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Disney brings first
feature-length film
to IMAX screenWhen the George Lucas-revamped original "Star Wars" came out several years ago, Disney "Beauty and the Beast" producer Don Hahn and directors Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise were sitting around, discussing it.
As fond as they were of "Beauty," one song they'd been forced to leave out was one of their favorites. It had been added to the Broadway production and was a high point of the show. Cracked Wise, "Wouldn't it be fun to do a special edition of 'Beauty,'" and they all stared at each other.
As one of Disney's first all-digital productions, "Beauty and the Beast" was stored on 9,000 CD-ROMs in a Burbank warehouse. As an all-electronic work, the source material could be tweaked and reformatted.
And so today we have an old movie opening that's all new. The song, "Human Again," has been added and animated, and the structure of the film has been whittled at here and there. The biggest deal, though, is that the film format has been enlarged and glossed, and the movie is so vivid and detailed that it's being shown in IMAX format, the first feature film to make the jump to the four-story screen.
Every shot has been reformatted and details added, and clarity has been added in the deep background. And the original cast was regrouped for additions to the soundtrack.
It opens today in the IMAX theater in Waikiki.
Star-Bulletin
Opens today in limited engagement 'Beauty and the Beast'
Where: Consolidated IMAX, Waikiki
Tickets: $10 for ages 13 and up; $9 for seniors 65 and older and military with valid I.D.; $8 for ages 2 to 12
Call: 923-IMAX (4629)
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