Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast was first published in 1978, written by American children's book author Robin McKinley. It was her first book, retelling the classic French fairy tale "La Belle et La Bete". The book was the 1998 Phoenix Award honor book. It was the 1966 -1988 Best of the Best Books for Young Adults. An unabridged audio-book recording was released by Recorded Books in 2013, narrated by Charlotte Parry, and is currently available via Audible.com. Roderick Huston, a wealthy merchant and
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.