“If she is the one who’ll break the spell, you must finally learn to love…”
- What is this movie about?
An adaptation of the Disney fairy tale about a monstrous-looking prince and a young woman who fall in love.
- Why should you watch it?
Well, who doesn’t like the Disney classic of 1991? I know, many might think, why do we need to watch another live action remake of a Disney classic? Well, because they know that we’ll go to the cinema to watch it, as Disney has been proven right in the last year with: “Alice in Wonderland”, “Maleficient”, “Cinderella”, “The Jungle Book”, and it’s only a matter of time before we have: “The Little Mermaid”, “The Lion King” or “Aladdin” on the big screen with real actors. So if Marvel is a non-stop machine of superhero movies making, this more classical side of Disney is a non-stop machine of cartoon classic movies.
So, the movie is interesting to watch; because of course you will wonder: have they changed the story? Are the dialogues the same? What do the characters look like (in case you are of that minority who hasn’t watched any advertising at all). And best of all: how is Hermione, er Emma Watson, playing Belle? So, the movie is not bad, but maybe is not that good, but as said before, is interesting to watch and enjoyable. Maybe a bit too long, and there are many added situations and details that try to give an added value compared to the 1991’s one but honestly, it could have worked without it.
There is one real problem here: that the classic movie from 1991 was too good, too good, so anything that is being made will be compared no matter what, and if we do compare this one, sorry, but it loses. If the cartoon one didn’t exist at all, then maybe our opinions would differ. The plot is exactly the same. Except some updated facts: more feminism, black characters, and even a gay one, which by the way, it’s probably the funniest thing of the movie. Then another trouble is that making CGI characters leaves less flexibility than designing it as a cartoon, and that is why all household characters look a bit weird at the beginning, but you’ll get used to it pretty fast.
Then there are the human actors. Emma Watson nails it as Belle, giving her a Hermione touch of course, that will make Potterheads crazier. Opposite her is Dan Stevens who is most of the movie behind the beast face but his voice is enough for us to love the characters. But leaving the main couple aside, there is another couple that in my opinion steals the show; and those are Gaston and LeFou, which a probably the best characters in this adaptation. Gaston playing a narcissist and LeFou playing the unwanted lover, which is really hilarious and a breath of fresh air.
Last but not least, we have the other main character of the movie: the music. Just listening to the first opening tunes gives us goosebumps that we’ll reappear at other points of the movie when we listen to the songs we were waiting for, special “Tale as old as time…”. Plus there are three extra songs that weren’t in the cartoon movie that will probably surprise us too.
A movie about a tale that we all know about. It might be too long at some point, but nonetheless it’s a movie to enjoy with the whole family. It doesn’t matter if you were a kid when you watched the original one or a parent of said kit, the tales is the same, what only changes is the way it is told. Just remember, when you get out of the cinema, you’ll only want to watch the cartoon one and be five years old again.
#BeOurGuest
- Did you know ?
– As in the original fairy tale, Belle’s father in this film is caught by the Beast when he attempts to take a rose for his daughter, instead of Beast accusing him of trespassing, as was the case in the 1991 film.
– Most of the characters in the remake, are noticeably different in appearance, than their 1991 counterparts. Lumiere is more of a hybrid between a human and a candelabra; Mrs. Potts’s face is on one side of a teapot instead at the spout; Gaston is less muscular; Le Fou is a bit taller, rather than being a dwarf; Maurice is also taller, and much older looking, and the Beast has ram-like horns, and his face is slightly more human like.
– Ryan Gosling was offered the role of the Beast, but turned it down to appear in La La Land (2016) instead. Emma Watson was offered the lead role in that film, but turned down that film to star in this one.
– Emma Watson released to fans that she would be playing the role of Belle, before it even went on record. A big fan of Beauty and the Beast (1991) since childhood, she told her fans that her “six year old self is on the ceiling – heart bursting.”
– Emma Watson (Belle), Emma Thompson (Mrs. Potts), Luke Evans’ (Gaston) and Nathan Mack’ (Chip) all share the same birthday, April 15, which was also the date of the first cast read through.
– Shortly after it was announced that Emma Watson would be playing Belle, Belle’s voice actors Paige O’Hara (the original voice of Belle in Beauty and the Beast (1991)) and Susan Egan (who originated the role on Broadway) expressed their endorsement and approval of Watson as a live-action Belle.
– The song ‘Gaston’ has new lyrics that were written by the late Howard Ashman, but never made to the final cut of the 1991 film. As a result, the song is slightly longer, and is more mature themed.
– The film’s songs use new lyrics penned by Howard Ashman, which had previously been rejected for being too risque.
– Belle’s ballroom gown required 3,000 feet of thread and over 12,000 designer-hours to complete. It was accentuated with 2,160 Swarovski crystals.
– Emma Watson refused to wear a corset as part of her costume.
– During the ballroom scene, Emma Watson had a hard time not looking at her feet, because Dan Stevens was wearing steel toed shoes, and she was afraid he would step on her.
– Emma Watson came up with the idea to have her character wear boots in this film, instead of the black flats that Belle wore in the 1991 film. Watson claimed that because her character was going to be an inventor, the first thing that was to go was the flats. And unlike the film, Belle’s hair is worn either in a messy bun, or straight down, instead of a ponytail, as well as wearing a few cloths on her blouse, instead of an apron.
– Bill Condon had actors sing The Lion King (1994)’s “Hakuna Matata” at the auditions to measure their singing voices. This was how he chose the final cast for this film.
– A portion of the song number “Be Our Guest” has a nod to the final song number in the movie Moulin Rouge! (2001) in which Ewan McGregor has starred in.
– According to Disney, the first teaser trailer was viewed 91.8 million times in its first 24 hours. This marks the first teaser trailer of “Beauty and the Beast” to be the most viewed teaser trailer in history. Beating the previous record by Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ (88 million views), followed by Captain America: Civil War (61 million views), each of them Disney films as well.
– The fictional town of Villeneuve is so named for the original author of “La Belle et la Bête,” and Production Designer Sarah Greenwood used the real French village of Conques in Southern France for the inspiration.
– Filming was completed by August 27, 2015, more than 18 months before the film’s release.
– The movie was partly filmed on land adjoining the classic English golf course at Berkhamsted Golf Club, also a prior location for the “Harry Potter” films and several others.
