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Disney and ABC will celebrate 30 years of Howard Ashman and Alan Menken's Beauty and the Beast with a hybrid live-action and animated presentation of the work on ABC!
On December 15 and streaming December 16 on Disney+, In the Heights and Wicked film director Jon M. Chu will executive produce the special and Hamish Hamilton will direct. Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration will resemble 2019's The Little Mermaid Live which also paired scenes from the 1989 animated film with staged, live performances. The original Beauty and the Beast film received a 1992 nomination for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
The production will include new musical performances performed in front of a live audience at Disney Studios, along with new sets and costumes inspired by the 1991 animated film. Beauty and the Beast was Disney's first Broadway production, making its way to the stage in 1994 and running until 2007. The work has continued to be produced worldwide and received a live-action screen remake in 2017.
Can't wait!