“Beauty and the Beast” was a smash hit for Disney, and I can see wanting to capitalize on that success as much as possible. This thinking brought us “Belle’s Magical World,” a movie comprised of a series of stories that supposedly took place between Belle’s arrival at the castle and the Beast’s magical transformation back into a prince. All of the characters are still household items, and there are more of them than ever before, making me wonder – just how many servants worked in that castle, anyway?
I’m being a little more cynical than this movie really deserves – while not outstanding, there was nothing wrong with the film, per se. I do tire, however, of Disney trying to go back and recapture what they had with the original film, and falling so short.
On to the movie itself – several short stories are told that teach the values of friendship, communication, forgiveness, and apologizing. The first story tells of a dinner party for the Beast and Belle. Beast is trying to use his best table manners, but the temperature in the room is too hot for him. He finally tells Cogsworth to open the window, and now he’s the only one comfortable while everyone else is cold. A simple thing, and a simple fix, but we all remember how bad the Beast’s temper is, and he and Belle get into a huge fight. Neither one of them will apologize until finally, an enterprising dictionary, pen, and stack of paper come together to send a note they hope will bring the dispute to an end.
In another story, Lumiere has a special date coming up. He and Fifi have been romantically involved for five years, and she’s expecting a commemoration of the anniversary. She confides this to Belle, who decides she’d better make sure Lumiere remembers. He doesn’t, so Belle agrees to help him create a magical night of memories for Fifi. When Fifi sees Lumiere and Belle spending so much time together, she jumps to the wrong conclusion, and flirts with Cogsworth to get Lumeire’s attention.
If your kids are huge “Beauty and the Beast” fans, they’ll probably enjoy “Belle’s Magical World.” It’s not a stellar film but it’s not terrible either. How’s that for a wishy-washy recommendation?
This movie is rated G.
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