The original film is such a masterpiece that it sets the bar so high for this sequel, and you have to keep this in mind when you sit down to watch this. First of all, I think it is such a delight to have the entire cast from the original back and at it. I think the film would really have been hurt if even one of the voice actors had been replaced.
I think what made the original so strong was the music and lyrics of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. Every song was beautiful, witty, and did so much to develop the story and characters. There a but a few songs in The Enchanted Christmas, and the only one that is somewhat memorable is the song "Stories", whose melody becomes a sort of musical motif that recurs throughout the film. The interesting animation sequence during this song is one of the highlights of the film, and it is nothing like anything featured in the original.
If you are a die-hard fan of Beauty and the Beast like myself, you will enjoy seeing the characters in action... but, sadly, it feels different and less magical than the original. The script is a little thin, and the voice acting isn't totally consistent with the original. For example, Robby Benson, who voices Beast, sounds very strange at times and seems to be overacting. But it seems that the Beast in general is very exaggerated throughout the film so this is probably not Benson's fault. Paige O'Hara as Belle as always has a remarkably beautiful voice, whether she is singing or talking. It is so wonderful to hear her put life into the character again.
One thing that I feel was very wrong with this film is that an entire sequence was devoted to showing how the Prince turned away the Enchantress on Christmas and became the Beast. I think that the original film did a marvelous job by telling this part of the story through the stained glass sequence in the beginning, but seeing it portrayed here again sort lacks that fairy-tale wonder to it that the images in stained glass conveyed so well.
Aside from this minor point, I believe if you enjoyed the original like myself, you won't have too hard a time of enjoying this film. Like I mentioned, it would be impossible to match the beauty and magic of the original solely in that the music just cannot match the genius of the Menken/Ashman collaboration. Even though the animation is low-budget, a wonderful soundtrack would have made the sequel great.
My commentary on the Special Edition DVD is that I thought the behind-the-scenes feature was wonderful, and although it is short, you get some really great interviews from the voice actors including Tim Curry who makes his debut as the story's new villain. You don't get to see Paul Reubens though, whose voice and character I found rather annoying. No big loss. One problem I had, however, is with the quality of the image. The Special Edition of the original on DVD has an amazing picture quality, and the colors are so lucid and spectacular, yet in the Enchanted Christmas DVD the colors are somewhat dull and faded. Aside from that, the other special features are just some nonsense that is thrown in just to satisfy the Special Edition title, but the behind-the-scenes feature is good enough for me.
On a final note, I noticed that there are Roman numerals on the side of the DVD cases of both films. Supposedly there will be a third Beauty and the Beast Special Edition coming out soon. Can't wait.
