with The Lion King, Aladdin and of course this, Beauty And The Beast.

So, the film first. The songs are largely unmemorable (many people disagree) but that aside this is classic Disney. A basic preamble, enchantingly told through stained glass windows, a geeky heroine, a good looking but nasty suitor, followed by a ferocious monster (not quite savage enough to kill people), and some irritable servants who’ve been turned into clocks, candles, kettles, furniture.

This is exactly the sort of enchantment that made Disney great. This time it’s underpinned by a rock solid morality tale about not judging by appearances, suffering for being shallow and seeing what’s actually important. The beast finds his humanity and it’s restored, Belle finds the beast really was beautiful, and the bad guy’s killed off by his own prejudice and cowardice. Lovely stuff – although I do prefer Shrek, where the ugly people stay ugly and are loveable all the same.

This time it’s in 3D. It’s a little jarring to watch line-drawn characters moving in 3D but go with it – particularly in the scenes in the castle, the third dimension really adds a great deal to the storytelling. This is a cracking little movie and one of Disney’s best, the first animation ever nominated for the best film overall at the Oscars. A few more memorable songs and I’d have given it five stars – but what the heck, you and your kids will love it.