With Halloween now a thing of the past, it’s time to turn our attention to what many consider to be the most wonderful time of the year: Christmas. Whether you start decorating right away on November 1st (no judging here!) or wait until after Thanksgiving—or somewhere in between—the holiday season is officially in full swing. While everyone has their own traditions to mark this joyous occasion, there’s one thing we all love to do: watch Christmas movies. While there are several classics that have earned a spot in our yearly viewing rotation, there’s one Disney Christmas movie that I feel always gets grossly overlooked time and time again. what i said is Beauty and the Beast: Enchanted Christmas. If you’re thinking, “What’s going on? I’ve never heard of that,” then trust me, you’re missing out.
The film was released in 1997 and was a direct-to-video sequel to the original. I wouldn’t call it a sequel, per se, as most of the storyline takes place via flashbacks somewhere in the middle of the original film’s time frame. You know… when Belle was under house arrest in the castle (that sounds better, right?), the Beast hadn’t yet returned to human form, and all of his employees were still inanimate objects. Obviously, we know that this will eventually lead to a happily ever after for all the characters (except for Gaston, of course), but the film gives us a closer look at the time they spent together before it all came to pass, specifically It’s time around Christmas.
However, despite its holiday-leaning plot, it never received the praise and publicity it deserved. Well, everything has changed now. It’s time for this Disney underdog to earn a spot in the holiday lineup.
The dubbing cast is even better
While the cast is mostly made up of the same voice actors who reprise their roles from the original film, there are also some newcomers, including Tim Curry (!) who voices Beast’s best friend turned pipe organ Forte; Paul Reubens ) as Ford’s sidekick Fife; and Bernadette Peters voices Christmas decorator extraordinaire Angelique. These additions alone are enough to take this film to the next level.
The soundtrack is deafening
With the curse still hanging over them, no one is in the mood to celebrate the holiday – except Belle. Despite learning that the Beast hates Christmas because the witch cast a spell on them all on Christmas Day (thus prompting him to essentially ban all merrymaking), Belle decides to re-institute the holiday. As the Beast begins to entertain the idea, Ford continually attempts to manipulate the Beast and ruin Belle’s Christmas celebrations. One way he does this is by singing an anti-love ballad, aptly titled “Don’t Fall in Love.” (Conclusion: He’s not a Beauty and the Beast shipper.) Meanwhile, Angelique and Belle sang a touching duet of “As Long as There’s Christmas” (including an encore), while Belle sang A love letter to a book is performed in “Story”.
Sure, they may not be as iconic or beloved as the original classic hits “Tale As Old As Time” or “Be Our Guest,” but they’re still super fun and catchy and well worth adding to your Christmas in the music list.
good triumphs over evil
It wouldn’t be a true Disney movie if it didn’t adhere to the traditional formula of good triumphing over evil. With Forte defeated, Belle and the Beast are closer than ever, and everyone in the castle celebrates a merry Christmas together. Of course, the curse remains, forever hanging over their padded heads, but luckily, viewers get a brief flashback to a present-day, post-curse Christmas, so we know it’ll all work out in the end. When it comes to happily ever after, it doesn’t get much better than this.
Check out the original beauty and the Beast Will always have a special place in my heart. This is a timeless classic and hard to live up to, but in my opinion, Charming Christmas is an underappreciated gemstone guaranteed to keep you energetic and happy year-round.
