Indeed, Disney has already created a live-action remake of animated films such as Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and The Jungle Book, and this is not new (101 Dalmatians!) However, or rather in my opinion, since so far, it is the most dangerous from the perspective of possible opposition – Beauty and the Beast. Even now, as the film is 26 years old, Beauty and the Beast is young as compared with these other animated classics. In a nutshell, that’s the people’s purpose—, and the risk is there amongst the fans. More precisely, with some fans, there is more of a ‘This movie is theirs’ impression, and thus, this new version especially has run high risks of upsetting them if not well done.
However, it is handled very well. Screenwriters Stephen Chbosky and Evan Spiliotopoulos and director Bill Condon must be credited for the efforts they put in on the 1991 animated movie, as fan service was a must do and squashing moves to feel like a carbon copy was also the order.
Let’s be clear though, I am very sure that you know what to expect from the storyline here, in all the most meaningful ways. Dan Stevens plays the Beast, a self-absorbed and casually sadistic prince who has been turned into a beast due to a curse. This characteristic is viewed most readily in Belle even though she is a quite ordinary village girl who reads a lot of books and tries to find more outside the confines of her village. So therefollow, some captivity, some unexplained aid, and a classic fairytale romance!
Existing as an addiction to the animated film, the first performance of the number ‘Belle’ filled me with utter joy. After you get over the ‘Oh look, it’s Emma Watson as Belle- cosplay!’ factor, it is not so difficult to just recline and appreciate a very well done, energetic rendition of a great song and understand that there is great pride taken in this film regarding the actual work this film is based on.
Beauty and the Beast is very well cast, starting with the titles. Starting from Watson, she was able to infuse her inner self with Belle (at least being typecast as that of a passionate reader is not that bad), while Stevens manages to infuse some touch of bitterness yet somehow, still soulful in the…Beast. It should be said that while bulky costumes, excessive wigs may have some role in this, it is no fault of Stevens, but a kind of amusingly silly looking guy in long haired prince wig than the Beast….one would say the same goes in the animated version as well.
Belle has the Beast supporters in the form of the servants in the castle who have been turned into household objects due to the curse. The image of lumier, cogsworth, mrs potts is typical of Disney animated movie beauty and the beast. Very catchy character came to life with the help of the world’s best animation in the rhythm of the voices of the great actors Ewan McGregor, Ian McKellen, Emma Thompson including Madame De Garderobi (Audra McDonald), Chip (Nathan Mack), Plumette (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) and The Maestro Cadenze (Stanley Tucci) a green and plastic screaming harpsicord is retails comic effects.
Also Kevin Kline appears in the cast and this time he plays one of the sympathetic characters – Belle’s father, Maurice. And while it is quite funny to see an American twang used by a character who is a father to a girl with a British accent when they are all supposed to be French, Kline’s noticeable adjustment, along with gazing around only makes sense when candelabras sing, let us not forget, this is a musical. Adventure British would like this scenario as accents are no hindrance here.
The last ones, but probably not the least are: Luke Evans and Josh Gad as Gaston and LeFou, these guys are simply the best in Beauty and the Beast fight for the attention of the fans, they steal the scenes. Because of the Book of Mormon and Frozen, so we have the proof for Gad as far as minding his musical-comedy and he comes with marvellous energy to this performance. Evans in the meantime comes as a big surprise because he is far more witty than any of his work in The Hobbit trilogy, Fast & Furious 6, Dracula Untold showed off.
In this version, there has been much debate in the media concerning why they chose to make LeFou a homosexual and give him a distinct infatuation with Gaston – where it is appropriate to mention that this relationship does not attract too much screen time probably and much delight as that of Lumiere and Plumette in love. It’s a change that fits with the material as is established, but for that, LeFou does possess a more significant storyline than in the animation where he was merely known as Gaston’s helper.
There are other expansions and alterations from the animated film here as well, including learning more about both Belle and the Beast’s parents and how it helped shape who these two kindred spirits are. There is simply no denying that some of these story aspects while they will forever cement the world of Shrek making it impossible to be realistic – which in any case, such aspects are effective against the ‘bomb’ of these people’s beliefs core characters and plot lines.
Regarding the musical numbers, most of them are quite good, and Condon is obviously the right person to take care of this film. The director’s biography is quite diverse: he made Gods and Monsters and Kinsey and two film sequels to Twilight and Candyman, but it is his experience with Chicago and Dreamgirls award-winning musical where he had a hand that is going to benefit him most in this film. The production design and the musical stage performances are breathtaking and incorporate a lot from the animated movie without trying to repeat choreography entirely. To grasp the depth of reasonably enough anxiety generating purists, this film has altered some of the songs venerated for many years and other changes go even further into the composition of lyrics.
On the singing front, all the actors do a solid to an excellent job. Watson, who has the least experience in musical theater, is not expected to paradoxically transform into a pop singer overnight, but still more than holds her own with Stevens on songs like ‘Belle’ and ‘Something There’ and so does Thompson on the title track. Then, as for the catchy ‘Be Our Guest’, this is another tune that any fan of Moulin Rouge would be elated to see McGregor sing it with glee and the number still keeps its original fun and cuteness – it’s just that it does not quite reach that level of fulfillment as the animated version does. This is the only scene which makes you appreciate the difference between Watson sitting there as a human being and the rest of the CG performances around her. The very fact that they do not actually seem like they share the same place renders it impossible for everything to come together.
Instead it is the latter contribution to the husky singer that form the basis for the highlight of the show which for the most part belonged to the above mentioned couple Evans and Gad and their energetic performance of the song “Gaston” – which was also well appraised and bore the most applause at the press screening I attended.
Regrettably, the few additional tracks composed by Menken and Tim Rice as Ashman’s continuing collaborator are a let-down. I quite overtly embraced “”How Does a Moment Last Forever,” a short and eloquent solo by Kline, even when other recent songs such as “Days in the Sun” and Evermore came off as rather dull and forgettable.
The Final Take
Beauty and the beast by no means reaches the magnificence of the adaptation of The Jungle Book from the previous year, however, in comparison to all the latest adaptations by Disney, which transform animated films into pictures, it cannot be regarded as a disaster that was Alice in Wonderland. With Condon’s guiding hand and a terrific all around cast, it is a good movie that has all the things that will be expected by the lovers of the animated version and also seeks to bring in fresh elements that for the most part fit well within the parameters of the original story but will help in broadening the people and their environment. And you will be in for a shock at how difficult it is to keep from singing or whistling “Gaston” when you get back.
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