Natsu no niwa to fuyu no niwa no hanashi (1988)

Gregg Berger

Theodore Lehmann

Natsu no niwa to fuyu no niwa no hanashi

Beauty and the Beast

When it comes to fairytales, &apos;Beauty and the Beast&apos; is one of the most timeless. It is a charming and moving story with the Beast being a surprisingly complex character that grows. As does the relationship between the two protagonists, not one of those love at first sight ones and one where it doesn&apos;t feel rushed. Also love the point it tries to make about not judging somebody by their looks, something that unfortunately is repeatedly ignored in this increasingly shallow world.

A lot of adaptations of &apos;Beauty and the Beast&apos; are worth watching or more. My personal favourite, although it is not one of the most faithful to the story, is the Disney film, where everything just works as a perfect marriage of visuals, music, characterisation and emotional impact. The 1946 &apos;La Belle et La Bete&apos; is also stunning, see that as soon as possible if you haven&apos;t already. Exceptions are fairly few actually, though didn&apos;t care at all for two animated versions from Burbank and Golden Films and &apos;Simsala Grimm&apos;s&apos; version is one of the weakest episodes of that series. &apos;Grimm Masterpiece Theater&apos;s&apos; adaptation is a worthy one, with a good deal of faithful elements while having enough freshness too, and among the better episodes of a very nicely done if uneven series.

The animation has been much better in other episodes though. Certainly not awful, but not always to be bowled over by at the same time. The backgrounds are beautifully detailed and there are some imaginative visual touches, but the character designs do lack finesse (even for a character intended to be hideous Beast looks really strange) and the colours are a mix of sumptuous and on the flat side.

Not an awful lot wrong though, though did think that there could have been less narration (as thoughtfully done and soothing it is).

&apos;Grimm Masterpiece Theater&apos;s&apos; two most inconsistent elements generally are fine here. The music is not too 80s and appealed to my ears at least. It was effectively hypnotic even in the dancing scenes and had an ominous (though not in an obvious way) quality in the climactic moments. The voice acting at least fits the characters, the narration is very soothing and distinguished, Beauty is neither too mature or too shrill and the more sympathetic Beast becomes the less gruff-sounding he sounds.

Dialogue avoids being childish or over-complicated, making the story accessible for younger audiences while far from dumbing it down. The story when it gets going is filled with charm and heart with no superfluous characters getting in the way, the ending is touching and the central relationship is handled sympathetically and realistically, even though the length of the episode is short things didn&apos;t feel too hurried. Beast is the complex character he should be, underneath the beastly exterior there is a real soul.

Overall, very nicely done. 8/10

When it comes to fairytales, 'Beauty and the Beast' is one of the most timeless. It is a charming and moving story with the Beast being a surprisingly complex character that grows. As does the relationship between the two protagonists, not one of those love at first sight ones and one where it doesn't feel rushed. Also love the point it tries to make about not judging somebody by their looks, something that unfortunately is repeatedly ignored in this increasingly shallow world.

A lot of adaptations of 'Beauty and the Beast' are worth watching or more. My personal favourite, although it is not one of the most faithful to the story, is the Disney film, where everything just works as a perfect marriage of visuals, music, characterisation and emotional impact. The 1946 'La Belle et La Bete' is also stunning, see that as soon as possible if you haven't already. Exceptions are fairly few actually, though didn't care at all for two animated versions from Burbank and Golden Films and 'Simsala Grimm's' version is one of the weakest episodes of that series. 'Grimm Masterpiece Theater's' adaptation is a worthy one, with a good deal of faithful elements while having enough freshness too, and among the better episodes of a very nicely done if uneven series.

The animation has been much better in other episodes though. Certainly not awful, but not always to be bowled over by at the same time. The backgrounds are beautifully detailed and there are some imaginative visual touches, but the character designs do lack finesse (even for a character intended to be hideous Beast looks really strange) and the colours are a mix of sumptuous and on the flat side.

Not an awful lot wrong though, though did think that there could have been less narration (as thoughtfully done and soothing it is).

'Grimm Masterpiece Theater's' two most inconsistent elements generally are fine here. The music is not too 80s and appealed to my ears at least. It was effectively hypnotic even in the dancing scenes and had an ominous (though not in an obvious way) quality in the climactic moments. The voice acting at least fits the characters, the narration is very soothing and distinguished, Beauty is neither too mature or too shrill and the more sympathetic Beast becomes the less gruff-sounding he sounds.

Dialogue avoids being childish or over-complicated, making the story accessible for younger audiences while far from dumbing it down. The story when it gets going is filled with charm and heart with no superfluous characters getting in the way, the ending is touching and the central relationship is handled sympathetically and realistically, even though the length of the episode is short things didn't feel too hurried. Beast is the complex character he should be, underneath the beastly exterior there is a real soul.

Overall, very nicely done. 8/10

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