Doctor M said:

Since CAPS films aren't animated with the slight differences in shading for cells on different layers, what exactly distinguishes a 'theatrically accurate' version of a CAPS film?

By the mid 90's film stock was pretty mature. Unlikely Technicolor in its infancy that required answer prints, the difference between what the CAPS computer generated and the final film print should not have been that different.

Then why does every digital transfer of Beauty and the Beast not only look different from the theatrical timing, but from the other digital transfers? Were they regraded at the DI stage for no reason in particular?

Also, the early-90s films still had a traditional color timer. Dale Grahn had to have done SOMETHING.

You're probably right, I may just be partial to the way film degrades the image and makes it look more "filmic", even if that may not be what the filmmakers fully intended.