The Special Edition: How the much ballyhooed addition of “Human Again” came about.

Chip’s Fun and Games - For the Young at Heart: Join Chip in the kitchen for these offerings for the tween and under set:

Disney’s Animation Magic: Based in part on Hahn’s book of the same name, these brief, rudimentary explorations into the making of animated films was apparently produced for the Disney Channel as program ‘bumpers’, short segments seen in between episodes of Boy Meets World one would suppose. With its jerky cinematography and ‘hey dude’ hosts from Even Stevens, not much new is learned by anybody who has even a passing interest in animation, but the film clips (including The Lion King, Toy Story and, of course, Beauty and the Beast) are at least fun to watch.

Chip’s Musical Challenge Game: Remember the old game Simon? Well, that’s pretty much what this game is, challenging the young ones’ memory as kitchen appliances play out the tune of “Be Our Guest”.

‘Beauty and the Beast’ Music Video Performed by Jump 5: OK, I thought the Baha Men’s “Who Woke Snow White Up?” was the height of scrapping the bottom of the barrel (to mix metaphors) of the current Disney music department. But to take a beautiful ballad, the modern equivalent of “When You Wish Upon A Star”, and let a bunch of American Idol rejects named Jump 5 (yeah, that’s right, who?) popify it to beyond recognition is inexcusable blasphemy. (Also available on the almost equally unlistenable DisneyMania! CD.)

Mrs. Potts’ Engaging Treats - Fun for All Ages: Join the perky teapot in the den for these non-fan fan friendly features.

Tale as Old as Time: The Making of ‘Beauty and the Beast’: Another portal to watching the complete, uninterrupted documentary available in the Cogsworth and Lumiere section. Like the recent Monsters, Inc. DVD, these multi-access points to the same features are, I’m sure, designed to make it easier to find certain features, but they are actually confusing and a bit misleading, making it appear that there are actually more features on the disc then they actually are. A bit shady, if you ask me …

Mrs. Potts’ Personality Profile Game: Little mademoiselles (girls) and monsieurs (boys) can answer a list of questions to help Mrs. Potts determine which character from Beauty and the Beast you resemble most. It’s a bit sexist that the female and male characters are divided, so I tried both and, for the record, I’m Mrs. Potts and Cogsworth (no big surprise there … )

The Story Behind the Story: A nice edition, this segment features Disney celebrity hosts (led by Dion) discussing the original stories that several Disney movies were based on and how they were adapted into the animated films we all know and love.

• Close your eyes when Paige O’Hara tells the story of Cinderella, and imagine that Belle is reading it to you.
• James Earl Jones (the voice of Mufassa) relates the original story of The Lion King, originally titled King of the Jungle.
• David Ogden Stiers (the voices of Governor Ratcliffe and Wiggins) recounts the historical events that were the basis for Pocahontas.
• Robby Benson comments on Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book, thankfully without a plug for the upcoming sequel.
• The Little Mermaid herself, Jodi Benson, tells the tale of another storybook princess, Sleeping Beauty.
• Ming-Na, the voice of Mulan, reveals that her character was based on a Chinese legend that itself may have been based on a real woman.
• Angela Lansbury explores the world created by Victor Hugo for The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

This section also includes access to the Dion/Bryson “Beauty and the Beast” music video.

Break the Spell Adventure Game: Using the combination gained in the Maurice’s Invention Workshop game on disc 1, you can access the West Wing and help Chip save the Enchanted Rose.

Along the way, you must dodge candlesticks and flying furniture, answer ethical questions posed by the Enchantress, and figure out a few simple puzzles. The trick of this game is manipulating the remote in a timely manner to progress through the game, a challenge in itself. Thankfully, after you loose a round, you do have the option to resume the game where you left off. But even with that feature, it took me a good half hour to make my way through this virtual game, where you are rewarded at the end with a clip from the movie. Hint: you can use the up and down arrows on your remote as well as the left and right.

•  •  •

Toon Talk Trivia:

• Paige O’Hara, Robby Benson, Jerry Orbach, David Ogden Stiers and Angela Lansbury all returned for the direct to video ‘midquel’ Beauty and the Beast: An Enchanted Christmas, and all but Lansbury were also heard in their famous roles in another video offering, Belle’s Magical World, both coming soon to Disney DVD.

Coming Soon in Toon Talk:

• Tim Allen returns in a Disney double feature: first, The Santa Clause gets the special edition DVD treatment on October 29^th, then returns on the big screen November 3^rd for The Santa Clause 2.
• Belle and the Beast continue the holiday festivities with the DVD debut of Beauty and the Beast: An Enchanted Christmas, available November 12^th.
• Treasure Planet, Disney’s 42^nd animated feature film, premieres in both regular theaters and on IMAX/Large Screen venues on November 27^th.

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-- Kirby C. Holt

Kirby, a former Walt Disney World Resort Cast Member (and Trivia Champ), is a lifelong Disney fan and film buff. He is also an avid list maker and chronic ellipsis user ...

Took Talk: Disney Film & Video Reviews by Kirby C. Holt is posted whenever there's something new to review.

The opinions expressed by our Kirby C. Holt, and all of our columnists, do not necessarily represent the feelings of LaughingPlace.com or any of its employees or advertisers. All speculation and rumors about the future plans of the Walt Disney Company are just that - speculation and rumors - and should be treated as such.

-- Posted October 21, 2002