Date: 2017
Director: Bill Condon
Actors/ Characters: Emma Watson/ Belle, Dan Stevens/Beast, Luke Evans/Gaston, Josh Gad/ LeFou, Kevin Kline/ Maurice, Ewan McGregor/ Lumière, Ian McKellen/Cogsworth, Emma Thompson/Mrs. Potts, Nathan Mack/Chip, Audra McDonald/ Madame Garderobe, Stanley Tucci/ Maestro Cadenza, Gugu Mbatha-Raw/ Plumette
Summary: An adaptation of the fairy tale about a monstrous-looking prince and a young woman who fall in love.
Review
Beauty and the Beast is finally out and let me tell you it is straight up Disney magic! I am a huge Disney fan and Beauty and the Beast is one of my top three favourite Disney films so when it was announced that there was going to be a live action retelling I was excited but apprehensive. It was later revealed that this film would not only be live action but would remain a musical which, admittedly, made me more nervous. Although the prospects of the musical numbers, the CGI and the fact that a story I hold so dear to my heart being retold were somewhat daunting as soon as the opening sequence played I knew that this film was not going to be a disappointment. Simply, it was stunning- from the visuals to the cast to the musical numbers and the changes to the story and characters I was completely and utterly invested and connected to the film.
Visuals
The visuals, for me, were one of the most elements of the film that I wanted to be execute correctly. Upon first glance I was really anxious especially about the design of the enchanted objects and I also felt that Belle's yellow dress didn't look as lavish and breathtaking as I had hoped. When I watched the film Belle's yellow dress still didn't impress me it was much simpler than the original and honestly it was kind of disappointing. But apart from that the rest of the visuals were simply breathtaking. All the CGI was just phenomenal and the enchanted objects looked much better in the film than in the stills I had seen. I was so impressed with Beast and his CGI design, when watching the film you could actually see Dan Stevens facial expressions and it was excellent! Although Belle's yellow dress was no impressive, all her other outfits were from the classic blue dress she wears at the beginning and the red dress and cape she wears on her winter walk with Beast Emma Watson looked beautiful in all her costumes.
The sets and locations of this film were one of the highlights for me. All the locations they brought to life were straight out of the animation and they did not let down the original. I think my favourite set has to be the village which was actually built on the Shepperton Studios Lot in full which I think was why it was so impressive. The village setting was exactly as you would imagine it to look in reality and it was so elaborate and a total feast for the eyes.
Songs/ Music
As I mentioned earlier the songs and music of this film was perhaps the biggest concern for me. Most of the cast- Emma Watson, Dan Stevens and Emma Thompson- I had never seen singing/ or had never sang on screen before which put me at a slight unease. I was most anxious about Emma Watson and her singing role in the film, I knew character wise she was the perfect choice for Belle but vocally I didn't know if she was going to be able to pull off such a task- and she totally blew me away. I had goosebumps every time Watson sang and although she might not have a conventional Broadway-esque voice I think she sings beautifully and the emotion she brought to the songs was excellent!
I didn't know why I expected that the musical element of this film would be a let down because Alan Menken is a Disney legend and yet again he did not fail to amaze me. All of the new editions: evermore, how does a moment last forever and days in the sun, were just perfectly written and slotted so effortlessly into the story. By far though my favourite new song is evermore I was so happy that Beast now has a song of his own and what a song it is! I was sobbing really loudly in the cinema as I watched that scene unfold and when the credits played I had quite a few people death stare at me... but it was worth it. I was so impressed with Dan Stevens vocal abilities- who would have thought he would be such a great singer as well!
As much as I loved the new songs, let's not forget the classics- which were all done superbly may I add. Belle was perhaps one of the most breathtaking sequences of the entire film and the song itself is a favourite of mine, the characters and set just jumped off the screen and the performances of this song were just fantastic. Another musical number I loved was, surprisingly, Gaston. Now please don't get angry when I say that in the animated version I am not a huge lover of Gaston but I felt this live action version was hilarious, entertaining and a joy to watch. Josh Gad and Luke Evans were just excellent as Le Fou and Gaston and watching them together in this number was just wonderful. I love the added interval section in which the sword fight takes place, the melody of it was so upbeat and catchy.
The single complaint I have with regards to the music of the film is sadly the Beauty and the Beast song. I don't think Emma Thompson was the best choice to sing that number. She had a difficult enough task of filling Angela Lansbury's shoes regardless but then she delivered the song in a comical, thick Cockney accent that just took away from the romantic and elegant tone of the sequence and I was frankly a little disappointed.
