Trivia Tuesday: Lions, and wolves, and bears! Oh, my!
If you look closely at the Beast, you may see a hint of a lion or a bit of a boar and you would be right. Animator Glen Keane actually drew inspiration for Beast from several different animals (see the picture below), starting with wolves he observed at a London zoo. Keane also adorned his work space with buffalo and wild boar heads during production while he fine tuned the look of the Beast.
Magical Monday- Mickey's PhilharMagic at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom
When trying to keep up with the hustle and bustle of Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, it is easy for smaller attractions to take a back seat to the park's E-Ticket attractions. However, if you are a fan of Disney animated films, especially those released in the 90s, then Mickey's PhilharMagic is a must-see during your visit to the happiest place on earth!
Opening in October 2003, Mickey's PhilharMagic is located just behind Cinderella's castle in the Fantasyland area of Magic Kingdom. The 4D attraction features classic Disney characters, like Mickey and Donald, as well as characters from Aladdin, Fantasia, The Lion King, Peter Pan, The Little Mermaid, and Beauty and the Beast. In the Beauty and the Beast sequence, Donald Duck takes Belle's place as the castle's hungry visitor, complete with a performance of "Be Our Guest" from Lumiere.
Throwback Thursday: “I have spent a lot of time considering the emotional life of crockery.”
Emma Thompson is no stranger to stepping into Angela Lansbury's shoes. Not only has Emma Thompson worked with the legendary actress on 2005's Nanny McPhee, but she also played Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd in 2014, a role originated by Lansbury in 1979 on Broadway. As Mrs. Potts in the live-action Beauty and the Beast, Emma Thompson is once more stepping into one of Angela Lansbury's iconic roles and I'm sure we can all agree it will be marvelous!
Thompson spoke with Vulture last fall about Beauty and the Beast and following in Lansbury's footsteps:
“Imagine walking once more into Angela’s shoes!” Thompson mused. So, how did she inhabit Lansbury’s famous teapot? “I think I just had to make her as warm and round and scouting as possible,” Thompson said, adding with a laugh, “I have spent a lot of time considering the emotional life of crockery.”
Watch: Emma Thompson honors Angela Lansbury at the 2013 Governors Awards
There is no denying the excitement surrounding the upcoming live-action Beauty and the Beast, but when the teaser trailer debuted this past May, no one expected the fans' record breaking response. In just one day, the teaser trailer was viewed a total of 91.8 million times, topping the 88 million views of the second teaser trailer for The Force Awakens.
The trailer continues to rack up big numbers, with the trailer nearing 17 million views on YouTube and passing 50 million views on Emma Watson's (Belle) Facebook page.
Throwback Thursday- Beauty and the Beast posters
Disney released the first teaser poster for the upcoming live-action Beauty and the Beast earlier today, so why not take a look back at a few posters for the 1991 animated film?
The next two posters are from the IMAX (2002) and 3-D (2012) theatrical re-releases of the film.
Prior to the June 2002 release of Lilo and Stitch, Disney released a series of teaser trailers with Stitch causing trouble in a number of classic animated features, including Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, and The Lion King. In the Beauty and the Beast trailer, Stitch causes a ruckus as the chandelier crashes to the ground and interrupts the pair's romantic night.
Belle and Beast also appear on the Lilo & Stitch poster, alongside Aladdin, Dopey, Tinker Bell, and more.
Throwback Thursday- He can sing! He can dance!
One year ago this week, Ewan McGregor (Lumiere) attended the Edinburgh International Film Festival for an "In Person" event to discuss his varied career, from Trainspotting to Moulin Rouge! and now Beauty and the Beast. During the discussion, McGregor gave a bit of an off-kilter performance of "Be Our Guest" for the crowd and spoke with great enthusiasm about working with Emma Thompson, Stanley Tucci, and Ian McKellen on the film, a sentiment he has shared in other interviews over the past several months.
McGregor was back in the studio a few months ago to work on "Be Our Guest" with director Bill Condon.
Trivia Tuesday- An Enchanted Meeting
Disney's Enchanted is riddled with references and cameos from the house of mouse and Beauty and the Beast shows up in a rather dramatic fashion. Paige O'Hara, the original voice of Belle, has a cameo as a soap opera actress named Angela (named after Angela Lansbury). The scene also features music from the animated film.
