The Movie
Special Edition version.

A sequel to the wonderful Oscar-winning "Beauty and the Beast". A tale that tells of the Christmas where Belle tries to bring the spirit of the season to a beast who forbids its celebration. Not surprisingly, he wishes to forget the anniversary of the day he was transformed from a prince into a beast. Belle has other plans as the special day approaches. Aided by a decorator-turned-ornament (Bernadette Peters), they strive to win him over despite the evil efforts and dark music of Forte (Tim Curry), the pipe organ, to prevent them. Joining Forte, to foil their attempts, is Fife (Paul Reubens), a piccolo promised sheet music especially for him if he does Forte's bidding. Eventually, all the enchanted creatures that were formerly servants come to Belle's aid.

The sequel gathers the original voice cast together including Belle, Paige O'Hara; The Beast, Robby Benson; Lumiere, Jerry Orbach; Cogsworth, David Odgen Stiers and also showcases first-timers Bernadette Peters as Angelique, Tim Curry as Forte, Haley Joel Osment as Chip and Paul Reubens as Fife.

While it does not achieve the difficult task of topping the original, Disney does give it a good shot. The number of songs are reduced from the parent Menken/Ashman collaboration, but what does exist is original. Especially pleasing are the exceptional singing talents of Bernadette Peters. The animation is not as tight in this direct-to-video offering but is better than that of prior releases, such as Aladdin, and does shine at times with memorable clips of Belle's storybook and Forte's songs.

DVD
1.33:1, original format, direct to video, OAV (original animated video), 72 minutes.

Video
Very nice direct to video transfer and much improved over the non special edition version. The colors really pop as compared to the dull ones that exist in the prior release.

Audio
Dolby Digital 5.1 English.
Dolby Surround French.
Dolby Surround Spanish.
No subtitles.

Menus
Interactive access with scene selection.

Extras
Behind the Scenes featurette - "Beauty and the Beast" animation in general, not specific to this movie and discussions with some of the films cast.

"Forte's Challenge" game - a memory game.

Enchanted environment - animated fireplace scenes.

Sing-along song tracks - standalone and in-movie titling of the song words.

Music video - "As Long As There's Christmas" music video, performed by PLAY.

Final Thoughts
If you are a fan of "Beauty and the Beast" specifically, you are sure to like this sequel, as it tries to insert a point-in-time story into the original. A Christmas past where Belle tries to warm the heart of the beast to the season against his reluctance.

Note: Disney plans to discontinue this title on January 31, 2003. So, you might want to pick this up while it's still available.