 Awarding the film a perfect score of four stars , Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun @-@ Times compared Beauty and the Beast positively to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Pinocchio , writing , " Beauty and the Beast reaches back to an older and healthier Hollywood tradition in which the best writers , musicians and filmmakers are gathered for a project on the assumption that a family audience deserves great entertainment , too . " In 2001 Ebert again gave the IMAX re @-@ release a full 4 out of 4 stars . James Berardinelli of ReelViews rated the film similarly while hailing it as " the finest animated movie ever made " , writing , " Beauty and the Beast attains a nearly @-@ perfect mix of romance , music , invention , and animation . " The use of computer animation , particularly in the ballroom sequence , was singled out in several reviews as one of the film 's highlights . Hal Hinson of The Washington Post gave the film a positive review , calling the film " A delightfully satisfying modern fable , a near @-@ masterpiece that draws on the sublime traditions of the past while remaining completely in sync with the sensibility of its time . " Janet Maslin of The New York Times gave the film a positive review , saying " It is a surprise , in a time of sequels and retreads , that the new film is so fresh and altogether triumphant in its own right . " Dave Kehr of the Chicago Tribune gave the film three out of four stars , saying " Beauty and the Beast is certainly adequate holiday entertainment for children and their more indulgent parents ..... But the film has little of the technical facility , vivid characterization and emotional impact of Disney past . " 