From Oh My Disney:
Whilst flipping through channels on his “magic mirror,” Edward stumbles upon references to Robin Hood, Dumbo, Fun and Fancy Free, and the Spanish dub of Mickey and the Beanstalk. The most elaborate reference is the soap opera he watches for a moment with Nathaniel— the female soap star “Angela” (so named for Angela Lansbury, who voiced Mrs. Potts in Beauty and the Beast) is played by Paige O'Hara, the voice of Belle. “Angela” is arguing with a man named “Jerry” (Jerry Orbach voiced Lumiere) because she’s having an affair with a man named “Ogden” (David Ogden Stiers voiced Cogsworth). This soap opera scene is scored with music from Beauty and the Beast. We’ll give you a minute to recover from this.
Check out more Disney references in Enchanted here.
Watchful Wednesday- Stardust with Ian McKellen
Based on the novel by Neil Gaiman, Stardust (2007) is a fantasy adventure starring Charlie Cox as Tristan Thorn, a young man who sets in search of a fallen star (Claire Danes) to win the affections of his beloved Victoria (Sienna Miller). The film also stars Henry Cavill, Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert De Niro, and Ian McKellen as the Narrator.
Trivia Tuesday- Broadway and the Beast
Not only is Beauty and the Beast a landmark film for Disney animation, but also the beginning of the company's 22 years (and counting) presence on Broadway. In 1994, Beauty and the Beast became the first Disney animated feature to be adapted for the stage and was recognized with nine Tony Award nominations and one win for Best Costume Design (Ann Hould-Ward). Beauty and the Beast ran on Broadway for thirteen years and a total of 5,461performances. In the years since Beauty and the Beast's debut, Disney has also found success on stage with other adaptations of Disney Renaissance films, including The Lion King and Aladdin.
Read more about Beauty and the Beast on Broadway and check out a few behind the scenes videos here. Throwback Thursday- Oh Director! My Director!
One year ago...wait! Scratch that! TWO YEARS ago this week, Bill Condon was announced as the director of Beauty and the Beast. The director, known for his work on Gods and Monsters, Dreamgirls, and the Twilight Saga, has spoken about Beauty and the Beast over the past year, calling the upcoming live-action film "a very exciting, a very kind of realistic telling of that story."
Trivia Tuesday- Belle takes a stroll through Paris
While Beast was hanging out in Agrabah, it looks like Belle was off on her own adventure in Paris. Beauty and the Beast directors Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise also directed The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) and they just couldn't leave their best girl behind. If you look closely at the people Quasimodo sees while singing "Out There," you can catch a glimpse of Belle walking down the street with "her nose stuck in a book."
See if you can spot Belle around the 2:50 mark.
Throwback Thursday- A snapshot from the set
When production began on Beauty and the Beast last May, fans were clamoring for a look behind the scenes of the film, and their wish was granted just a few weeks into filming. One year ago this week, Disney began sharing behind the scenes photos through Snapchat, which continued throughout the production last summer.
A photo posted by Walt Disney Studios (@disneystudios) on
While it was exciting to have a weekly peek at the set, the photos did not reveal too much about the film, although it did give us our first look at the Beast's castle.
Check out a small selection of Snapchat photos below and take a look at all eleven weeks of photos here.
Trivia Tuesday- ""Flowers, chocolates, promises you don't intend to keep."
David Ogden Stiers, the voice of Cogsworth, improvised while recording some of his lines for the animated classic. Stiers spoke about his improvisations during last week's 25th anniversary screening and even treated fans to a live performance of one of Cogsworth's famous lines.
Watch more videos from the 25th anniversary screening here.
Watchful Wednesday- The Little Mermaid (Howard Ashman & Alan Menken)
I don't know when, I don't know how
But I know something's starting right now
Released in November 1989, The Little Mermaid is the first film in the era that would later become known as the Disney Renaissance. The film, which is based on the classic Hans Christian Andersen tale, won two Oscars for Best Song ("Under the Sea") and Best Original Score, in addition to two Golden Globes and two Grammy awards. Directed by Ron Clements and John Musker (Aladdin, Hercules, The Princess and the Frog), The Little Mermaid features the voice talents of Jodi Benson (Ariel), Samuel E. Wright (Sebastian), and Pat Carroll (Ursula).
The Little Mermaid's success also greatly influenced the production of Beauty and the Beast, which was not originally planned as a musical. Producer Don Hahn recently spoke about the change in direction at a screening of Beauty and the Beast.
"There was a little film that came out before us called 'The Little Mermaid,'" revealed producer Don Hahn. That flick's success brought "Mermaid" songwriters Howard Ashman and Alan Menken onto the project ... and the original version was totally scrapped.
Hahn says the tunes took what he called a "European story" and turned it into "something uniquely musical."
In 2004, the American Film Institute (AFI) revealed its list of the top 100 songs in American cinema with "Beauty and the Beast" appearing at no. 62 on the list. Five other Disney songs, including "When You Wish Upon a Star" from Pinocchio and "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" from Mary Poppins, are also featured on the list. One additional song from Beauty and the Beast, "Be Our Guest," was among the four hundred nominees considered for the top 100 spots.
