Beauty and the Beast (franchise) Beauty and the Beast (franchise) Beauty and the Beast is a Disney media franchise comprising a film series and additional merchandise. The success of the original 1991 American animated feature, "Beauty and the Beast", directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, led to three direct-to-video follow-up films, a live-action spin-off television series, a Disney World stage show, a Disney World restaurant, several video games, merchandise, and the 9th longest-running musical in Broadway history, which was nominated for nine Tony Awards, winning for Best Costume Design. In March 2017, Disney released a live-action remake of the film. Belle was also added
Beauty and the Beast (1991 film) "Beauty and the Beast" set in 19th-century France. At the behest of Disney CEO Michael Eisner, "Beauty and the Beast" became the first Disney animated film to use a screenwriter. This was an unusual production move for an animated film, which is traditionally developed on storyboards rather than in scripted form. Linda Woolverton wrote the original draft of the story before storyboarding began, and worked with the story team to retool and develop the film. Upon seeing the initial storyboard reels in 1989, Walt Disney Studios chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg ordered that the film be scrapped and started over from scratch.