Development

On July 5, 2022, ABC reported that a live-action/animation special based on the 1991 musical film Beauty and the Beast was in development, following the success of the televised musical adaptation of the 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid, entitled The Little Mermaid Live! in 2019.^[3][4] The special was intended to air on December 15, 2022, with Hamish Hamilton being set as director, Jon M. Chu as executive producer and Done and Dusted would produce the television special, all of them worked on The Little Mermaid Live!.^[5] ABC said that it would include live never-before-seen musical performances, with each will offer an homage to the story and add its own surprises for viewers, and also include new sets and costumes inspired by the classic story.^[1]

Chu called the film as "a game-changing experience" adding that, "when the animated movie came out, I watched it multiple times in the first weekend. It showed me the outer limits of what animated artists and storytellers could achieve, so the fact that I get to executive produce a tribute to all the creatives that made this masterpiece is a dream I didn’t even think was possible." He hailed the special as "a true celebration of creativity [...] with world-class creatives and talent to reinterpret the classic musical numbers (with a few surprises), I can’t wait for the audiences, in person and at home, to experience what we have in store for them."^[5][4]

The film was earlier announced under the titles Beauty and the Beast Live! and Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Anniversary Special, before the special being officially titled as Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration in November 2022.^[6] It was titled, in order to honor the 30th anniversary of the original film and its historic Oscar nomination for Best Picture.^[7]

Casting

On July 20, 2022, it was reported that H.E.R. had been cast to play Belle in the special,^[8] becoming the first African-Filipino woman to play a Disney Princess on-screen.^[9] Explaining about her role in an interview on Good Morning America, she said, "I never thought I could be a Disney princess, of course every little girl wants to be a Disney princess, but I've never seen one that looks like me —  so I get to be that to little girls now."^[10] Besides acting, she further served as the producer, and arranged the musical numbers with the original composer Alan Menken, which she felt it as an "amazing experience learning about so much herself."^[10][11]

On September 10, 2022, at the D23 Expo, the producers announced Josh Groban was cast as the Beast, along with Joshua Henry and Rita Moreno being cast as Gaston and the special's narrator, respectively.^[12] By late-September, Martin Short, Shania Twain, and David Alan Grier were cast as Lumière, Mrs. Potts, and Cogsworth, respectively,^[13][14] Initially, Celine Dion, who performed the titular song for the animated film with Peabo Bryson for the end credits, was approached to play Mrs. Potts, but Twain was later offered the role, due to Dion's health issues.^[15] Twain further sang the titular track with Menken, playing the song, as a tribute to Angela Lansbury (the voice of Mrs. Potts in the original film), who died in October 2022.^[16][17]

Filming

The special was filmed at the Disney lot in Burbank, California in November 2022.^[18] Chu called the film as "a part animation and part live action spectacle" with song and dance numbers intertwined with clips from the original version, saying that "We want to show how young dancers and choreographers can reinterpret some of the same numbers and some that were never in the animated version."^[19] Jamal Sims and Derek Hough choreographed the musical, with over 30 dancers working for the special.^[20] Hough said that the cast performed various styles, including breakdance, ballet and contemporary dance, but had to workshop ballroom dancing as "many of the cast had never danced with a partner". Raj Kapoor, who was one of the executive producers, described the camera work as "cinematic" saying that "We didn’t want the at-home audience to feel like a spectator. We wanted them to feel as if they were a guest in the television special."^[19]

Animation and design

Emmy-nominated production designer Julio Himede worked on the special, who utilized the cutting-edge technology to "celebrate the artwork of the original film through a different creative approach."^[21] Her team spent over 15 months on the design, adding a three to four month period on pre-production, and followed by the extensive set design, they inspired multiple sketches from the animators who had exclusive access to the studio's archive collections in Burbank, California and consulted Mark Henn, who worked as an animator for the original film. Several sketches were used as backdrops in the television special, to illustrate the union between the animated film and live-action production, and these were achieved using video projection and technology. Monochromatic storybook sketches appear in the song "Belle" to portray the character coming out of her house in a sketch world, and then transition from monochrome to color.^[22] Costume designer Marina Toybina designed over 400 costumes for the special.

Critical response

Bria McNeal of Esquire praised the performance and vocal ability of H.E.R., calling her "simply delightful," and complimented the costume designs, writing, "This version of Beauty and the Beast (literally) rocks. Don't judge me if I watch it again."^[26] Andy Swift of TVLine said, "Twain was arguably the most unconventional casting choice for this special. (A sexy Mrs. Potts? Unheard of!) That said, she turned out to be one of the best surprises of the night," and praised the performance of H.E.R., saying, "As much as we enjoyed H.E.R.’s performance as Belle, she was never more captivating than when she returned to the stage with her guitar for the special’s big finish. We never imagined what Beauty and the Beast‘s title track would sound like on electric guitar — and now we never want it any other way."^[27]

Maureen Lee Lenker of Entertainment Weekly ranked Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration 3rd in their "Every live TV musical" list, described the sets and the costumes as "truly magical," called the casting "perfect," praising the performances of H.E.R., Josh Groban, and Joshua Henry, and stated, "Each musical number was eye-poppingly wonderful, whether because of Jamal Sims' interpretive, high energy choreography or the incredible vocal prowess of the talent. Turns out the tale as old as time still has the power to delight anew, and we'll be a guest at this Disney party any time they want to invite us."^[28] Kelli Boyle of TV Insider asserted, "Anyone excited about the Wicked movies (which Chu will be directing) should see this special as an encouraging display of what Chu can do to make an old, beloved story feel both honored and new."^[29]

Ratings

In the United States, Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration scored 0.79 in the key 18-49 demo,^[30] and 4.26 million viewers.^[31][32]

Accolades