- Aspect Ratio: 1:78:1
- Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
- Resolution: 1080p/24 (23.976Hz)
- Audio Codec: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
- Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
- Region: ABC (Region-Free)
- Rating: G
- Run Time: 71 Mins.
- Discs: 2 (1 x Blu-ray + 1 x DVD)
- Studio: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
- Blu-ray Release Date: November 22, 2011
- List Price: $39.99
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BestBuy.com:
Purchase Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:3.5/5]
The Film
[Rating:3.5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:2.5/5]
Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures
(Screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG thus are meant as a general representation of the content and do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)
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The Film
[Rating:3.5/5]
Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas was Disney’s 1997 direct-to-video return to the world of their spectacular theatrical success Beauty and the Beast. Rather than being a straight sequel, per se, the story sort of expands on the original tale of Belle and the Beast in the enchanted castle, before the Beast’s curse was lifted by the gift of true love granted him by Belle.
In this new Disney tale, Belle decides to bring Christmas back to the enchanted castle against the wishes of the Beast who has banned the celebrations since the day he was cursed. But Belle is determined, and with the help of the familiar characters, Lumiere, Cogsworth, Chip, and Mrs. Potts, she carries on with her plans, determined to bring happiness back to the beast and the castle. Throwing obstacles in her path, however, are the new characters Forte the Pipe Organ and his sidekick Fife. Forte is determined to keep Belle and Beast from falling in love lest the enchantment should be lifted and Beast will no longer appreciate his gloomy music.
Like all of Disney’s direct-to-video sequels, Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas is not up to the level of its theatrical counterpart in terms of its story or its animation. There is an obvious step down in quality on both counts. Even the songs in this one aren’t quite as memorable. I’ve just finished viewing it and I don’t have a clear melody stuck in my head like I still do of the numerous songs from Beauty and the Beast. With all of that being said, there is no doubt that kids will enjoy this release and it will make fine, wholesome holiday entertainment.
Video Quality
[Rating:4/5]
While the picture here looks very clean and detailed, it doesn’t have that “pop” that you expect from a Disney animated release. In comparison to Disney’s Blu-ray release of their original Beauty and the Beast, this AVC/MPEG-4 1080p encodement is a couple notches down. The color reproduction isn’t quite as vibrant and consistent and overall gamma seems to be set too high. There are also a few hints of aliasing in the original animation that can be spotted here and there.
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
This is a competent DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix, as one might expect from Disney. There is a hefty amount of low frequency extension that offers a lot of weight to the special effects, particularly Forte’s organ music and the Beast’s stomping around. There’s good balance of sounds between the front and surround channels while dialogue and vocals are clear and clean.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:2.5/5]
Disney hasn’t offered anything new here, preferring to bring everything over from the original DVD release in standard definition.
The supplements provided with this release are:
- Disney’s Sing Me a Story with Belle “Stick to It (Don’t Give Up)” (1.33:1; 480i/60; 00:22:57) – Belle inspires children to keep trying and never give up in this DVD-era live-action special feature.
- Enchanted Environment – View the castle’s enchanted fireplace as Christmas tunes are played.
- “As Long as There’s Christmas” Music Video, Performed by Play (1.33:1; 480i/60; 00:03:20)
- Behind-the-Scenes Featurette (1.33:1; 480i/60; 00:15:53)
- Disney’s Song Selection:
- “Deck the Halls”
- “Stories”
- “As Long as There’s Christmas”
- “Don’t Fall in Love”
- “As Long as There’s Christmas (Reprise)”
- “A Cut Above the Rest”
- Sing-Along with the Movie
- Discover Blu-ray 3D with Timon & Pumbaa
- DVD
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:3.5/5]
If you don’t the same level of quality as the original theatrical feature from this direct-to-video sequel, then it is bound to provide perfectly fine, wholesome, and family friendly entertainment for the holiday season.
Additional Screen Captures
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[amazon-product]B0052OPJ28[/amazon-product]
BestBuy.com:
Purchase Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:3.5/5]
The Film
[Rating:3.5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:2.5/5]
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