This “tale as old as time” shares a connection with both Jackie Chan and Animaniacs .
Walt Disney attempted to develop Beauty and the Beast into an animated film both in the 1930s and 1950s, but ultimately gave up because the writers found the story to difficult to adapt.
Via: Hulton Archive/Getty Images
The song "Human Again" was cut just before production started. The song was later added to the Broadway show and was recorded and animated for the 2002 re-release of the film.
Disney borrowed ideas from Jean Cocteau’s 1946 live-action film.
The classic French film included the idea of rival suitor for Belle named Avenant, who tries to kill the Beast upon learning that she loves him, losing his life in the process.
Also, the film included the household objects in the Beast's castle coming to life.
Via: readrw.blogspot.com
In 1988, Disney hired British animation director Richard Purdum to adapt the film. His version of the film was a darker, non-musical adaption; it also took place in 18th-century France. The video below is the Purdum storyboard reel:
Then-Disney Chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg scrapped this version of the film after seeing the initial story reels in 1989. Purdum resigned shortly after, when the decision was made by producers to adapt the story into a musical.
