Disney's Beauty And The Beast: The Broadway Musical - Original Broadway Cast Recording (Blisterpack)
Way back in 1991, many of us saw the single-handed salvation and revival of the old-fashioned American-style Broadway musical comedy. True, it was in the form of a feature-length Disney cartoon, but Beauty and the Beast had it all: a wonderful, tuneful score (including a huge hit title-song), off-the-wall choreography, a great opposites-attract love story with an ultimately happy ending, comic subplots, colorful period costumes, a romantic location in small-town France, and an irresistible cast, including Angela Lansbury as the voice of a teapot. Alan Menken's songs, with lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, literally introduced the characters ("Belle" and "Gaston") and carried them gracefully through the old fairy tale with its new animated twists. Disney understandably decided to transpose this cinematic miracle to the Broadway stage in 1992. Beauty and the Beast at the fabled Palace Theatre has done as much as anything to revive New York's theatre district; it led to a similar animated film-to-stage transfer of The Lion King, which allowed for the magnificent restoration of the 1902 New Amsterdam Theatre, which was the cornerstone of the cleanup of 42nd Street, which in turn transformed Times Square and "Broadway" into the world's number-one tourist destination. And we're all terribly grateful. But, on stage, Beauty and the Beast was flat, and most of that lack of fizz is, alas, captured on compact disc. The good songs are all here, such as "Be Our Guest," but the performances of them are mostly perfunctory--the exception being the vocal renderings of Susan Egan as Belle, the Beauty. Further, the Disneyfication of the Broadway musical seems to extend to faceless and interchangeable (read: cheap to hire) players, a practice that extends to The Lion King. The only "names" in the original Beauty and the Beast cast were Beth Howland as the teapot and Tom Bosley, a mere shadow of his former Fiorello, as Belle's father. Even worse, unlike The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast was not reinvented for the stage. It's my theory that the kids who made up the live audience (and many of their parents) were filling in the blanks from repeated viewings of the cartoon on video. If you're willing to do the same when only listening, this CD might do. But why, when the movie soundtrack album is available? --Robert Windeler Customer Review: Awsome, just like being there
Just like sitting at the show or being at Disney's Hollywood Studio watching the Beauty & The Beast live show.
Customer Review: Surprising!
I avoid Disney because they usually throw enough "sweetness" at a person to give them diabetes! Having heard two of the songs on AOL Radio, I was curious enough to order the CD. It was a TOTAL surprise! There is enough sugar in it, but there is FAR more passion than I would expect from Disney. It's a love story. (Aren't they ALL?) BUT there are enough other enjoyable moments in it to make it worthwhile. (Including what I perceive to be a suicide threat, "If I can't love her/Let the world be done with me."). Not what you'd expect!) While the whole musical can be summarized in three of the tracks, (Prologue, to tell the premise, Something There, to show development, and End Duet to resolve the situation) that doesn't say that the other tracks are fluff. They ALL contribute to the telling of the story. All in all, far better than I expected!
Canta Con Nosotros: AladÃn - Un Amigo Fiel (Disney's Sing-Along Songs)
Customer Review: Good video for kids but...I recently purchased this video because i own a diffrent one and enjoyed it especially since i enjoy studying spanish. Unfortunately I was disappointed with this one. I didn't care for the selection of songs chosen. But before I purchased it I saw it had a song from "The Little Mermaid" which was part of the reason I decided to purchase it in the first place. However, if you are a fan of the movie "The Little Mermaid" let me say that the song included in the video is not from the movie but from a song in one of the cartoon series and not in the least bit as good as any in the movie. But on the plus side their are two very good songs from "Aladin" (as mentioned in an earlier review) and another good song from "Beauty and the Beast". Unless you plan to buy this video because of the two songs from "Aladin" I reccomend buying "La Sirenita:Bajo el Mar"(The Little Mermaid:Under the Sea) instead because from my opinion I think it is much more enjoyable for the spanish student and for children. Just type in -'Disney sing along songs in spanish' and it will come up, along with a few other 'canta con nosotros' tapes. Over all I was disappointed with this video but I do give some credit for the songs from "Aladin".
Customer Review: Fun singable translations
The theme of this video is friendship, and here is its contents: "Amigo fiel" and "Un mundo ideal" (Aladdin), "Hay Algo" (Beauty and the Beast), "Muy buenos amigos" (The Fox and the Hound), ¿Cómo le va? (The Song of the South), "Amistad" (sung by Mickey, Donald and Goofy), "En ArmonÃa" (The Little Mermaid - series), "Juntos cantando" (The Parent Trap) and "Para eso son los amigos" (The Jungle Book). The translations are excellent, especially "Un mundo ideal", and all have Karaoke-style lyrics. I found this video to be a great aid in my high school 1st and 2nd year Spanish classes. A previous reviewer made a reference to Robin Williams - obviously Williams is not in this dubbed collection of songs. However, the Spanish voice-over is quite good in "Amigo fiel" - "A Friend Like Me". Please note that only two of the songs are from Aladdin.
Walt Disney's "Pocahontas" Letterbox Laserdisc
This LaserDisc is Extended Play. In this format, it offers: Scan and Pause. The motion picture contained on this laserdisc is presented in matted-screen or "Letterbox" format, in which the film retains its original theatrical screen dimensions. This format allows you to experience the film as it appeared in theaters: bands that appear at the top and bottom of the screen are normal for films presented in this format.
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