Like other classical Disney films such as “Cinderella”, and “Jungle book”, “Beauty and the Beast” has found itself reborn with a twenty-first century upgrade. This live action remake follows the basic concept of its predecessor; it’s a romance, but is it also more than that. Director Bill Condon has taken the same old story and thickened the plot, adding several new elements to create a fresh take on the film.
Similar to the original 1991 film, this retelling starts by narrating the origins of a Prince (Dan Stevens) and how his arrogance and vanity cursed him into a beast, and all the castles inhabitants into inanimate objects. Living in a village away from the castle, is Belle (Emma Watson), a strong willed and well-read woman who is continually harassed by Gaston (Luke Evans) who seems as unrelenting as he is egotistical in his mission to marry her. As the story continues, Maurice (Kevin Kline), Belle’s father, gets lost on a trip through the woods and seeks shelter in the cursed castle, ending up prisoner to the Beast. Belle finds him and takes his place, and so the seemingly inevitable romance between the beauty and the beast begins.
The acting in this version is what sets it apart from the original. Belle does not simply and suddenly fall in love. Emma Watson plays her role well, as she brings depth to her character. This Belle is strong willed, intelligent and wants to spread that. She openly defies the Beast, makes plans to escape the castle, even vowing that she will see return to her father. The initial spark between Belle and the Beast stems from their common interest in literature. From there, it just seems to slowly build up towards romance. The Beast even shows Belle what happened to her mother, something she has always wanted to know. Dan Stevens brings more wit to his character, allowing us to see the man behind the beastly exterior. With these subtle changes in character and plot details, Condon introduces an effortless shift into the romance, making it seem more natural than inevitable.
The overall setting and scenery is a success, fitting the mood and meeting expectations. There are certain times when the life-like facade flickers, and the digital slip ups begin to show. Mostly this occurs with the magical objects which lacked a life-like quality. The teapot, Mrs. Potts, especially, which looked as though it was trying too hard to be alive. This is also seen in the Beast, who seems to look on the border between computerized and real. All these problems were only evident in parts of the movie, but the overall authenticity of the animations seemed pretty good. The lighting an editing were smooth and always on par with the mood in that moment. They contributed to building suspense, especially in the fighting scene at the end. This was one element in the movie that was executed pretty well throughout the film.
Stretched into two hours, this adaptation has gained a hefty amount of time compared to the original, some of it contributed to its added musical numbers. Condon not only kept most of the original soundtrack, but introduced three new songs to the film. This addition of three songs seemed unnecessary and somewhat overbearing. Although higher in quantity, some songs just lacked in quality. “Be My Guest” was lost to the over exaggerated and extravagant animation, it missed the original point of the song. As the voice of Belle, Watson sounds pretty, but lacks the vocal power to achieve a truly inspiring ballad. If they had cast someone else to sing for Watson, maybe it would not have been necessary to amp up the number of songs and instead have fewer but more powerful songs.
Beauty and the Beast is still considerably a beautiful film. In some aspects, even better than the original. It brings to life what the 1991 version could not. The film is much more vibrant and lively, and makes it feel like your in the movie. More than just aesthetic, the film presents its moral, that beauty comes from within, with even greater integrity as the original. I would recommend this movie to all ages, but I feel it would be more appreciated by young adults, not children.
One thought on “Beauty and the Beast”
This review stands out to me mainly because you expressed your views on important components of the film such visual and musical effects. You concluded your review by stating that you recommend this movie for all ages but you feel that young adults would appreciate it more. I find that very interesting especially because Beauty and the Beast tells a magical story that captures the heart of children. I wish you would’ve elaborated more on why you don’t feel it would be appreciated by children. Overall, this was a very well-written review that provides pros and cons of the movie.