Family Fun Saturday - Beauty and the Beast (1987)

The Cannon Group, 1987
Starring Rebecca DeMornay, John Savage, Yossi Graber, and Michael Schneider
Directed by Eugene Marner
Music and Lyrics by Lori McKelvey

The Cannon Group ruled B-movies in the 70's and 80's. They mainly specialized in blow-em'-up action films like the American Ninja and Death Wish series, but along the line they released everything from a 1981 retelling of Lady Chatterly's Lover to the Oscar-winning Dutch film The Assault. From 1986 to 1989, they attempted to break into the children's market with The Cannon Movie Tales, low-budget musicals intended to be straight retellings of beloved fairy tales. How does their version of the story of the girl who falls for a fearsome monster fare? Let's head to Paris to the lavish home of the wealthy merchant George (Graber) and his children and find out...

The Story: Beauty (DeMornay) loves her family, but her brothers and sisters are spoiled, shallow creatures who care only about their clothes and lovers. She doesn't mind taking care of them, but she often wonders what it would be like to have an hour of the day to devote to herself. Even after their father (Graber) loses all his money and moves them to a simpler home in the country, they still insist that she waits on them.

One day, their father receives word of a rich ship that's come into port and promises his children lavish gifts. Beauty only wishes for a lovely red rose. Turns out the ship came in ransacked and he's just as poor as ever. He stops for the night in a lonely castle, where food and a good bed appear out of nowhere. What he really wants is a rose for Beauty...but when he picks it, he's attacked by a hideous Beast (Savage). The Beast insists he send one of his daughters in his place. Beauty blames herself for what happens and accepts the offer.

The Beast spends his days creating delightful bits of magic to show her, from statues doing a dance number to paintings that come to life. Beauty, however, wishes he'd stop asking her to marry him. She's falling more in love with the handsome prince she meets in her dreams, the one who begs her to "see with her heart." It takes a trip home to make her realize how much she's come to enjoy living for herself and her new friend...and how much the Beast means to her.

The Song and Dance: I'm surprised at how charming this is for a low-budget production, and how well it sticks to the original fairy tale. This is one of the very few versions I know of to include Beauty's brothers as well as sisters. Most Beast stories eliminate the siblings or only use the sisters. I've always liked the device of the Prince turning up in Beauty's dreams. It's a lovely bit of foreshadowing that leads to the film's best song, "See With Your Heart." DeMornay makes a sweet and gentle Beauty; Savage also does fairly well as the Beast, who is far less scary at heart than he appears. There's some decent costumes as well, especially in the opening with her siblings and at the Beast's castle.

Favorite Number: "See With Your Heart" is a lovely ballad that turns up three times, including as a duet for Savage and DeMornay in her first dream when he's trying to tell her to look past appearances. "Wish For the Moon" becomes a big number for Beauty and statues in the castle gardens who come to life and dance with her as she realizes she can have anything she wants. Her siblings claim she could never live without them, wondering what she would do "Without Us" in the opening sequence.

What I Don't Like:  While not as tinny or obviously low-budget as some of the other Cannon Movie Tales, the lack of finances does occasionally bleed through. The sets in particular are cheesy and cheap, undermining the magic they're going for in the Beast's castle. The film moves slower than the Beast waiting to pounce on prey. We don't even meet the Beast until almost 40 minutes in. Even when we do encounter him, the makeup on him looks more ridiculous than scary. The special effects are pretty cheap too; the dancing statues look more creepy than fun. Also, while DeMornay makes a lovely Beauty, she can't sing worth beans and sounds awkward next to Savage, who can at least carry a tune.

The Big Finale: If you're looking for a straightforward, no-frills version of the classic story, you can do far worse than this sweet film.

Home Media: The DVD is out of print; your best bet by far is checking around online. It's currently free to view with ads at streaming services Vudu and Tubi.

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