It might be an acting tale as old as time. Legendary actress Angela Lansbury knows that as far as a young generation of moviegoers is concerned, she will always be the beloved Mrs. Potts from the Disney classic "Beauty and the Beast."
As both Mrs. Potts and "Beauty in the Beast" find a re-release on Blu-Ray this week for the first animated film to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, Lansbury acknowldges that her character's legacy continues with vibrancy close to 20 years after the movie's release.
"I'm haunted by her," Lansbury tells PopcornBiz. "Ever since I did it. Children the world over recognize my voice in department stores and super markets. A little kid will hear me and say, 'Oh, it's Mrs. Potts.' "
"She's such an amazing character."
Lansbury says that if she goes into true Potts mode in front of noticing fans and starts quoting lines in the movie that the child will inevitably come close to "fainting."
"It happens all the time, to be perfectly honest," she adds. "I am just associated with that person in the minds of children."
Lansbury notes that the character lives in many mediums and for an entirely new generation of fans through mediums that span the Disney empire.
"Mrs. Potts is involved in so many parts of the entertainment industry, in games and on greeting cards. Disney has taken to the nth degree," she says. "She is still a very cherished character."
The movie's rerelease in the previous Platinum edition saw Lansbury and company adding a new song to go along with the Lansbury Oscar-nominated classic "Tales As Old As Time."
"We all got together and did 'We're Human Again' which is a song that was not in the first movie," says Lansbury.
But this version will add Blu-ray features which make it "stand alone," says Lansbury, promising that the colors are even "more strong and beautiful" in the new edition.
