‘Beauty And The Beast’ To Celebrate 30th Anniversary With TV Special

etcanada.com:

An upcoming television special will celebrate the 30th anniversary of “Beauty and the Beast”, one of Disney’s most successful animated features.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the two-hour special will air on ABC, and will blend live action and animation as an all-new cast bringing the iconic musical to life.

Director Jon M. Chu (whose credits include “In the Heights” and the upcoming film adaptation of “Wicked”) has been tapped to helm the production, which will be executive produced by Hamish Hamilton (who’s produced the Emmys, the Grammys, the Super Bowl halftime show, ABC’s “The Little Mermaid” live musical and more). READ MORE: ‘Beauty And The Beast’ Prequel Series Cancelled, Stars Luke Evans And Josh Gad React “Stacked with unforgettable performances, this will be a must-see special event for fans of the original and for the new generation being introduced to this cherished tale,” ABC Entertainment president Craig Erwich told THR. “Beauty and the Beast was always a game-changing cinematic experience for me.

When the animated movie came out, I watched it multiple times in the first weekend,” added Chu. “It showed me the outer limits of what animated artists and storytellers could achieve,” he continued. “So the fact that I get to executive produce a tribute to all the creatives that made this masterpiece through our Electric Somewhere company is a dream I didn’t even think was possible.” READ MORE: Powerpoint Presentation Argues ‘Beauty And The Beast’ Heroine Belle Should Have Chosen Gaston The new “Beauty and the Beast” special airs on Dec.