Beauty and the Beast Review

PG: Some Action Violence, Peril, and Frightening Images 

Disney, Mandeville Films

2 Hrs and 9 Minutes

Cast: Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Kevin Kline, Josh Gad, Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci, Audra McDonald, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Ian McKellen, Emma Thompson, Hattie Morahan, Nathan Mack

REVIEW: Everyone loves Disney’s 1991 animated classic Beauty and the Beast. It’s one of the most iconic animated films in history. It was the first ever animated movie to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture way before Up and Toy Story 3 were existent. If you were growing up between the late 80s and early 90s, the most common animated film you were probably introduced to is Beauty and the Beast. We all have our own story of how we were exposed to the Disney masterpiece. My dad personally owned the VHS for the film and once in a while I would put it on and watch it not for the sake of the story or the music, but for the animation. Besides The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast was THE film that inspired me to become an animator only for me to soon realize I couldn’t draw to save my life. Growing up, you probably encountered different versions of the Disney film mostly in the form of stage plays. I don’t know about your viewing of the stage play but MY COUSIN WAS BELLE IN HER HIGH SCHOOL PLAY! 

Now, in the line of live action remakes that Disney has been doing for a while now, we have Beauty and the Beast. Some may say that Disney got so cocky with their critical and financial successes of Cinderella and The Jungle Book that they took the leap of faith with remaking arguably their best animated film of all time. HEY, at least Warner Bros. wasn’t able to touch it like how they messed with Peter Pan and Tarzan two properties that should've only been in the hands of the mouse. Besides when it’s a Disney live action retelling nothing can go wrong, right? Especially when you get the director of the last two Twilight films. YEP, NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT!

Belle is a young woman who is taken prisoner by a Beast in his castle in exchange for the freedom of her father Maurice. Despite her fears, she befriends the castle's enchanted staff and she learns to look beyond the Beast's exterior to recognize the true heart and soul of the human Prince within. Meanwhile, a hunter named Gaston is on the loose to take Belle for himself and later intends to hunt down the Beast at any cost.

THE GOOD: From sitting in Cinderella 2015, The Jungle Book 2016, and now Beauty and the Beast 2017, I finally realize that these live action remakes aren’t just played by the book retellings of their original source, but are their own original reimagining.

For someone without any theater background unlike the majority of her co-stars such as Gad and Evans, Emma Watson does a fine well job singing. She displays a rather remarkable voice. It's not like she’s playing a Russell Crowe. From the opening sequence of the song, “Belle" begins the 129 nostalgia trip for your ass. You just get constant chills of sequences that make you go, “hey, I remember this!” Besides that, the film features new music from Alan Menken himself that integrate masterfully well into the story that gives more depth to the characters and their backstories. 

The film hits all the cues in the original had by even reciting lines beat by beat. It’s like Disney gave screenwriters Stephen Chbosky and Evan Spiliotopoulos, a copy of Linda Wolverton’s screenplay and a red sharpie, and said, “Do what you have to do. Just give some of the characters more depth, but you better abide by this.” 

The film attempts to give some of the characters more emotional depths that the original didn’t feature such as the mystery behind Belle’s mom or LeFou’s personal connection to Gaston. It's unnecessary contextually, but it's a thoughtful addition. It attempts to give a literal two-dimensional film that has enough character dimension, even more, character dimension. It closes several open plot holes the original had, for instance, we know why the people in the village glorifies Gaston and why he’s so hot-headed. We learn he was a war hero that fought in the French revolution. We get more scenes of the Beast and Belle connecting with each other that gives more believability to their romance which sometimes doesn't involve a song. Some of it is genuine and some of it is humorous and it thoroughly works.

Though her voice doesn’t dominate over Paige O’ Hara’s, Emma Watson’s portrayal of Belle is damn near perfect. She’s not the animated Belle, she’s Emma Watson Belle which is, the best Belle we need in 2017. She’s the Belle that girls should look up to today. When she takes her father’s place as the Beast’s prisoner, she doesn’t just sit in her room, she’s already attempting to escape the castle Robin Hood style. She’s independent, smart, kind, and headstrong as hell similar to Emma Watson herself.  

