With The Little Mermaid, Disney revived its gift for animation which had been in a long lull since Walt Disney's passing in 1966. With Beauty and the Beast a classic was made, good enough even to earn a Best Picture nomination. The story is about Belle, an introspective woman more interested in reading and dreaming about fantastical places than the humdrum routines of day to day living. And she may be the only woman in town who doesn't get flighty over a handsome, arrogant local named Gaston, who becomes interested in her for that very reason. The story begins when Belle's father -- the traditional white-haired, kindly Disney father -- runs across the castle of the Beast, someone transformed into a hideous creature after he was cruel to a weary traveller. Beauty and the Beast is a sweet, endearing, uplifting, and funny film, guaranteed to entertain. The animation is spectacular, particularly the ballroom scene which was groundbreaking at the time, and the Ashman/Menken score memorable and inspiring. But Beauty's real attraction is how real and vivid the characters are, and how attached to them we become. Not only one of Disney's best modern films, but one of their best ever.