Considered to be the best of Disney's tuneful animated features of the '80s and '90s, Beauty and the Beast features a strong, moving story and a number of memorable Menken & Ashman tunes, including the title song and the bouncy "Be Our Guest." Done in the style of a Broadway musical, the story centers on the misadventures of Belle, the book-loving, independent -minded daughter of the town inventor. A great beauty, she is coveted by the boorish Gaston whom she spurns. Meanwhile, deep in the nearby forest there lives the Beast, a formerly arrogant and selfish young man who mistreated a witch and was transformed into a hideous creature with an equally ugly temper. With only his animated furniture and personal effects to keep him company, he waits for the true love that will free him. He must find it before the last petal of an enchanted rose falls. If not, he will remain a beast forever. The trouble begins when Belle's dithery father sets off into the forest to take his latest contraption to the fair. A disaster lands him in the Beast's dungeon. Belle sets off to rescue her father, meets the terrifying creature and offers herself in exchange for her father. The old man returns home while Belle and Beast slowly get to know each other. Something about her brings out the long dormant human in the hirsute lord and it looks as if the spell will finally be broken. Unfortunately, back in the village, Gaston is preparing to have her father placed in an asylum, forcing Belle to leave the palace to save him. The story's exciting climax takes place back at the Beast's palace when the jealous Gaston attempts to get his revenge and destroy both Belle and the Beast.