The votes are in, and you’ve all decided: the best Disney Animated Canon film of all time is …
…
Beauty and the Beast!
Yes, in our final round, Belle, the Beast, Mrs. Potts, Gaston, Cogsworth, and all the rest sailed to victory over The Lion King and all its animal subjects. It wasn’t even particularly close, either, with Beauty and the Beast winning by a comfortable 45-to-32.
But then, this whole tournament, no matchup has ever proven much of a challenge for Beauty and the Beast. In the semi-finals, it beat The Little Mermaid 44-to-22, getting double the votes Ariel and pals did. A round before that, it took down Fantasia 51-to-32. Against Lilo & Stitch? 55-to-20. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh? 49-to-21. And I don’t even wanna look at the 66-to-8 shellacking it gave Tarzan.
None of these were what could be considered weak competition, yet round after round, Beauty and the Beast was never in any danger of losing – it just consistently dominated the entire tournament.
I always knew it was popular, but didn’t realize it was quite that popular. But then, it is the film where the “rather odd” nerdy bookworm is also the smartest, most beautiful, most moral person around, and is rewarded with love and luxury. Can’t see why that would appeal to the folks who make up the Avocado.