Beauty and the Beast was the 30th animated feature film made by the Walt Disney Studios. It was based on the French fairytale popularized by Madame Beaumont’s story published in 1756. The film had its premier at Disney’s El Capitan Theater in Los Angeles on November 13 1991. Beauty and the Beast is still one of the best known and beloved films in the Disney canon.

It is to date,  the only full-length animated feature film to be nominated by “the Academy” for an Oscar for best picture. It is considered by many to be the pinnacle of the Disney Renaissance oft the period 1998-1994. It would influence many of the  subsequent Disney animated films  by an amalgamation of conventional and digital animation. The renaissance is considered by many to have been the period between the  release of The Little Mermaid and ending with The Lion King.

The AFI ranked Beauty and the Beast as the 34th best romantic movie and the 22nd best musical of all time and the theme song was ranked #62 for the best theme song from a film. The United States NFR (National Film Registry) described the film as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

Disney executives responsible for the production of Beauty and the Beast felt the climate of the culture in 1990 and 1991 was top-heavy with shallow depictions of women as objects. They were inspired to produce a feature that fought the cultural tendency for young men to be pressured into marrying or dating the “prettier girl.” The moral of the film - that looks aren’t everything  - seemingly spoke to a vast number of the viewers, accounting for its phenomenal box-office success: Beauty and the Beast grossed $171 million domestically and over $403 million worldwide. It was the first animated movie in history to exceed the $100 million mark.
Unsurprisingly, it was the 3rd most successful movie of 1991, beaten by Terminator 2 and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.

Lauded as a return to the classic filmmaking Disney had become synonymous with, Beauty and the Beast was one of the best reviewed animated films ever made. Roger Ebert declared: “Beauty and the Beast reaches back to an older and healthier Hollywood tradition in which the best writers, musicians and filmmakers are gathered for a project on the assumption that a family audience deserves great entertainment, too."

Unfortunately Beauty and the Beast is not currently offered by the Disney Movie Club. They do, however offer this movie:

Beauty And The Beast: Belle's Magical World Special Edition

Which includes an number of Belle themed games, songs and stories.