Stream Beauty and the Beast Now
Released in 1991, Beauty and the Beast was the 30th animated feature for Disney and the third film released during the Disney Renaissance. It set a high bar for follow-up films with more than 60 awards nominations and 29 award wins including two Academy Awards, three Golden Globes, including the first Best Picture award given to an animated film, and five Grammy awards. You can watch Beauty and the Beast streaming.
It took nearly fifty years for the film to be created; Disney had been trying to come up with the right story treatment for a retelling of the French fairytale since the 1930s and 1950s. Made on a budget of $25 million, Beauty and the Beast would make more than $300 million during the initial box office run, and would spawn a sequel, a Broadway show, and a live-action remake. Belle, the heroine of the film, remains one of Disney’s most popular princesses, and characters from the film some of the most recognizable; characters appear throughout Disney’s theme parks, and with the launch of Disney + fans can now watch Beauty and the Beast online.
Here’s how to stream Beauty and the Beast right now:
How to Stream Beauty and the Beast – Exclusively on Disney+
Beauty and the Beast is one of the fan-favorite Disney original movies that will be streaming exclusively on Disney’s new subscription streaming service, Disney+.
You can sign up for a 7-day free trial of Disney+ HERE, which will allow you to stream Beauty and the Beast and hundreds of other movies and shows on your computer, phone, tablet, smart TV or streaming device. If you extend past the free trial, the service costs $6.99/month. You may also opt for this discount bundle of Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ for $12.99/month.
- 1. Sign up for Disney+ here
- 2. Go to Disneyplus.com or download the Disney+ app on your device
- 3. Log in using your information
- 4. Search for “Beauty and the Beast”
- 5. Tap on “Beauty and the Beast”
- 6. Tap the PLAY button
Disney+ also boasts a vast library of Disney-owned movies and series — plus several new original series coming soon. The service includes unlimited downloads so you can watch offline whenever and wherever you want. The list of compatible devices and smart TVs includes iPads, Apple TV, Amazon devices, Amazon Fire TV, Android, Chromecast, Roku, PS4, and Xbox One.
Stream Beauty and the Beast Now
Beauty and the Beast: Overview
Release Date: November 22, 1991
Creators: Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, Linda Wolverton, Brenda Chapman, Chris Sanders, Burny Mattinson, Kevin Harkey, Brian Pimental, Bruce Woodside, Joe Ranft, Tom Ellery, Kelly Asbury, Robert Lence
Director: Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise
Starring: Robby Benson, Paige O’Hara, Angela Lansbury, Jesse Corti, Jerry Orbach, David Ogden Stiers, Richard White
Rating: G
Synopsis: To save his life and return himself to human form, a prince disguised as a beast tries to win the heart of a young woman.
How Long Is Beauty and the Beast?
Beauty and the Beast has a running time of 84 minutes.
Beauty and the Beast Plot
A young prince, spoiled and self-absorbed, turns a poor woman away from his home and offers him a rose in exchange for a warm place to stay. The prince laughs at her and turns her away, not knowing she is really an enchantress. She curses the castle, turning everyone inside into objects like clocks or plates or candlesticks. She turns the prince into a terrible beast and warns the prince that if he doesn’t learn to love another person by his 21st birthday, he will stay a beast forever. She puts a rose in a glass container so he can see how much time he has left. Ten years later Belle, a young woman who loves books and dreams of adventure, lives with her inventor father in a small village nearby. The people of the town think she and her father are very strange, but Belle’s beauty captures the eye of Gaston, a hunter and military hero, and he decides he will marry her. Her father leaves for a fair but becomes lost and happens upon the castle, going inside.
The beast imprisons him but his horse, Phillipe, gets away and returns home. Belle finds Phillipe and realizes something must be wrong and sets off to find her father. She also finds the castle and goes inside, surprised and fascinated by the living ‘things’ that used to be servants. She takes her father’s place and befriends all the people there. They think she might be the one to reverse the curse but the beast is afraid to hope or make friends with her.
Back in the village, Belle’s father goes to the townspeople for help but they think he is crazy and have him locked away. At the castle, Belle and the beast have become friends; he shows her his library, she starts a snowball fight with him, and they are falling in love. She misses her father, though, which brings the beast to show her his magic mirror, through which she can see her father, who is sick in the woods.
Beast sets Belle free to go and see her father, not wanting her to be sad. She leaves and gets to town just before the people can come looking for her. She uses the mirror to show them the beast and prove her father isn’t crazy. Gaston rallies the townspeople to go with him to fight the beast and save Belle. The villagers fight with the castle residents but the beast refuses to fight. He is certain, now that he has fallen in love with Belle, that he’ll never be human and she won’t return. Gaston finds him and forces him to fight; the beast defeats Gaston but is mortally wounded.
Belle finds him and he dies in her arms before she can tell him she loves him. The last petal falls and Belle as she cries over him, the spell is undone and the beast is saved. He is returned to his human form, as are the rest of the castle residents. Now a prince, he and Belle marry and live happily ever after.
Beauty and the Beast Cast
Several Hollywood stars lent their voices to the Beauty and the Beast cast including Jo Anne Worley as Wardrobe, Jerry Orbach as the romantic candlestick Lumiere, David Ogden Stiers as Cogsworth the Narrator. Here are the main characters from the film:
Paige O’Hara as Belle
Belle longs for adventure and loves to read. Paige O’Hara is a well-known Hollywood actor who is best known for the role of Belle in Beauty and the Beast. She has reprised the role throughout the various movies, video games, and shorts within the franchise, and in other Disney films like Ralph Breaks the Internet.
