BOONE, NC – The Appalachian Theatre of the High Country invites audiences of all ages to “Be Our Guest” at family-friendly prices for a special Saturday afternoon screening of the beloved Disney classic “Beauty and the Beast.” The Academy Award-winning movie has been hailed by Time magazine as the greatest film of the Disney Renaissance and one of the greatest animated films of all time.
The movie will be shown at 2 p.m. on Saturday, February 18 and is only 84 minutes in duration with a general admission ticket price of only $6 per person. It is the second screening on the “Family Favorites” film series sponsored by Allen Wealth Management with five beloved movies from now through the winter and spring months of 2023.
“Beauty and the Beast” is a 1991 animated musical romantic fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 30th Disney animated feature film and the third released during the Disney Renaissance period, it is based on the 1756 fairy tale of the same name by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont (who was only credited in the version released in France), while also containing ideas from the 1946 French film of the same name directed by Jean Cocteau. The film was directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise and produced by Don Hahn, from a screenplay by Linda Woolverton.
The film focuses on the relationship between the Beast (voiced by Robby Benson), a prince who is magically transformed into a monster and his servants into household objects as punishment for his arrogance, and Belle (voiced by Paige O’Hara), a young woman whom he imprisons in his castle in exchange for her father. To break the curse, the Beast must learn to love Belle and earn her love in return before the last petal falls from an enchanted rose or else, he will remain a monster forever. The film also features the voices of Richard White, Jerry Orbach, David Ogden Stiers, and Angela Lansbury, who sings the memorable title song.
Walt Disney first attempted to adapt Beauty and the Beast into an animated film during the 1930s and 1950s but was unsuccessful. Following the success of “The Little Mermaid” (1989), Walt Disney Pictures decided to adapt the fairy tale, which Richard Purdum originally conceived as a non-musical period drama. After seeing a test reel, Disney chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg scrapped Purdum’s idea and ordered that the film be a musical like “The Little Mermaid” instead.
Lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken wrote the film’s songs. Ashman, who additionally served as the film’s executive producer, died of AIDS-related complications six months before the film’s release, and the film is thus dedicated to his memory.
“Beauty and the Beast” premiered as an unfinished film at the New York Film Festival on September 29, 1991, followed by its theatrical release as a completed film at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on November 13. The film grossed $331 million at the box office worldwide on a $25 million budget and received widespread critical acclaim for its romantic narrative, animation (particularly the ballroom scene), characters, and musical numbers.
The film won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, the first animated film to ever win that category. It also became the first animated film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture at the 64th Academy Awards (ultimately losing to “The Silence of the Lambs”), where it won the Academy Award for Best Original Score and Best Original Song for its title song and received additional nominations for Best Original Song and Best Sound. In April 1994, “Beauty and the Beast” became Disney’s first animated film to be adapted into a Broadway musical, which ran until 2007.
In 2002, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” After the success of the 3D re-release of “The Lion King,” the film was reissued in 3D in 2012. A liveaction adaptation of the film directed by Bill Condon was released on March 17, 2017.
Note that all Films@TheApp are shown without movie previews or trailers, so please arrive a few minutes before the scheduled start time to secure tickets and purchase concessions. The general admission ticket price is just $6 per person, and attendees under the age of 13 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
While the App Theatre’s online ticketing system is accessible 24/7, customers can avoid the online service fees by visiting the lobby box office between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. from Tuesday through Friday, or two hours prior to showtime for each film. For a complete performance schedule of all upcoming events, or to sign up for the theatre’s e-blast distribution list, visit the organization’s website at www.apptheatre.org
Events, days, dates, times, performers, and prices are subject to change without notice.
You must be logged in to post a comment.