When it comes to Disney Animated Classics, Beauty and the Beast is still one of the most iconic and loved movies of the House of Mouse’s back catalog. Now in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the movie being the first ever animated feature film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, ABC is putting together a live-action/animated hybrid special for ABC that will follow in the footsteps of The Little Mermaid Live and bring a host of new stars out to perform the movie live in front of an audience. The special is expected to air on Dec. 15 on ABC as well as be available to stream on Disney+ from the following day and will be executive produced by Wicked director Jon M. Chu.
Beauty and the Beast was released in 1991 as part of a resurgence in Disney’s return to form after a string of 80s disappointments. Following on from The Little Mermaid and Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast not only continued Disney’s renaissance but brought them the accolade of having the first animated feature film to nab a nomination in the Best Picture category at the Oscars the following year. Although the film ultimately did not win the award, it did pick up statues for its score and original song.
So far there has been no announcement made as to who will be joining the ensemble of stars who will bring the magic of Beauty and the Beast to life in the special, with the likes of Shaggy, Queen Latifah and Auli’l Cravalho appearing in The Little Mermaid Live, we can probably expect to see some more music stars taking on the iconic roles of Belle, the Beast, Lumiere and Gaston.
Beauty and the Beast’s Live-Action Prequel Series Is Currently In Limbo
While Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast remake was a huge box office success, a planned prequel series which would have seen Luke Evans and Josh Gad reprising their roles as Gaston and LeFou respectively has been floating in limbo for a little while now. Originally planned to film this year, Covid delays appeared to play a big part in the decision to indefinitely postpone the series, much to the disappointment.
According to reports, the series, which was called Little Town and would have centered on Gaston and his sidekick seemed all good to go at the beginning of the year, but that changed in February. The report revealed that sources claimed the decision to put the brakes on the show came down to creative reasons, as it appears the scripts for the series are not producing the feeling that the production team expected, and to make it worse, the music for the show has also fallen behind.
The shooting schedule had already moved from spring to summer, but the delays are too great to meet even the extended deadline and has led to the effective cancellation of the project. Although Gad has subsequently said the project could still happen in the future, for now, it looks like the ABC special is the only Beauty and the Beast offering for fans to look forward to in the immediate future.