Best two reviews:
1) TV Guide - A masterpiece. It is a credit to Cocteau's genius (and to that of his collaborators) that he has taken the unreal world of a fairy tale and made it as real as the world around us. (Rating: 100) Read Full Review >
2) Chicago Sun-Times - Cocteau, a poet and surrealist, was not making a "children's film" but was adapting a classic French tale that he felt had a special message after the suffering of World War II: Anyone who has an unhappy childhood may grow up to be a Beast. (Rating: 100) Read Full Review >

Worst two reviews:
5) Christian Science Monitor - The timeless fairy tale about a young woman who agrees to dwell with a mysterious monster, as interpreted in 1946 by one of cinema's most brilliant visual stylists and mythmakers. (Rating: 100) Read Full Review >
6) Village Voice - Viewers must get in touch with their inner child to fall for Belle's eventual love for Beast. The film seems somewhat aware of this, casting an ambiguous hue on its happily-ever-after conclusion. (Rating: 40) Read Full Review >