 In a first @-@ time accomplishment for The Walt Disney Company , an unfinished version of Beauty and the Beast was shown at the New York Film Festival on September 29 , 1991 . The film was deemed a " work in progress " because roughly only 70 % of the animation had been completed ; storyboards and pencil tests were used in replacement of the remaining 30 % . Additionally , certain segments of the film that had already been finished were reverted to previous stages of completion . At the end of the screening , Beauty and the Beast received a 10 @-@ minute long standing ovation from the film festival audience . The completed film would also be screened out of competition at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival . The finished film premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood on November 13 , 1991 , and went into wide release through Walt Disney Pictures on November 22 . 
