This IMAX'ed version features a newly animated six-minute sequence showcasing the song "Human Again," by Academy Award-winning songwriters Howard Ashman and Alan Menken. Voice talents Paige O'Hara, Robby Benson, Angela Lansbury, Jerry Orbach, David Ogden Stiers and Jo Anne Worley returned to record the new sequence.
Producer Hahn recalls, ¿About four years ago, Kirk and Gary and I were sitting around talking about the Star Wars Special Edition that had just come out and Kirk jokingly suggested, ¿Wouldn¿t it be fun to do a special edition of Beauty with 'Human Again' or new material in it.¿ When the head of Feature Animation said he thought it was a great idea, we stopped joking and began thinking about how we could actually do it. We had storyboarded the sequence for the original production, but completely reworked it for this special edition of the film. We discovered that there was a perfect place for the song following 'Something There' and it added a greater emotional depth to the story. A new scene with Cogsworth instructing the staff to create the most romantic atmosphere known to man or beast sets up the song beautifully.¿
"'Human Again' was written for the original film but for a variety of reasons we couldn¿t make it work," says director Gary Trousdale. "The song was taking the audience away from the plight of Belle and the Beast and it was getting longer and longer. Finally after eight years of perspective, 20/20 hindsight and seeing how well it worked in the Broadway stage version, we were able to make it work for the film.¿ And co-director Kirk Wise adds, "I like to think that the addition of 'Human Again' deepens the story a bit. You get to know the objects in a more personal way and really learn what their hopes and aspirations are when the spell is finally broken. You also get new insights into Belle and Beast¿s relationship. We discover a secret about the Beast that he hasn¿t shared with anyone and that is that he¿s been a beast so long that he¿s completely forgotten how to read. That was Howard¿s idea. He thought that it would be very touching if Belle imparted this gift of helping him learn to read. This was another way for him to regain his humanity and it was really effective. The song has Howard¿s trademark wit, fun and humor."
The IMAX Beauty and the Beast was produced by Dave Hahn, and directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise. Edward L. Ghertner provided art direction, with editing completed by Ellen Keneshea.
Below are three new images, courtesy of Disney, from the film's added sequences. As you can see, the first image takes a cue from Grant Wood's "American Gothic." Click on the images for XL versions.