One of our newer members has PM’d me asking how BATB looks on film compared with the WIP version found on the Diamond Bluray (see pictures). It’s a great question, so I thought I’d post a reply to it on the forum.

It’s been two years since I personally have seen BATB projected on film, and I’m unlikely to see it again in that way any time soon. BATB is quite a dark film, especially when compared to Aladdin and Lion King which are have very bright and lively colours.

The WIP version if memory serves me correctly is too dark. And it has other issues, like Belle’s hair resolving to black instead of brown in the first photo. There is detail lost in the dark areas beyond what I expect would be lost on the print itself (ie the shadows look crushed). For all we know though, the WIP version might look different to final release. It was an earlier version, and they may have used cheaper film for the interpositive or something that affected the final look of the picture. Or maybe they were using it as an experiment with their digital film-out process ahead of doing the final film.

I should have some great previews of the print soon, once we get it to the scanner, and that should settle the question of how the movie looks. What I can say with confidence is that it that no home release to date looks right - some are better than others - but none present the actual look of the picture on film.