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 The Walt Disney Co film has courted controversy after the
director, Bill Condon, first announced that it would feature a
gay character - LeFou, the goofy sidekick to main villain Gaston
- for the first time in Disney's history.
Billboards and posters advertising the film, with a March 16
release date, had been displayed on buildings and along major
roads all around Kuala Lumpur. But Malaysia's largest cinema
chains announced that the screenings had been held up.
"Due to unforeseen circumstances, the release of 'Beauty and the
Beast' has been postponed until further notice," TGV Cinemas
said on its website, adding that it would refund customers who
had bought tickets in advance.
Golden Screen Cinemas also had a similar notice on its website.
Walt Disney's representatives in Kuala Lumpur could not be
immediately reached for comment.
The gay character has sparked calls among some conservative
groups elsewhere for the film to be boycotted. A U.S. evangelist
preacher said last week that the film was trying to promote an
LGBT agenda to children.
Malaysian Censorship Board chairman Abdul Halim Abdul Hamid said
the movie has been given a P13 classification, meaning parental
guidance is advisable for children under 13 years, after a "gay
moment" was cut.
"Decision on classification and clearance was given a week ago,"
he told Reuters. "We are not aware of postponement. Hope they
screen the film soon," he said.
Starring Emma Watson as young Belle who falls in love with the
Beast, it is one of the most talked about Hollywood movies of
the spring. According to some box office analysts, it could
bring in upwards of $100 million in North America on its opening
weekend.
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 Malaysia has previously blocked the release of Hollywood
movies deemed religiously insensitive, such as 1998's "The
Prince of Egypt", which depicted the Biblical story of Moses,
and 1995's "Babe", which featured a pig as the main character.
Muslims consider pigs unclean.
The postponement has sparked an outcry among some Malaysian film
fans.
"They (the censors) are too sensitive... they should be
open-minded, because it's just a movie, just a story. Nothing else
matters," Jasrena Jasmih, an executive who works in Kuala Lumpur,
told Reuters.
A Bishop in neighboring Singapore issued a statement on Saturday
urging the clergy "to alert their congregation about the homosexual
content" in the movie.
In a statement posted on the St Andrew's Cathedral website, Bishop
Rennis Ponniah said: "Disney films for children's entertainment are
usually associated with wholesome and mainstream values. But times
are changing at a foundational level."
Last year, Singapore organizers of the musical "Les Miserables" cut
a scene in which two male actors kiss after complaints from the
public in the conservative city state where sex between men is
illegal.
"Beauty and the Beast", a live-action remake of Disney's animated
classic film, begins its worldwide rollout on Thursday.
(Reporting by Rozanna Latiff and Angie Teo; Writing by Praveen Menon;
Editing by Nick Macfie)
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