Very disappointing...

not as good as all the hype

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

This is a "midquel" to Disney's Beauty and the Beast, an additional chapter to the original story that takes place after the Beast rescues Belle from the pack of wolves. In this new story, the Beast has forbidden celebration of Christmas in the castle, but Belle decides to celebrate it anyhow to bring in the joy of the season. However, the Beast's loyal servant, the pipe organ Forte, fears that Belle will bring an end to the curse, which brought more importance to Forte's life.Released directly to video, this movie was probably not meant to be a masterpiece and was probably made to capitalize on the success of the original movie, but it's still a nice and enjoyable family film nonetheless that captures the magic, music and beauty of any Disney film and of the Christmas season. The animation is good and the characters are lovable. The plot about Belle and the enchanted objects trying to spread Christmas in the castle while the evil Forte (portrayed brilliantly sinister and cold) tries to foil their plans and drive Belle out of the castle is an amusing story, definitely made the movie engaging for me. In addition, it was interesting to see the actual transformation of the humans to the creatures/objects when the curse first took place, and the songs in the movie were quite catchy and touching, especially the "As Long As There's Christmas" number.The film, though, does have some dark tones which I thought was too excessive for a Christmas-theme Disney tale, especially the dungeon and some of the Forte scenes. And, the film is also a little rushed-through for such a large cast, considering so many characters were packed into the movie which makes it a little difficult for emphasis to be placed on each one. Overall, though, this movie is a nice addition to your Disney video/DVD collection and an enjoyable one for the entire family.Grade B

1991's "Beauty and the Beast" was one of a good bunch of Disney films that I was familiar with from an early age. I first heard of this straight-to-video sequel not long after its release, when I was eleven years old. Would I have enjoyed "Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas" at the time? Probably, but I never ended up seeing it at the time for some reason, even though I was interested for a while. It's been ten years, and I have finally seen it, but am not that satisfied.The story is set somewhere in the middle of the events we saw in the first movie, when the castle was still under the spell from the enchantress, meaning the prince was still a beast, and Belle was his prisoner. It's Christmas Eve, but Belle is the only one who is aware of this. She plans to decorate the castle for the forthcoming occasion, despite warnings from castle servants that the Beast hates Christmas, remembering that was the day the enchantress came! Belle believes that bringing Christmas back to the castle will save the Beast from his misery, but will it? Meanwhile, Forte, a former pipe organ player, now a self-playing pipe organ since the casting of the spell, does not wish to return to his original human form, and plans to have Belle permanently removed from the castle so the spell will never be broken! I guess this isn't really a sequel, as it does not take place after the events of the first movie. Instead, it adds more to the original story. Either way, it's rather disappointing. I did find a bit of excitement in "The Enchanted Christmas", but certainly not as much as in the original. Also, unlike the 1991 smash hit, I did not find so much humour in this film. I guess one reason for that is Gaston and Lefou are not in it, but I also didn't find Lumiere and Cogsworth's arguments in this film as funny as they were in the original, and I'm not sure why. The story is also a bit bland in comparison, as almost all of it is set in the castle, so there isn't as much of a variety in locations, and there aren't as many characters, even though there are two new ones, Forte and Fife. As I recall, there aren't too many memorable songs, either. Nothing lacking in the animation as far as I could see, though.As you can see, I've given "Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas" a 5/10, despite the fact that I've given "The Return of Jafar" a 6/10, and have definitely noticed more problems with that Disney straight-to-video sequel than this one. It's a bit hard for me to describe my experience watching this film, as I wouldn't exactly say I was bored, but didn't really enjoy it, either. These straight-to-video sequels from Disney are never as popular as their theatrical predecessors, but it appears I'm only the 25th user to review this one, and the film has well under 1000 votes, so I guess it's even less popular than I thought! For fans of the original 1991 film, "The Enchanted Christmas" MIGHT be worth a try, but it's definitely not a must-see, at least not for adult fans.

This is a very cute movie. It is about a Christmas while Belle is at the castle with the Beast. She tries to bring Christmas to the castle, but he won't allow it.This movie is made to have taken place while Belle was still the Beast's prisoner, before they all turned human again and the Beast and Belle fell in love, just as all other Beauty and the Beast productions are. This is just how they did the Little Mermaid TV series, too, because they both involve magical transformations. Just as Ariel wouldn't be "the little mermaid" in a series of that title if she were human, it wouldn't be Beauty and "the Beast's" Enchanted Christmas if the Beast were human! :) I hope this helps and answers any questions!

It has its flaws, no doubt, but so does just about every other Disney movie. Heck, its for kids right? This was entertaining and that's what the movies are about aren't they? I don't understand you people that keep writing these papers about the movie. It's ENTERTAINMENT. It's SUPPOSED to be a bunch of candy fluff to amuse the kids. Give Disney a break, I've already ranted at them enough (lol).I actually like this better then the first. Well....nowadays. When I was a kid this movie terrified me. It was the piano, Forte. Man. Who knew a thing with a bunch of wooden keys and strings could be so sinister and scary?But I like the Christmas one a lot better then the original now. And its because of that piano. That scary, sinister piano. It adds a villainous character onto the scene, and Disney actually succeeded in making Forte a more sophisticated character then the usual cartoony piece of dog poop on screen that makes you laugh at their pathetic antics. Forte was sophisticated, and he actually had some reason behind his actions. Very nice. It also created some nice conflict for the Beast and Belle and that was nice to see as well.So. Disney's finally decided to grow up a bit.