Robbie Benson as Beast
After being turned into a beast, a spoiled prince must learn how to love. Robbie Benson is an actor and director who is best known for his part in Beauty and the Beast. He has continued his role as Beast throughout the Disney universe. Outside this film, he is also known for his parts in American Dreams and the film One on One.
Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Potts
Mrs. Potts is Beast’s housekeeper. Angela Lansbury is an award-winning actress and singer who has appeared in more than 100 films and TV series. Her best known roles include the TV series Murder: She Wrote and the Disney films Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Beauty and the Beast.
Richard White as Gaston
Gaston is self-centered and mean and wants to marry Belle. Richard White is best known for his part in Beauty and the Beast, and has reprised the role of Gaston throughout the Disney film universe.
Jesse Corti as Lefou
Lefou is Gaston’s sidekick and henchman. He is afraid of disappointing Gaston. Jesse Corti has appeared in more than 100 films and TV series over his career but is best known as Lefou from the Beauty and the Beast franchise of films and shorts. In addition to this franchise, he has appeared in Zootopia, Hulk, and Heist.
Rex Everhart as Maurice
Maurice is an absent-minded inventor and Belle’s father. Rex Everhart is a Hollywood star who is best known for his roles in Friday the 13th, Superman, and Beauty and the Beast.
Beauty and the Beast Songs and Soundtrack
Angela Lansbury, who didn’t want to sing the theme from the film, would win an Academy Award for Best Original Song for her rendition, and the song remains a perennial favorite for fans of the movie. The pop version was also a blockbuster hit, winning two Grammy Awards. It was also nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards. The soundtrack for the film was produced by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, who also wrote the score for Disney’s The Little Mermaid. They were tasked with making the film more of a Broadway type musical. They would win both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for Best Original Score.
Beauty and the Beast at the Box Office
Beauty and the Beast was a box office success for Disney in 1991 and remains a popular franchise. The film was a blockbuster hit, earning $351 million during the initial box office run, and was the third most-successful film of 1991.
Beauty and the Beast Reviews – What the Critics Said
Beauty and the Beast holds a 94% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes; critics have called it enchanting, romantic and elegant. Critics not only liked the animation and storyline but praised the music and scoring of the film.
Where Beauty and the Beast Fits in the Disney Movie Pantheon
Beauty and the Beast was a blockbuster hit for Disney, but it took nearly thirty years to make the film. Executives had toyed with the idea of making a film based on the original fairytale throughout the early days of the studio but couldn’t find the right tone or story until Richard Purdum and Don Hahn began working on a non-musical version of the story.
Linda Wolverton came on-board from there, and the musical was born. The film is one of the most-nominated Disney films, with 63 nominations and 29 wins, including two Academy Awards, three Golden Globes and five Grammy Awards. In addition to the original animated film, there is a sequel, a Broadway musical, and a live-action remake of the film.
Characters from the film have appeared in other Disney properties, including Ralph Breaks the Internet, House of Mouse, and video games including Kingdom Hearts. The film has been nominated to AFI’s listings of 100 Years…100 Movies, 100 Years…100 Heroes and Villains (Belle as a hero), and 100 Years…100 Songs (Be Our Guest).
Beast and Belle are ranked at 34 on AFI’s 100 Years…100 Passions list and the song Beauty and the Beast is listed at 62 on their 100 Years..100 Songs list. Beauty and the Beast also made AFI’s 10 Top 10 for animated features, and was added to the National Film Registry for preservation in 2002.
Beauty and the Beast Trailer
Beauty and the Beast Trivia: 5 Fast Facts
Beauty and the Beast remains one of Disney’s best-selling franchises, with both an original film and several shorts, as well as a live-action remake. Here are five things you might not know about the film.
1. Standing Ovation for Unfinished Beauty
Disney sent an unfinished copy of Beauty and the Beast to the New York Film Festival in 1991. The animation that wasn’t finished was filled in line-art drawings and story boards. Despite the fact that the film wasn’t finished, it received a 10 minute standing ovation at the festival.
2. Beauty and the Beast is Ashman’s Finale
The songs and musical treatments within Beauty and the Beast were the last completed compositions for musician and songwriter Howard Ashman, a noted songwriter and composer. He won two Academy Awards during his career, and both came from his Disney works: The Little Mermaid, for Under the Sea, and Beauty and the Beast, for Beauty and the Beast.
3. Beast is a Composite of Large Animals
Animators drew inspiration from the animal kingdom for Beast. They used the mane of a lion, the beard and head of a buffalo, and the tusks and nose of a boar. In addition, they used the brow line of a gorilla, the legs and tail of a wolf, and the body of a bear. The only ‘human’ feature of Beast while in Beast form are the eyes, which are always blue. The movie’s producers also used the ‘voices’ of animals – growls from panthers and lions – to alter the voice of Robby Benson who played Beast for the film.
4. Stained Glass Message
At the beginning of the film, you see a stained glass window with the phrase ‘vincit qui se vincit’. Translated, this means ‘He conquers, who conquers himself’. It’s a subtle nod to one of the main themes of the film, that Beast must overcome his spoiled nature and that both Beast and Belle must learn to accept people for their inward characteristics rather than outward appearance.
5. Beauty and the Beast Wins Golden Globe
Beauty and the Beast is the first animated film to be nominated for – and win – a Golden Globe for Best Picture. It would also win two Academy Awards, both for music, and was nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award, as well.