Beauty And The Beast was a landmark film when Disney released it in 1991. Besides being a huge box-office success, the animated adaptation of Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont’s fairy tale also became the first animated feature to be nominated for the Best Picture Oscar (back when the category only had five nominees, and the Best Animated Feature award didn’t exist).
It didn’t win that Oscar, but it did win for Best Original Score and Best Original Song. It was also part of a purple patch for the studio’s films, which included The Little Mermaid and The Lion King.