Beauty And The Beast 3D On Hold, 2011 Release Seems Likely

Initially scheduled to hit cinemas this February was Disney's 3D rerelease of Beauty and the Beast. As the months went on and we heard nothing new, and there was definitely no trailer released or official announcements made, it began to seem like the film had just slipped off the sheet completely. A real shame, because the demo sequences previewed last March were very well received indeed.

All the while, reports kept consolidating that the film was approaching a Blu-ray release, in the original 2D. This release is currently expected to happen in October.

I'm going to speculate that these two releases have been re-ordered to better boost their overall commercial prospects. It doesn't seem like rocket science to milk the 2D version of the film completely first, and then add the 3D element in for a little extra juice. I'm thinking we'll see 2D BD, a 3D film and then ultimately a 3D BD.

The Disneyphiles at Stitch Kingdom are reporting word from Disney themselves that the film "is still expected to be released, but not until some point in 2011". Seems to fit my pattern nicely. Better late than never, I suppose.