20 Things You Didn’t Know About Beauty and the Beast

Belle in the iconic yellow dress from Beauty and the Beast (Image via Disney)

1. The Library of Congress agrees that Beauty and the Beast is kind of a big deal

It’s awfully nice to have your tastes in animated musicals validated by the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution. That’s what happened in 2002 when the Library of Congress selected Beauty and the Beast for preservation in the National Film Registry. As a result, the movie was officially deemed a “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant” work of art.

Beauty and the Beast is in some pretty good company there. Other Disney feature films included in the National Film Registry include Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), one of Disney’s earliest successes, as well as Bambi (1942), Mary Poppins (1964), and Toy Story (1995). Steamboat Willie, the 1928 animated short now recognized as the first sound cartoon featuring Mickey Mouse, is also included.

The National Film Registry adds up to 25 of these significant films every year. A film must be at least ten years old to be considered for inclusion. It also doesn’t have to be a feature film to be considered – some of the earliest ones, for example, are short films released in the late 19th century. The collection also includes the Zapruder film and the music video for Michael Jackson’s Thriller.

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If that somehow isn’t enough Beauty and the Beast trivia, why not go back and view the film yourself? Since it’s been around for 25 years now, there’s also plenty of ancillary material to satisfy even the most thorough Disney fan and trivia nerd.