Imagineering shares a behind-the-scenes look at Beauty and the Beast’s stunning, enchanted transformation story

To celebrate the fourth anniversary of “The Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast” at Tokyo Disneyland, Walt Disney Imagineering released a mock-up showing how the attraction’s most impressive effect was achieved.

The enchanted story of the transformation of Beauty and the Beast

In an Instagram post, Walt Disney Imagineering announced that one of the greatest effects in WDI history was mocked up as a shoebox diorama as a proof of concept. The caption for Reel read as follows:

The enchanted story of beauty and the beast at @tokyodisneyresort_official first delighted guests four years ago! To celebrate, we’re sharing a behind-the-scenes look at the Beast’s transformation illusion mockup

A mockup brings ideas to life on a smaller scale, allowing us to see how they work in the real world. This is essential for illusions – digital tests can’t capture the magic, but the real version helps everyone see how it all comes together!

The image above is a screenshot from Reel. The top half of the image shows the proof of concept, while the bottom half shows what guests see on board the attraction.

While riding, the Beast spins around wrapped in a cloak. The proof of concept shows that this illusion was created through creative lighting effects. In the mock-up, lights flicker above the Beast as it transforms into a human form.

In this image, the last remnants of the Beast’s former self are almost gone as his human form completely takes over.

With one final touch of Disney magic, the Beast’s transformation is complete and he stands at Belle’s side. All of his previous form was gone.

You can watch our full Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast video below to see the illusion in action. The transformation begins at 11:42:

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Phil Wood