Beauty and the Beast (film)

Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 American animated film, the thirtieth animated feature produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation. The film was originally released to theaters on November 13, 1991 by Walt Disney Pictures. This film, one of the best known of the Disney studio's films, is an adaptation of the well-known fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, about a beautiful woman kept in a castle by a horrific monster. It is the first and only animated picture to ever be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Heightening the level of performance in the era known as the Disney Renaissance (1989-1999, beginning with The Little Mermaid and ending with Tarzan), all animated films following its release have been influenced by its new use of 3D technology.

Beauty and the Beast ranked #22 on the American Film Institute's list of best musicals and #34 on its list of the best romantic American movies. On the list of the greatest songs from American movies, Beauty and the Beast ranked #62. In 2002, Beauty and the Beast was added to the United States National Film Registry as being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant," joining Steamboat Willie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Fantasia, and Toy Story as the only Disney films on the registry.

Beauty and the Beast is historically significant from an animation perspective for a number of reasons. Firstoff, it helped change public opinion of animation. Beauty and the Beast reinforced the idea that animation could be for both adults and children. Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, a feature film that combines animation with live-action, was the first film to regenerate animation as a medium. Prior to its appearance in theatres, animation was thought of as mere entertainment for kids. Disney and The Simpsons also helped reinvent the medium. Disney accomplished this task in Beauty and the Beast by improving the quality of the animation and by creating a plot that would appeal to children and adults alike.