Characters
Belle: To put it bluntly, Emma Watson as Belle was perfect. There is no argument about it, she pulled off this character so well and honestly there is no one else that could play Belle. Belle was already one of Disney's most revolutionary and progressive female characters- she is a woman outcast from the peoples of her small village because of her love of books and adventure and the fact that she doesn't wish to settle for the 'small provincial life' of those before her. Emma Watson's Belle took this already feminist personality and pushed it to another level. She was so much more gutsy and forward thinking than previously. I loved how she actually created an escape plan from the castle and went as far to form a rope to scale the castle wall with, it was just great to see. Seeing Belle's disgust and great dislike of the Beast from the beginning also pushed the romance that much more.
Beast/ Adam: I adored the changes made to Beast's character! As soon as that first opening scene was screened I was in a state of shock- I hate Adam at the beginning. I was so disgusted at the way he acted pre-curse and character-wise the arrogant, selfish and conceited nature of his character added another level to the story. In the original we are simply told of Adam's cruel and egotistical self but in this film we get to see it and it allows Beast to go on a journey and really show his development as a character. I thought Dan Stevens performed this role brilliantly. He executed the role with a sense of real emotion and vulnerability but there were also moments of great sarcasm and humour which I loved.
Gaston: When Gaston was introduced I felt really conflicted because I actually liked him as a person. I felt that Luke Evans was playing his role a little too amicably and instead of reading him as a villain I actually sympathised with him and his efforts to win Belle over- his attraction seemed really sincere and he was genuinely upset and confused as to why she didn't like him back. But then the part where he punched Maurice in the face happened and BOOM there was the Gaston I was waiting for. Honestly at first I didn't like the fact that I empathise with Gaston but that actually made his character so much more sadistic and cruel because he honestly cared about Belle and he still left her father in the woods to be a feast for the wolves. Luke Evans was incredible as Gaston, everything down to the voice, the body language and the look was spot on.
Le Fou: Le Fou has caused quite a lot of uproar and controversy because he is the first openly gay Disney character. I adored this change! Having Le Fou in love with Gaston allowed for so much more character development on his part and gave the audience that chance to sympathise with his character and understand more of his reasonings behind the evil scheming. Le Fou and Gaston's relationship was probably one of my favourite things to watch in the film because Evans and Gad worked so well on screen together and every scene they did was hilarious and so entertaining. Plus, my hat goes off to Josh Gad for his vocals in Gaston which were just phenomenal.
Maurice: Maurice's character has changed so much from the original, in this version Maurice is still absent-minded but he is much more fatherly to Belle. The additions to Belle and Maurice's backstory really pushed his character and it was really easy to sympathise with his history.
Lumiere: Ewan McGregor's Lumiere was pretty much a carbon copy of the animated version so really I had no complaints but also not much to comment on. I think the French accent McGregor used was a little weak and I didn't love his rendition of be our guest but characterisation-wise I have no issues. As always I love Lumiere and Plumette's relationship and any scenes with those two together was just so fun to watch.
Cogsworth: Ian McKellen is the perfect Cogsworth! The tone he delivered his lines was excellent and he is just sassy and dry anyway so this role was just perfect for him. The only thing I was disappointed about was I felt the writers didn't give Cogsworth as much screen-time as he had in the original and they left out some of his best lines like "if it's not Baroque don't fix it" which was such a gem from the original! I feel like the writing was what let Cogsworth down because he didn't come across as self-absorbed and goody-goody as the original which I loved about his character because it allowed for great character development.
Mrs Potts/ Chip: These two were so adorable in the film. You could really sense the mother/ son bond between the pair and the added moments with both of them really helped this. As I mentioned earlier Emma Thompson was never going to live up to Angela Lansbury but I was happy with the characterisation she brought to the role and felt she did a good job.
Story
The narrative of this retelling was exactly the same as the animated but Disney just added a few new scenes and corrected the plot holes that were in the old one and it was brilliant. I have loved all of the new editions to the story apart from Agatha (the enchantress). I liked seeing the enchantress at the start but honestly I didn't love Agatha I think her character could have been cut and the film would have still had the same impact on me she just didn't really add that much to the film.
The best new plot devices that were added for me were, by far, the backstories of Belle and Beast. I loved them so much. The opening scene was amazing, the scene in the windmill in Paris had me in floods of tears and the reveal that Beast was the way he was because of his cruel father was heartbreaking. The backstory reveals added depth and more detail to the tale we already know and love and I just really enjoyed it.
Another development in the narrative that I really enjoyed was the evolution of Belle and Beast's relationship- I loved how they didn't fall in love as quickly as in the animated film. There were more scenes of them in the early stages of the friendship which made the ending more reasonable. It was so lovely that their initial relationship was based of their shared love of literature because that was what Belle was outcasted for and to have Beast accept her for that factor was so sweet. I loved the scene in the gardens where Belle and Beast were talking about both being outsiders it was so lovely to see the solidarity between them both.
This film also subtly fixed all the plot holes of the animated version. For example this film explained why no one remembered the castle or its inhabitants which was nice to have answered for the audience.
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