- This film was re-released in IMAX and other large format theaters on January 1, 2002. The following changes were made to the film for this release:
- The "In Association with Silver Screen Partners IV" credit is replaced with "The Special Edition Of--" on the opening title sequence. The 2002 Platinum Edition DVD omits this credit and the Walt Disney Pictures Presents credit stays on screen.
- The 2002 Platinum Edition DVD omits the Beast's "stutter" ("You wan-wanna stay in the tower?").
- The animation in some of the scenes went back through the clean-up animation department a second time, to correct problems such as wavering lines and missing details, which, while not very noticeable during a traditional 35mm showing of the film, would have been discomforting on a much large IMAX screen. Small details, such as the blood in Beast's wound after his fight with the wolves, were also added.
- At the end of the "Something There" sequence, the background has been changed from Belle and Beast in front of the fireplace to an empty hallway, and a bit of the character animation has also been altered in this shot.
- Six minutes of new footage was added between the songs "Something There" and "Beauty and the Beast," most of which is made up of a new musical sequence, "Human Again." This song was written by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken for the original version of the film, but cut for continuity purposes. After Alan Menken altered the song to make it work for the Broadway stage version of Beauty and the Beast, the song was worked back into the film.
- During the "Human Again" song sequence, the household objects clean up the Beast's castle, which necessitated having the background artists go back and digitally re-paint the backgrounds for the castle scenes that followed so that the castle was clean.
- The animation for Cogsworth's line to the Beast after Belle is freed ("Yes-yes-yes, but...why?") was completely re-done, as the directors never liked how the animation looked in the original version.
- New sound effects are added to the shot where Belle and Phillippe leave the castle to find Maurice, which are supposed to suggest that the Beast trashes his room in anguish (and also so that the backgrounds from this point on would not have to be repainted).
- The ending credits are longer to necessitate the addition of an additional passage of score music, the version of the 'Transformation' theme that was cut out of the original film, to the end of the film.
- In the 2010 Diamond Edition release and current releases, the original 1990 Walt Disney Pictures logo was replaced with the current 2006 Walt Disney Pictures logo and the 2007 Steamboat Willie-inspired Walt Disney Animation Studios logo was added in. These changes were also made in the 3D re-release.
- The "Work-In-Progress Edition" has also been released on a CAV laserdisc in 1992. This is the unfinished preview version shown at the New York Film Festival in September 1991, with 80% of its animation complete, the remaining footage represented by sketches, drawings and painted storyboards. It runs the same length as the final cut and has no new scenes but includes 18 minutes of special features, including alternate version of "Be Our Guest" sung to Belle's father after he stumbles into the castle. It was decided to make "Be Our Guest" more of a show stopper and place it in the middle of the film to be sung to Belle. The alternate scene is all in pencil test.
- On the soundtrack and possibly preview/test screenings, there is a scene during the "Gaston" song in which Lefou tries to spell Gaston's name and then gives up. This scene is not in the video version. Only some copies of the soundtrack have the full length music of "West Wing", which is the energetic instrumental music heard when the Beast saves Belle from the wolves. What versions (CD or cassette, retail or music club) have which, and why it was trimmed, is a tough question, but the long version is 4:22 and the short one is 3:39. (The short version is cut right where Belle is running out of the castle before the attack.) The CD box set "The Music Behind The Magic", which features The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin music, is also completely void of the full track, containing only a 2:19-long version.
- A different version of the "Work-In-Progress Edition", mentioned above, was released on VHS in a special box set. It features all the scenes from the final movie but doesn't include the alternate version of "Be Our Guest." The tape does include a making-of documentary and a short sequence illustrating step-by-step how the film was animated. This is the "Work-In-Progress Edition" that is available on DVD.
- When the movie was released on DVD in October 2002, it offered three versions of the film: The "Special Edition" (the 2002 IMAX re-release), the "Work-In-Progress Edition" (with Belle in the "Be Our Guest" sequence; the original work-in-progress cut featured Maurice in this sequence), and the "Original Theatrical Release". The "Work-In-Progress Edition" and the "Original Theatrical Release" are both actually identical to the 2002 IMAX/"Special Edition" re-release, except that it retains the original animation of the footage from the end of "Something There" until Belle's release from the castle (this includes the retention of Cogsworth's original animation in his conversation with the Beast after Belle is freed) and the original end credits sequence. All of the other edits that were made to the 2002 IMAX re-release (the cleaned-up animation, no stuttering Beast, etc.) are also present in this version.
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