Part prequel, part midquel, part sequel, “Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas” will come across the suspicious among those as one big holiday cash-in, which came out 1997. Kenneth Brown mentioned, “For the more holiday spirited and festively naive, though, it will remain the quaint, quasi-successful direct-to-video Christmas special that has delighted young Disney Princess hopefuls for fifteen years now. Without a wide-eyed, Belle-enamored daughter at my side, though, its fiery furball festivities and grumbly Grinch romanticism left me cold.” It doesn’t only fall short of the original movie, its Christmas cheer is a bit artificial, and its characters skate on thin ice and its heartwarming holiday love story gets put into the commotion of its bad-tempered report of hesitant joy.
Taking place loosely between “Beauty and the Beast’s” wolf attack and Beast’s first gift to Belle, “The Enchanted Christmas” returns to a part when the Beast (Robby Benson) is still a less-than-welcoming host to his modest castle guest, Belle (Paige O’Hara) is still at the request of the Beast’s mood swings and his servants – Cogsworth (David Ogden Stiers), Lumiere (Jerry Orbach), Mrs. Potts (Angela Lansbury) and Chip (Haley Joel Osment) among them – are just beginning to start getting them together. As if those won’t fall into play with every other grouchy problem the Beast sticks to, Belle is surprised to learn that he doesn’t celebrate Christmas. Brown said, “After all, what supernaturally cursed shut-in doesn't love mistletoe and chestnuts?” Belle soon begins her mission in getting inside the Beast’s heart, goes to search for the perfect Christmas tree, and argues with a villainous pipe organ (Tim Curry) in the castle lowest point, and becomes friends with several new characters to the “Beauty and the Beast” family: Christmas ornament Angelique (singer and children’s author Bernadette Peters), piccolo Fife (Paul Reubens aka Pee Wee Herman) and wood ax Axe (Jeff Bennett).
Brown said, “Like many of the direct-to-video sequels Disney released in the '90s, The Enchanted Christmas features merely adequate animation, a simultaneously underdeveloped and convoluted storyline, and capped-budget production values.” The unavoidable comparison between this movie and the original movie doesn’t help anyone out either. The songs aren’t nearly as memorable, the romance and plot aren’t as magical, and Belle and Beast are slaves to a pre-established timeline that doesn’t let them have an unpredictable finale or a satisfying payoff. Brown mentioned, “And Belle? Belle looks as if she's gone one too many rounds with the Beast. Her lips lag behind her words, her movements are stiff, and her limbs are stocky. The graceful muse of Beauty and the Beast has been transformed into a pale imitation of herself. Will young viewers or the young at heart really notice? Any of it; the animation, the songs, the shortcomings? The short answer is no. Those with insatiable appetites for all things Disney will delight in Belle's holiday adventure, no matter how brash and bestial the Beast may be. (Although I should offer one word of warning. The murky message the film comes dangerously close to teaching little girls? You can change that abusive brute into a tender, loving prince with enough patience, tough love and stand-your-ground determination. Um... any problem with that message? Anyone? Anyone?)”
The real question is this, according to Brown: “The real question is this: does the delight of would-be princesses and Disney daughters grant an average paint-by-numbers midquel a free pass?” It might if your children are a part of “The Enchanted Christmas” age range, but for mostly everyone else, it will be just this, according to Brown: “an average paint-by-numbers midquel.” It doesn’t move the original “Beauty and the Beast” forward, it simply approaches on unimportant subplots and characters. It doesn’t improve the original story (not considerably anyway), it just squeezes a holiday vignette. It doesn’t give much at all, really, other than a somewhat nice gift of Christmas spirit wrapped in a mildly entertaining (though early dismissed) movie. Brown said, “As I said, though, I don't have a daughter, and The Enchanted Christmas wasn't made with cynics in mind. If you do, and if you don't hold your Christmas fare to a higher standard, Disney's late-90s Beauty and the Beast followup will get far more mileage in your family's BD player than mine. My family? We'll be watching The Muppets Christmas Carol, not-so-patiently awaiting its Blu-ray debut.”
With “Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas” we get another direct-to-video Disney midquel/sequel on DVD/Blu-Ray. Whether that makes you happy or has you just brushing it off may depend completely on who you live with at home, but those who enjoy Belle and Beast’s first Christmas together won’t complain…much.
I first saw this movie on TV and we recorded it on VHS. We still have this VHS recording, much like we still have somewhere a VHS recording of the first movie. I have seen this sequel many times, like with the first movie, and I don’t mind this at all. I think it’s actually a good sequel, not better than the first one, but it’s definitely a nice one to watch around the holiday season. Definitely check this out if you would like, especially since Christmas is coming up, so give it a chance.
Tomorrow for “Disney Sequel Month,” I will be looking at the second sequel in the “Beauty and the Beast” timeline.
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