Deleted scenes — who doesn’t love them? One of the perks of purchasing a film on Blu-ray or on iTunes is getting to see those scenes for yourself, at least before they hit YouTube. Sometimes viewers bemoan them being cut, and other times they immediately understand why certain sequences were left out of the final picture. Either way, it’s fun to see how the film changed from the first cut to what you see in theaters and explore more of the world of the film.

Fans of Beauty and the Beast will get a chance to explore more of Belle and the Beast’s world; in an interview with Collider, director Bill Condon revealed that the original cut of the film was 20 minutes longer, and that nine minutes of deleted scenes will be featured on the DVD/Blu-ray. Don’t expect an alternate ending though - most of these scenes are just gags or “fun stuff” that was cut down to trim down the running time. Condon highlighted two gags from the climactic fight between the inhabitants of the Beast’s castle and the village as things that were ultimately cut from the final version, including a fight between LeFou and “Monseuir le Toilet.” 

At 2 hours and 10 minutes, the film is already pushing the limits of being overly long, especially considering the animated version ran a crisp 84 minutes. Adding 20 extra minutes of footage would have pushed it over the line and turned the film into a lengthy and tiresome tale. The story of beauty falling for a beast doesn't need to be close to three hours. As lavish and exciting as the production is, a slightly shorter film would benefit the story and prevent audiences from feeling fatigued by an overly lengthy film.

Josh Gad as LeFou in Beauty and the Beast

It will be interesting to see if only gags are included among the deleted scenes. While it is doubtful any major subplot was left on the cutting room floor, twenty minutes is a lot of cinematic screen time to get rid of. It will be interesting to see if there were any deleted musical numbers. After all, the original Beauty and the Beast boasts an operatic and fun number, "Human Again," that was deleted from the final cut. The new film already has several new numbers; could one have been cut in order to trim down the run time?

Of course, this is pure speculation. All we know is that several gags have been cut. However, one can only wonder if there was a longer sequence dropped from the film that might account for the lengthy early running time or for the length of the deleted scenes. Regardless of what is or isn't included, these look to be a fun treat for fans when the DVD is released later this year. Screen Rant will bring you more news on Beauty and the Beast as it is released.

Source: Collider

Key Release Dates