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03/30/2017 12:01 AMRated PG
Beauty and the Beast is the latest Disney animated film to be remade into a live action film. The classic tale of Belle and the beast is an enchanting musical that is visually and melodically beautiful. This updated fairytale is directed by Bill Condon (Dreamgirls and Gods and Monsters) and it manages to balance staying true to the tale while breathing some fresh new life into a story that everyone knows.
The film begins just the same as 1991’s beloved animated version began—with the backstory explaining that once upon a time there was a handsome prince (Dan Stevens of The Guest and TV’s Downtown Abbey) who turned away from his castle a poor beggar woman who was actually a sorceress in disguise. The sorceress put the handsome prince under a spell, turning him into a beast and transforming all of the inhabitants of his castle. Only true love given to and received by the beast would break the sorceress’s spell.
Emma Watson (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and The Perks of Being a Wallflower) stars as Belle, an ordinary yet extremely beautiful and intelligent young woman who lives in a small French town with her artist father, Maurice (Kevin Kline of A Fish Called Wanda and No Strings Attached). Belle stands out from the crowd of people who inhabit her town and most find her odd while one man in particular, Gaston (Luke Evans of Dracula Untold and The Raven) finds her intriguing and is bent on making Belle his wife. Belle dreams of more than her little town can offer her and escapes (if only in her imagination) through her beloved books.
For years, the beast is miserable and confined to his castle, unable to believe that the spell will ever be broken. His loyal servants who were transformed along with him are just as animated in this film through computer generated effects as they were in the original animated version. Lumiere the candelabra (Ewan McGregor of Trainspotting and Mortdecai) and Cogsworth the clock (Ian McKellen of The Hobbit and X-Men: Days of Future Past) are ever present by the beast’s side, as is teapot Mrs. Potts (Emma Thompson of Nanny McPhee and Bridget Jones’s Baby) and a host of other lively enchanted household items.
When Maurice wanders into the castle, lost and unsure of his unusual surroundings, he is imprisoned by the beast for trespassing. Belle comes to her father’s rescue, only to become imprisoned in a trade-off with the beast. At first, Belle is skeptical and scared, but she eventually allows her curiosity and compassionate nature to overcome her negative feelings toward the beast.
This new live action Beauty and the Beast follows nearly the exact same storyline as the animated original version, much to the delight of Disney fans everywhere. There are some small updates, mostly dedicated to further explaining the characters’ backstories.
Watson’s Belle is headstrong and clever, maybe even more so than in the animated version. Stevens’s Beast is troubled, yet soulful and Evans’s Gaston is conniving and dastardly. Along with Josh Gad (Love & Other Drugs and The Wedding Ringer) as Gaston’s lively sidekick LeFou and the sprightly enchanted inhabitants of the castle, Beauty and the Beast has a cast of actors who are up to the challenge of creating a spellbinding fairytale come to life for its viewers.
The entire cast is incredibly talented at singing and dancing, which makes the musical numbers (of which there are many) entertaining and lovely. Some of the songs in the film are the beloved classics and some are new. Overall, this new version of the tale as old as time is more than just a remake, it’s a fresh re-envisioning. It is a wonderful film for fans of the fairytale, old and young, although the two hour and nine minute long runtime is rather long, especially for younger viewers.
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