Yep even one of the greatest animated Disney films of all time got its fair share of direct to home media films. Yeah Disney were desperate and decided to do this to
Beauty and the Beast as well. So the big question about these films is how will they fit into the franchise and the apparent answer is that both are set within the time that is spent in the castle and before the climax of the film. So in a way it extends on certain points from the film, but honestly for an almost perfect film like that, doesn't need these films. But we got them anyway so we may as well have a look and see if its more beauty than beast:
The Enchanted Christmas
So when Christmas comes to the castle, Belle (reprised by Paige O'Hara) sets out to make this an unforgettable Christmas for her, the servants and the Beast (reprised by Robby Benson). But while her ambitions seem OK at first, the Beast wants nothing to do with the holiday due to it being the anniversary of when the curse was made. Meanwhile, a servant known as Forte (voiced by the legendary Tim Curry) who got turned into an organ, chooses to turn his back on humanity as he finds humans to be overrated and sets out to have the curse prolong forever despite the love that Belle and the Beast have. With animated films nowadays having made for TV holiday specials, this feels like one of the earliest of these despite being a direct to home media film. Nevertheless, it's not too bad of a film as it attempts to bring Christmas into the story. I guess where it fails is the fact that the Beast is too aggressive when compared to him in the original film where he was only aggressive for a little while and then mellowed down. But I do like the villain who despite being completely CGI is just your typical Tim Curry villain with a bit of sarcasm and a great presence. So yeah not too bad of a film, but just not good enough to be anything like the film. 7/10
Belle's Magical World
So many of the direct to home media films are actually compilations of episodes from a cartoon or two that was never broadcast or picked up by Disney.
Belle's Magical World is exactly that. Three to four segments that are only connected because of the setting and characters and that's it. I know that the quality in some cartoons in the 90s and early 00s were poor, but the quality here is a whole new level. The dubbing doesn't match very well and some moments feel quicker than others. As for the segments themselves, there's one about a forged letter, one about love between servants, one about throwing a surprise party and for those of you who have the special edition from 2003, there is one more segment about how earning respect is the best way to do it. Although there are lessons and morals that are learnt in each segment, I just wish the quality was better and that the one Disney employee that did this could make a better effort in making the segments be connected better. 6/10
So yeah while both are not perfect, they are some of Disney's more decent direct to home media films to be connected with one of their feature films. Could be better, but they could also be a whole lot worse. 7/10
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