It is almost impossible to imagine Belle without Paige O'Hara's voice, but if production had gone another way, it may have been a little difficult to tell the difference between the peculiar book worm and another splashy Disney princess. Jodi Benson, the voice of Ariel in The Little Mermaid, was actually once considered for the role of Belle. In Disney's Art of Animation, author Bob Thomas notes that while some preferred Benson, lyricist Howard Ashman saw Ariel as "the all-American girl kind of voice, where as Paige had the vocal quality of a classic fairy tale."
♫Yes, you're cold. Yes, you're wet, but we'll help you to forget.
You won't know outside it's storming when the silverware's performing.♫
It is not uncommon for stories to go through many changes during the animation process and Disney's Beauty and the Beast is no exception. One significant change was the placement of the song "Be Our Guest," which originally appeared earlier in the film and was actually sung to Belle's father Maurice. After a screening of the film during production, Bruce Woodside, a member of the film's story team, suggested the song should be sung to Belle since she was the film's protagonist. The group agreed and lyricist Howard Ashman rewrote parts of the song while storyboards were altered to include Belle. Performed by Jerry Orbach (Lumiere) and Angela Lansbury (Mrs. Potts) in the film, "Be Our Guest" was one of three songs from Beauty and the Beast nominated for an Academy Award in 1992 (the film's title song took home the Oscar that year).
Magical Monday-Enchanted Tales with Belle at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom
"Take me back to the day Belle and Beast fell in love!" If you are a fan of Beauty and the Beast, then New Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom park is probably at the top of your Disney wish list. From the Be Our Guest restaurant to Gaston's Tavern, the area of Belle's Village is an immersive experience for any Disney guest. Also located in the village is Enchanted Tales with Belle, where guests can visit Maurice's cottage and travel through a magic mirror to the Beast's castle. The interactive show, which officially opened on December 6, 2012, allows kids and adults to take part in a retelling of Belle and Beast's story narrated by Lumiere and complete with an appearance by Belle herself.
Although the attraction itself is entertaining, you will not begrudge some of the wait time, if only to have the chance to explore Maurice's cottage. Here you can see several nods to the animated classic, as well as some charming new touches to Belle's story. One of my favorites is the painting of Belle and her mother hanging in the living room. I also love the wood carving of Belle and Beast tucked away on a high shelf in Maurice's workshop, which is actually a small scale model for the large music box in the Rose Gallery room of the Be Our Guest restaurant.
Trivia Tuesday- The Beast in Agrabah
Disney films are full of Easter eggs, from Pinocchio at the Snuggly Duckling in Tangled to a Mulan poster in Lilo and Stitch, and if you look close enough, you can even find Beauty and the Beast characters pop up in other movies from time to time. In Aladdin (1992), which was released the year after Beauty and the Beast, you can catch a glimpse of the Beast among the toys the Sultan plays with in the film.
Watchful Wednesday- Chicago- Bill Condon
Based on the 1975 musical of the same name, Chicago (2002) is a rousing movie musical from director Rob Marshall and stars Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Queen Latifah, and Richard Gere. The film was a critical and commercial success, grossing over $300 million worldwide, and became the first musical to win Best Picture since Oliver! in 1968. Chicago took home a total of six Oscars in 2003, including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress, Best Costume Design, Best Art Director, Best Film Editing, and Best Sound Mixing. The film was nominated for a total of thirteen Academy Awards, including Bill Condon for Best Adapted Screenplay. Chicago also took home three Golden Globes and three Screen Actors Guild Awards that same year.
Throwback Thursday- Luke Evans' First Day of Rehearsal
With production set to begin May 19, 2015 on Beauty and the Beast, Luke Evans arrived for his first day of rehearsal in London on April 7, 2015. Over the next few months of production, Evans, who plays Gaston in the film, shared several behind the scenes photos, including a few with co-star Josh Gad (LeFou).
"Take me back to the day Belle and Beast fell in love!" If you are a fan of Beauty and the Beast, then New Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom park is probably at the top of your Disney wish list. From the Be Our Guest restaurant to Gaston's Tavern, the area of Belle's Village is an immersive experience for any Disney guest. Also located in the village is Enchanted Tales with Belle, where guests can visit Maurice's cottage and travel through a magic mirror to the Beast's castle. The interactive show, which officially opened on December 6, 2012, allows kids and adults to take part in a retelling of Belle and Beast's story narrated by Lumiere and complete with an appearance by Belle herself. 
