''Beauty and the Beast: Belle's Tales of Friendship'' is a 1999 American

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, television series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strat ...

live action Live action is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live action with animation to create a live-action animated feature film. Live action is used to define film, video games o ...

animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

fantasy film Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually Magic (paranormal), magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The Film genre, genre is considered a form of speculative fic ...

. It was produced by

Walt Disney Television Animation Disney Television Animation (DTVA; also shortened to Disney TVA), formerly known as Walt Disney Pictures Television Animation Group and Walt Disney Television Animation, is an American animation production company that serves as the television a ...

as the prequel to '' Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas'' and the fourth and final installment in ''Beauty'' ''and'' ''the'' ''Beast'' films. It was also released to help promote the syndicated television series, '' Sing Me a Story with Belle'', for which a live-action Belle tells stories from Disney cartoons such as ''

The Wise Little Hen ''The Wise Little Hen'' is a 1934 Walt Disney produced ''Silly Symphonies'' animated short film, based on the fable ''The Little Red Hen.'' The film features the debut of Donald Duck, dancing to "The Sailor's Hornpipe". Donald and his friend Pet ...

'', '' The Three Little Pigs'', '' Morris the Midget Moose'' and '' Babes in the Woods'' with Belle narrating. The film stars Lynsey McLeod who continues portraying Belle in live-action form. It also stars Paige O'Hara,

Robby Benson Robby Benson (born Robin David Segal; January 21, 1956) is an American actor, director, and musician. He rose to prominence as a teen idol in the late 1970s, appearing in the films ''Ode to Billy Joe (film), Ode to Billy Joe'' (1976), ''One on ...

David Ogden Stiers David Allen Ogden Stiers ( ; October 31, 1942 – March 3, 2018) was an American actor and conductor. He appeared in numerous productions on Broadway, and originated the role of Feldman in '' The Magic Show'', in 1974. In 1977, Stiers was cast ...

, and

Jerry Orbach Jerome Bernard Orbach (October 20, 1935 – December 28, 2004) was an American actor and singer, described at the time of his death as "one of the last'' bona fide'' leading men of the Broadway theatre, Broadway musical and global celebrity on te ...

who reprise their roles as Belle, Beast, Cogsworth, and Lumiere, respectively, in the animated form, in the short film ''Mrs. Potts' Party'', which later was also used for the special edition released in 2003 of '' Belle's Magical World''. The film was released on VHS on August 17, 1999.

Synopsis

Belle's narration

Belle owns and works at her music and bookstore in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. A group of children walk into the store eager to hear Belle's stories, as she is noted to be a great storyteller. Belle agrees to tell a story, but the gang also plays games and learns some simple lessons on life. Belle narrates two Disney cartoons, '' Morris the Midget Moose'' and ''

Hansel and Gretel "Hansel and Gretel" (; ) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 as part of ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). Hansel and Gretel are siblings who are abandoned in a forest and fall into the hands of a witch ...

'', while the children help Belle clean the bookstore. She also reads ''

'' and '' The Three Little Pigs'', but Shawn and Harmony will not help make chili for the group. Along the way, Belle adds music and interacts with the children.

Mrs. Potts' Party

Mrs. Potts is feeling depressed due to the dreadful weather, and Belle decides to cheer her up by throwing a surprise for Mrs. Potts' birthday party for her. Belle has come to look at Mrs. Potts as a mother figure by this point. During preparations for the party, Belle and her friends have to avoid waking up the sleeping Beast. Beast spent the entire previous night fixing a leak in the roof and needs his sleep. However, Lumiere and Cogsworth's rivalry gets in the way. The two argue and compete over the tasks of composing music, choosing Mrs. Potts' favorite flowers, and choosing the flavors of the cake that will be served at the party. Two oven mits, Chaude (the red mit) and Tres (the blue mit), also take part in the argument, as they each side with one of the rivals. Eventually, Lumiere and Cogsworth's attempt to sabotage one another's decisions has consequences. The baking cake explodes and makes a complete mess in the kitchen. Lumiere and Cogsworth, after a scolding from Belle, decide to put their rivalry behind them for good and work together to make a small surprise for Mrs. Potts. The plan goes well, and Mrs. Potts is cured of her depression, and the sun finally shines again. Everyone learns the power of cooperation and compromises, accompanied by the song ''A Little Thought''.

Cast

Live-action

* Lynsey McLeod - Belle *

Shawn Pyfrom Shawn Caminiti Pyfrom (born August 16, 1986) is an American actor and singer who has appeared in several television series and films. He is best known for his portrayal of Andrew Van de Kamp on ABC's ''Desperate Housewives'' and as Lionel Griff ...

- Shawn * Kirsten Storms - Kirsten * Natalie Trott - Natalie * Hampton Dixon - Hampton * Jennefer Jesse - Jennefer * Julie Vanlue - Julie *

Jim Cummings James Jonah Cummings (born November 3, 1952) is an American voice actor. Beginning his career in the 1980s, he has appeared in over 400 titles. Cummings has frequently worked with the Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros., serving as the offic ...

- Lewis (voice) *

Christine Cavanaugh Christine Josephine Cavanaugh (''née'' Sandberg; August 16, 1963 – December 22, 2014) was an American actress, who had a distinctive speaking style and provided the voice for a large range of cartoon characters. She was the original voices o ...

- Carroll (voice)

Animated

* Paige O'Hara - Belle *

- The Beast *

- Cogsworth *

- Lumiere * Gregory Grudt - Chip * Anne Rogers - Mrs. Potts *

Jo Anne Worley Jo Anne Worley (born September 6, 1937) is an American actress, comedian, and singer. Her work covers television, films, theater, game shows, talk shows, commercials, and cartoons. Worley is widely known for her work on the comedy-variety show ...

- The Wardrobe *

Frank Welker Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American actor who specializes in voice acting. He began his career in the 1960s, and held around 850 film, television, and video game credits as of 2020, making him one of the most prolific v ...

Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

- Webster, Chef Bouche, Tubaloo, Big Book *

Jeff Bennett Jeff Bennett (born October 2, 1962) is an American voice actor. He voiced the titular character of ''Johnny Bravo'', Dexter and Dee Dee's Dad in ''Dexter's Laboratory'', List of The Powerpuff Girls characters#Ace, Ace, List of The Powerpuff Gi ...

- Crane, Frappe *

Rob Paulsen Robert Frederick Paulsen III (born March 11, 1956) is an American voice actor and voice director, known for his roles in numerous animated television series and films. He received a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Pro ...

- LePlume, Tres *

April Winchell April Terri Winchell (born January 4, 1960) is an American actress, writer, and radio host. Since 1996, she has been the voice of Clarabelle Cow. Early life Born on January 4, 1960, in Whitestone, New York, but raised in the Greater Los Angel ...

- Chandeleria, Chaude, Concertina * Jeff Conover - Harmony

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Belle's Tales Of Friendship 1999 films 1999 animated films 1999 children's films 1999 direct-to-video films 1990s American animated films American children's films American films with live action and animation American sequel films Direct-to-video sequel films Beauty and the Beast (franchise) Disney direct-to-video animated films Animated films about princes Films set in France Animated films set in castles 1990s English-language films Animated films set in France Live-action films based on Disney's animated films