We have all become used to Disney turning its classic animations into modern movies (with their own little twists). We have seen Alice Kingsleigh returning to Wonderland as a young, courageous and strong-minded lady. We have experienced the tale of Sleeping Beauty through Maleficent’s perspective, an intriguing unreliable narrator. We have gone deeper into Cinderella’s life and family problems, and ended up loving her even more. Gradually, every single animation will be an exciting live-action remake. The year of 2017 is clearly off to a good start, thanks to the brand new movie, “Beauty and the Beast” (directed by Bill Gondon). There are plenty of good reasons to explain the desperate waiting of so many viewers. Some people wanted to relive their childhood through the lovable story of Belle and her Beast, while others (the Harry Potter fans, to be more precise) were curious to watch Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) as a peculiar French girl with “a dreamy far-off look and her nose stuck in a book”. To be honest, I find myself in both of these categories and I am pleased to say that I actually enjoyed Emma Watson’s acting throughout the whole movie. “Beauty and the Beast” is definitely one of the most memorable fairytales and Disney has successfully proven that a “tale as old as time” can become new once again.
The movie starts off with the prince’s grand ball, closely followed by the unexpected arrival of the disguised enchantress. The cold-hearted prince refuses to give shelter to the enchantress and laughs in her face when he is offered a rose. Little does he know that his whole life is about to change and that his fate will hold on tightly to a single enchanted rose. From this moment on, the movie is quite similar to the animated one, except for some occasional twists. The songs have also been kept the same and they have surely brought that intense magical feeling to the story. As for the actors, they definitely put their heart and soul into their characters and managed to bring each one of them under the spotlight.
Belle (Emma Watson) is every little girl’s favorite character. With a book in her hands and a smile on her face, she gracefully wanders the town’s streets and wishes for more than this ordinary provincial life. She takes good care of her father and is willing to sacrifice herself for him, she often asks questions about her mother and she can barely contain her excitement when she is surrounded by books. Belle is indeed an interesting girl who knows how to stand out from the crowd and keep turning heads. Her brave attitude and unique personality find their place in the Beast’s heart.
The prince (Dan Stevens) portraits a less aggressive beast than I have expected. It’s true that he does some shouting and gets easily frustrated with everyone, but as soon as Belle saves him from the bitter cold, heals his wounds and offers him kindness, he instantly reveals his good side. Another surprising fact about him is that Belle bumps into him while he is reading a book (and we all remember the Beast from 1991, who ashamedly declares that he can’t read). Due to his “expensive education” from when he was younger, he has much more intellect and class added to his personality.
Maurice, Belle’s father (Kevin Kline), turns out to be an artist (or a music box maker), not an inventor. As shown in the animated movie, he shares a special bond with his daughter and loves her dearly. Maurice often receives curious questions about his former wife’s life and personality, questions which come from no one other than Belle. The man is always cautious with his answers and doesn’t reveal too many details about Belle’s mother, which is frustrating for the girl who craves more information with each day passing by. However, Maurice’s silence upon the subject can be understood, for he is known as the loving father who would do anything to protect his daughter and keep her happy.
Of course, it is necessary to mention Gaston (Luke Evans) and LeFou (Josh Gad), the amusing duo that we love to see hanging around. Surprisingly enough, Gaston shows a more affectionate and polite side towards Belle in his attempt to pursue her. He likes the fact that she is different than the others and doesn’t make fun of her pleasure for reading.
But still, throughout the movie, he actually seems to be a much worse person than in the animated film. The best example in this respect is the scene in which he ties Maurice up to a tree and leaves him in the cold forest as an easy prey for the hungry pack of wolves. From this moment on, Gaston thinks and acts like a monster and doesn’t care about anything else but to kill the Beast and marry Belle. But in order to end this description on a more positive note, I would like to point out that Luke Evans is indeed the perfect replica of the arrogant and mysterious Gaston.
As for LeFou, he can easily be considered the human version of Olaf, the famous funny snowman from “Frozen”. He is Gaston’s childish “partner in crime” who creates a cheerful atmosphere even in the most serious moments of the story.
What I really enjoyed about the movie was that Belle and the Beast’s backstories were finally revealed and brought so much sense to the whole plot. When I was little, the story seemed perfectly fine to me, I didn’t doubt any moment of it. Besides, I was much more interested in the blossoming relationship between Belle and the Beast. But in time, some questions started popping into my head and they found their answers while I was watching the movie. The first question is, why doesn’t anyone know about the Beast’s castle? Apparently the Enchantress erased any memory of the prince and his servants from every villager’s mind.
The following question would be, why does Belle sing “It’s a quiet village / Every day / Like the one before” and “There goes the baker with his tray, like always / The same old bread and rolls to sell / Every morning just the same”? Do the usual activities seem too boring and repetitive to Belle? No, the girl is actually telling the truth, everything is literally the same. She can predict every single routine and event because the whole village is stuck in a time loop (another consequence from the Enchantress’ curse).
Of course, this answer also brings another question: why aren’t Belle and Maurice affected by the time loop? I quickly found out that the two of them arrived in the village after the spell had been cast. They were forced to move from Paris because of a severe outbreak of plague (which also caused the death of Belle’s mother).
The whole theory is simple, yet intriguing. It is also interesting how Belle discovers the secrets from her childhood. With the help of a magic time-traveling book from the Enchantress herself, the Beast takes Belle on a short trip to the Paris of the girl’s childhood.
One last separate question is, why does the prince behave unkindly? His backstory shows that he was raised by a cold-hearted father and grew up to be a cruel and narcissistic person himself.
Before ending the review, the Enchantress’ importance during the movie also needs to be mentioned. She plays a much bigger part in this new version of the story. The Enchantress appears regularly during the film, but in the form of a local villager called Agathe. She is the one who saves Maurice from the bitter cold and the wolves, and breaks the dreadful spell after Belle declares that she loves the Beast. It’s all about these little plot twists common to the modern Disney movies.
“Beauty and the Beast” provides an exciting family movie night and lets everyone experience a magical adventure. The best part about the remake is that it can help the viewers answer (with their whole heart) the famous question: for who could ever learn to love a beast? Belle. Belle can. The entire film makes us fall in love with Belle and her one of a kind Beast. We all know that a tale as old as time and a song as old as rhyme can be bittersweet and strange, and can bring up an unexpected, lovable change.
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