MinaLima, the award-winning design studio behind the graphics for the Harry Potter film franchise and the creators of the illustrated Jungle Book and Peter Pan, reimagine the beloved French fairy tale The Beauty and the Beast in this deluxe unabridged edition illustrated with stunning full-color artwork and nine 3-D interactive features—published to coincide with the release of the blockbuster … of the blockbuster Disney live-action musical film starring Emma Watson, Ian McKellen, Josh Gad, Ewan McGregor, and Emma Thompson.
Generations of readers have been bewitched by the epic love story of a beautiful young girl imprisoned in the magical castle of a monstrous beast. Now, the classic fairy tale is brought to life in this spectacular illustrated edition as originally envisioned by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve in 1740.
The Beauty and the Beast is packed with specially commissioned, full-color artwork and nine exclusive interactive features, including:
- a fold-out map of the rich French city where the Merchant (Beauty’s father) and his family reside;
- a fold out that reveals the interior of the Beast’s enchanted palace;
- a series of flaps (similar to an Advent calendar) that open to reveal different entertainments; available to Beauty in the Beast’s palace;
- a dial of the ring Beauty turns on her finger to return to the Beast.
This unique gift edition takes readers on a captivating journey through a mystical land filled with enchanting inhabitants. MiniLima’s imaginative artwork, exquisite detail, and engaging design recreate this timeless romantic adventure as never before in a lush unabridged gift edition sure to be cherished for years to come.
Disney’s live-action movie musical version of Beauty and the Beast, directed by Bill Condon (Twilight: Breaking Dawn, Dreamgirls), stars Harry Potter alumna Emma Watson as Belle, Dan Stevens as the Beast, Ewan McGregor as Lumiere, Luke Evans as Gaston, Emma Thompson as Mrs. Potts, Ian McKellen as Cogsworth, Josh Gad as Le Fou, Kevin Kline as Maurice, Stanley Tucci as Cadenza, and Audra McDonald as Garderobe.
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This is an illustrated edition of the original story of Beauty and the Beast. Boy, was this book wildly different than the Disney version. Without giving away spoilers, their was a fair amount of fairies and the family tree(s) were wild. I would definitely say that the Disney version is by far my favorite version.
However, the illustrations were gorgeous. I absolutely loved the chapter title pages. They were so pretty and colorful. The interactive elements were nice to play with. I would definitely want to check out the other illustrated classics done by MinaLima.
It was utterly fascinating to read the original Beauty and the Beast after growing up with the Disney movie and reading more than a few retellings since then. I would have never thought there were monkeys in the original story but there they were! You can in many respects see the age of this story in some of the attitudes and definitely in the story-telling style, but you can also see why it has endured and why we continue to be fascinated by the tale of Beauty and the Beast. It has inspired countless retellings, movies, plays, tv shows. It is part of our common vernacular. If you say “Beauty and the Beast” everyone knows what you’re talking about. Do you need to read the original story to enjoy any of the renditions that followed? I’d argue no. But if you’re even a little interested in seeing where they come from, I’d highly recommend.
And this particular edition must be one of the most beautiful books I own. I am utterly delighted with the illustrations and the interactive elements. There was clearly a lot of time and love put into each one. An edition like this would make a wonderful present, but, frankly, I find mine to be to pretty to give away, so maybe it will have to be a to-me-from-me gift.
This was the first time I read the real and first story of “Beauty and the Beast”, the long version. The amount of backstory for Belle in the beginning was fantastic! I saw her and her family in a light I never have before. It’s interesting to see where Disney has changed the story to make it more family friendly and easier to follow. I think even if I ventured to do a retelling I would not have Belle come from a family of six, but maybe of three, combing all the brothers into one character and the sisters into one. Even in this story, when it referenced a brother talking it always said her brothers, as in her brothers were sad to see her go, her sisters hated her. They were pretty much written to all have the same feelings anyway. Belle was quite different in this tale than I always pictured her, thanks to Disney, as well. I liked that the Beast visited her as a human in her dreams, but it also became a little confusing throughout because at one point I was wondering if he was evil or something, trying to ruin their chances together. Now that I’ve finished the story I understand the dream Prince’s role in everything, but during it was confusing at times.
The one part of the story that I didn’t really care for was the end where the fairy’s retold everything that happened from their own perspective, which means we read the story of Beauty and the Beast from Belle’s perspective and then we had to hear it again from the Beast’s perspective and then we heard it again from the fairy’s perspective. Phew. That’s reading the same story multiple times in the span of 150 pages.
For anyone who loves the story of Beauty and the Beast, I recommend reading this version! You won’t be sorry, though you might wish the fairy’s would hurry up a bit.