Let’s Revisit Beauty and the Beast: Enchanted Christmas for the Holidays

Released on video 6 years after the animated classic Beauty and the Beast, Beauty and the Beast: Enchanted Christmas gives us a little more insight into the life of Belle, Beast, and the enchanted objects. Told as a flashback by Mrs. Potts after Lumiere and Cogsworth argue over who saved the previous year’s Christmas, we’re transported to right after Beast saves Belle from the wolves.

WARNING: There are spoilers ahead, for those of you who haven’t seen this iconic holiday film! Watch it first, or proceed with caution.

First off, let’s just talk about the cast. This is a star-studded lineup, with all the original voices back to reprise their roles. We’ve got Paige O’Hara and Robby Benson back as Belle and Beast, as well as Jerry Orbach, David Ogden Stiers, and Angela Lansbury all together again as Lumiere, Cogsworth, and Mrs. Potts, respectively. But wait, we’re not done because Beauty and the Beast: Enchanted Christmas adds Tim Curry as the villainous organ Forte, Paul Reubens as Forte’s piccolo sidekick Fife, Bernadette Peters as Angelique the Christmas tree angel, and Haley Joel Osment as Chip. PHEW. If you need a moment to take that all in, we’ll wait.

Ready? Okay, moving on to the new enchanted objects, which include Angelique the Christmas tree angel who has a flirtation with Lumiere, Axe (who is literally an axe), and what could be the brother of Angry Stove, Upset Broiler!

While there’s no Gaston in this movie, we do have Maestro Forte, one of the scarier sequel villains if you ask us. Prior to the enchantment, Forte was the court composer, but now he’s stuck as a giant organ chained to the wall. Here’s a pic of him:
There’s something extremely unsettling about his face. Maybe it’s the fact that he has no eyeballs, or the huge frown on his face, or maybe how realistic he looks. He’s definitely creepy, and makes his motivations known early on when he tells his sidekick Fife, “Before the enchantment, there was no need for my particular brand of genius, but now the master needs my melodies to feed his tormented soul.” Dark.

Thankfully, we have Fife, who serves as this film’s LeFou. He’s an adorable piccolo who longs for a solo, which Forte promises to give him if he helps to break up the budding friendship/romance between Belle and Beast. He’s obviously clumsy and kind of generally fails at his job, but he’s so cute it almost doesn’t matter.

JUST LOOK AT HIM! SO CUTE!

Anyway, in the tradition of all your favorite ‘90s Disney movies, Beauty and the Beast: Enchanted Christmas is not without a catchy tune. “Stories” is a nice musical number that reminds us of how much Belle loves books, “As Long As There’s Christmas” is a big holiday ensemble song, “Don’t Fall in Love” could be our theme song (kidding), and “A Cut Above The Rest” is a short ode to the friendship between Lumiere and Cogsworth.

The plot of this film revolves around Belle wanting to bring Christmas back to the castle. Of course, Beast hates Christmas and yells at Belle and the enchanted objects because he doesn’t want anyone celebrating it. So, why does Beast hate Christmas? Surprisingly, the answer is more nuanced than “Beast hates cheerful things,” as we learn that it was in fact Christmas when Beast was transformed by the enchantress. We even get a flashback where we see Forte in his (just as creepy) human form!
Beast declares Christmas as “The day my life ended,” which makes us sad. But don’t worry, this is a Disney Christmas sequel—there is no unhappy ending!

Eventually, Belle tries to get a Christmas tree, which not only breaks her promise of never leaving the castle, but also leads to her nearly drowning in a frozen pond while trying to carry the huge pine back. Beast once again saves her, and she’s once again locked in the dungeon, where she decides to make the best with what she’s got. Here she is singing “As Long As There’s Christmas” with the enchanted objects and a bunch of ornaments:

Cut to Beast sulking with Forte, upset at everything and anyone because HIS LIFE IS DIFFICULT, OKAY? As he threatens to destroy the enchanted rose, a petal falls on Belle’s Christmas present to him. Guess what it is.
It’s a book, of course! And it transforms Beast, making him realize there is still hope in breaking the enchantment. From there, Belle forgives Beast, and Forte tries to bring everyone down with his use of evil magic music until Fife tells Beast to destroy the keyboard, which causes Forte to break from the wall and fall on himself.

So, in the end we learn that it was actually Belle who saved Christmas, not Lumiere or Cogsworth, but you probably already knew that. If you want to see this holiday classic again, pick it up at shopDisney!

What is your favorite part from Beauty and the Beast: Enchanted Christmas? Let us know in the comments!