Disc 2:

You find yourself in the Beast’s enchanted castle, where his friendly staff of animated inanimate objects (represented by stained glass windows) are present to guide you through the disc’s four different sections.

Cogsworth and Lumiere - “For the Ultimate Film Fan”: Enter the library where options are available to watch the documentary feature all at once or each section individually.

Origins of ‘Beauty and the Beast’: Film historians Paula Sigmas, John Canemaker and Robert Osborne join the film’s creative team in these segments, along with Roy E. Disney and, for the first time, Michael Eisner himself. In this section, discover the many different versions of this ‘tale as old as time’.

Bringing the Story to the Screen: The story of Beauty and the Beast was attempted at the Disney Studios twice before, in the 1930s and 1950s, but Walt’s team had trouble with the story’s limitations and it was abandoned. In spite of and/or because of these challenges, the new crew embraced the task of bringing the story to life.

Early Presentation Reel: This raw collection of concept art and character sketches was used to inspire those working on the film. Although it bears little resemblance to the final film, crude early renderings of the enchanted objects can be seen, as well as Belle’s sisters from the original fairy tale, who were later dropped from the Disney version.

Finding the Story: Then Studio head Jeffrey Katzenberg brought in, for the first time for an animated film, a screenwriter, Linda Woolverton. She would later go on to write the book for the Broadway version.

Alternate Version: “Be Our Guest”: Originally, Ashman and Menken’s big production number was sung to Maurice upon his arrival at the castle, as seen here in an early animation test reel. But it was decided that it was necessary to get Belle to the castle earlier in the film, and the song and animation were altered and placed after she arrived.

Deleted Song: “Human Again”, with Introduction by Don Hahn: The original story reel, along with the demo recording of the song sung by Ashman and Menken, shows a lot of similarities to the sequence that was finally animated and added years afterward. Also includes the deleted “tick tock” verses that necessitated the songs removal originally, for it was hard to justify what was happening outside the castle (with Maurice and Gaston) while all this time was passing. When the song was added to the Broadway version, these verses were cut, eventually inspiring the filmmakers to add “Human Again” back into the movie for the Special Edition.

Musical Magic: The film’s original tone was much darker, adhering more closely to the fairy tale. But after the success of The Little Mermaid, Ashman and Menken were brought aboard as the songwriters, and their contributions brought a Broadway musical mentality to the production.

Alternate Score: “The Transformation”: Menken introduces his original take on the score for the climax of the movie, seen here in rough animation.

This section also includes an introduction to the deleted song “Human Again” by Menken.

Strength of Character: As with some adaptations, it is necessary to ‘open up’ the action to flesh out the story. With Beauty, this was done with the extensive re-thinking of the enchanted objects, who were originally just non-speaking spirits who responded to the Beast’s every beck and call. Inspired by Ashman’s idea to anthropomorphize the objects, such characters as Lumiere, Cogsworth and Mrs. Potts were created, in part to reflect the Beast’s plight and to help humanize his character.

Vocal Heroes: The Voice Talent: While it’s great to see O’Hara, Robby Benson (Beast), Lansbury, Orbach and Stiers (who, we find out, originally auditioned for Lumiere) discussing their roles here, but where is the rest of the cast? Missing in action: White, Pierce, Jesse Corti (LaFou) and Jo Anne Worley (Wardrobe). (Rex Everhart, the voice of Maurice, passed away in 2000.)

Character Art Galleries: This gallery, along with almost all of the others in the set, comes with an optional audio commentary. Here you’ll find early concept drawings for all of the characters. Some highlights:

• Along with Gaston, the Beast went through the most evolution, including at times a baboon face and a pig head.
• Mrs. Potts at one time had her own tea cozy.
• Finally revealed: yes indeed, Gaston is a distant cousin of Bram Bones from The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad.
• LaFou was a ‘yes man’ from the get-go: his original name was ‘Oui-Oui”.
• In the Enchanted Objects section, you can view designs for characters never used, as well as early drawings of the Footstool, Wardrobe and Feather Duster (who all would gain names in later incarnations: Sultan, Madame de la Grande Bouche and Babette, respectively.)

The Stage is Set: In the creation of the world for Beauty and the Beast, emphasis was put on color, which reflected the changing seasons, and thus the moods, of the story.

Concept Art and Design: Imagine Cogsworth leading you on a tour of the castle through this virtual gallery, which includes early concepts of Belle’s cottage, Gaston’s tavern, the Beast’s castle and the never-seen Maison des Lunes.

Layouts and Backgrounds: Another virtual gallery, featuring such set pieces as “Belle” and “Be Our Guest”.