Every performer in the voice cast does a great job performing as these objects that whose voices doesn’t have us reminiscent of the original voice cast. With the exception of Emma Thompson whose voice alone sounds a lot like Angela Lansbury, all these objects have their own distinct voice that is its own. Ewan McGregor does a fine job as Lumiere as he pulls off a high-pitched french accent. Ian McKellen voices a less paranoid Cogsworth whose voice is incredibly different from David Ogden Stiers. Their relationship is much friendlier with one another as they barely bicker. This Cogsworth joins in on the musical numbers opposed to stopping them from going on. He’s not a killjoy nuisance. The film addresses how severe it is for these objects to become human again as we see them become more like their items they were cursed to be day by day and you genuinely feel for them.

Besides the cast, the true heroes of this film are the VFX artists and the production artists. The production on this is outstanding. From the costuming to the production design to the character designs, every member succeeds thoroughly at bringing this beloved animated picture to the real world. The objects are given their own distinct humanoid design that makes them come to life opposed to slapping a face on them, such as, Lumiere having a human figure while his hands are candles or the Wardrobe’s inner curtains being her eyes. You'll pick up more on these once you see it.

The song I was ready to see come to life more than anything was “Gaston”. Out of all the songs in Beauty and the Beast, "Gaston" was my personal favorite. It’s the best villain song of all time for me so Condon and Gad had some big shoes to fill. After seeing it, I realized that it’s not the original redone but is its own version and I still love it. Gad is able to not only hit the right notes manages to go above and beyond with his high bars, his charm, and his charisma. It doesn’t matter if his character is gay or not, Gad’s LeFou constantly steals the show. We are given the Josh Gad that made us love him from not Frozen, but in the broadway play The Book of Mormon. His performance here is the reason why he was nominated for a Tony back in 2011. His singing voice and his comedic timing are both so on point that it makes me completely forgive him for annoying the crap out of me in Pixels. It wasn’t your fault Josh you were under the tyrannical evil that was Adam Sandler. It's okay he’s on Netflix now, he can't hurt you anymore. As the film goes on, LeFou becomes an unexpectedly fully developed character as he’s put in a complicated position that makes you feel sorry for him. His character development is as unexpected as Prince Kit being the most developed character in Cinderella 2015. 

THE BAD: As much as I respect this being its own thing, there are some things that should’ve just been left animated. What made the classic film such a classic was its animation. When you try to replicate the animation sequences into live action you lose some of the specialty and uniqueness that we all admired the classic to have. Today’s CG sequences can either have the audience impressed or unimpressed and truthfully some of the sequences are unimpressive. The visual effects are impressive but the sequences are done way too over the top.  The dance between Beauty and the Beast is choreographed well but it's not as special as the original. There’s no walking around it. What made that scene so iconic wasn’t just because of the scene being the most intricate factor into their romance but how the animation behind it was structured. We saw Belle and the Beast who were 2D characters dancing on a CGI 3D landscape in a time that 3D was becoming groundbreaking. It was breathtakingly beautiful and is something you just can't overachieve. 

Stevens does a great job as the Beast from the bellowing voice and his movements which were humanized for this version mainly because Dan Stevens is on friggin stilts the entire time. His makeup is amazing, but it's not as amazing as the actual design and movements as the original beast who was a blend of buffalo, dog, and wolf. In this, all you get is the buffalo. Stevens has a wide range of facial expressions with this makeup on, but it’s not as wide as the expressions designed in the original beast. 

LAST STATEMENT: Though it can’t escape some of the shadows of its original at times, Disney's Beauty and the Beast is a 129-minute nostalgia trip that offers new twists and turns that are thoughtful and welcomed with dazzling visual effects, performances, eye pleasing musical sequences, and a masterful production throughout. Bill Condon, you've outdone yourself. Kudos to you.

Rating: 4/5 | 86%

Super Scene: GASTON!

Pros	Cons
EMMA WATSON BELLE	Some Things Are Just Better When They're Animated
Production Design
Additional Character Depth
VFX on the Castle Objects and Their Designs
Josh Gad's LeFou
Beast Makeup
Old and New Tunes