I watched something cool. I wanna talk about it...
An enchanted 'tale as old as time' that brought me right back to my roots as a Disney fanatic. The updated take on this childhood classic is full of all the romance, magic and mystery from the cartoon, with just a little bit more kick-ass woman power sprinkled into the mix...
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| A ticket and a pot of dying flowers. Very artsy I know... |
The Basics:
Director: Bill Condon
Screenplay: Stephen Chbosky and Evan Spiliotopoulos
Music by: Alan Menken
Screenplay: Stephen Chbosky and Evan Spiliotopoulos
Music by: Alan Menken
Costume Design: Jacqueline Durran
Release Date: 23rd February 2017 (London)
Runtime: 2hr10m
Genre: Fantasy/Romance*
Classification: PG
IMDb rating: 7.3/10**
Starring: Emma Watson as 'Belle,' Dan Stevens as 'Beast'
*according to google.com
** as of 17th March 2017
Synopsis:
Warning, spoilers... duh.
Headstrong inventor's apprentice Belle (Emma Watson) sings her way through the streets of her hometown, book in hand and looking so unapologetically abstract for her time period. The villainous, vain and rather vulgar Gaston (Luke Evans) spends far too much time studying himself, while the wannabe Hermione Granger is studying her books, content in blissful youth and not quite ready for her lover's idea of a perfect future, of marriage and baby-making.
When her father's annual trip to the market doesn't come up roses (get it?!) Belle goes searching for him, finding him locked in an old castle cell, where it is forever winter. As she takes his place in the prison, our true love's tale can begin to bud. Lumière (Ewan McGregor... *swoons*) is forever the comedian, taking us on a journey à travers le château, steering quite clear of the dark and forbidden West Wing. In an extravagant rendition of 'Be Our Guest', we see the household objects entertain the girl they hope will break the curse laid upon them, by the Enchantress (Hattie Morahan) many years ago - the same curse that had doomed their master, the Beast (Dan Stevens... *swoons further*), to an eternity of excessive facial hair and untamable claws... Seriously, someone get that guy a manicure!
The Beast's cold-hearted nature does nothing to woo the beauty at first and Belle attempts to make an escape, only to become somewhat fond of the talking furniture and crockery, who convince her to stay a little longer. But, after the Beast finds Belle examining the rose in the West Wing, he screams at her to leave and she flees the castle. Pursued by the fearsome wolves that almost claimed her father's life, Belle is saved by the Beast, who interrupts the wolves' attack. In the process, he becomes injured and it is Belle who nurses him back to health. Now the art of true love can start to flower...
The Beast invites Belle to his library and the pair share their favourite books, discovering a mutual love for Shakespeare, which let's be honest, is enough to make any bookworm giddy. As Mrs. Potts, played by the gorgeously talented Emma Thompson, gives a simply magical rendition of 'Beauty and the Beast/Tale As Old As Time', we watch the pair develop affection for one another and the two of them bond over Belle's childhood Paris, which the Beast has "always wanted to see".
The twist in the tale comes when Belle sees her father in a magic mirror. He is in trouble, after trying to warn the town of the Beast, who has 'captured' his daughter. The bittersweet moment when the Beast lets Belle go sends the castle into sorrow, as we see there is just one petal left on the rose. Should that petal fall, the Beast will remain a beast forever and his friends become antiques... or "rubbish" as Cogsworth (Ian McKellen) would have it.
Belle discovers her father has been locked in a cart, taking him to the asylum and upon trying to tell the town of his innocence, she finds herself locked up too - accused of witchcraft and endangering the town. The townsfolk arm themselves and lead by Gaston, go off to find and 'Kill the Beast'. However, Belle is not far behind, helping her father to pick the lock and chasing Gaston to get there first.
There is a mighty hilarious fight scene, followed by a showdown between the Beast and Gaston. Poor Belle can only stand and watch as two men essentially fight over who's going to be her husband. It's a hard life. Anyway, the Beast is shot by Gaston and falls to the ground, while Gaston falls a good way to his death and Belle is left to weep as the final petal falls and the castle goes cold...
BUT! Lucky for Belle, the Enchantress is around to see the love between the pair and she reverses the curse, restoring the castle to its former glory and revealing a rather handsome beast of a man, underneath the shaggy disguise. For the first time in the film, we can see Stanley Tucci's face (who played Cadenza, the harpsichord) and the characters rejoice in seeing their master once more.
In the finale, Audra McDonald (Madame de Garderobe) sings the main theme, while the whole cast perform the traditional Disney 'everybody dance' ending and the credits roll to the same tune!
What films have you been watching lately? Let me know in the comments and remember,
The Beast invites Belle to his library and the pair share their favourite books, discovering a mutual love for Shakespeare, which let's be honest, is enough to make any bookworm giddy. As Mrs. Potts, played by the gorgeously talented Emma Thompson, gives a simply magical rendition of 'Beauty and the Beast/Tale As Old As Time', we watch the pair develop affection for one another and the two of them bond over Belle's childhood Paris, which the Beast has "always wanted to see".
The twist in the tale comes when Belle sees her father in a magic mirror. He is in trouble, after trying to warn the town of the Beast, who has 'captured' his daughter. The bittersweet moment when the Beast lets Belle go sends the castle into sorrow, as we see there is just one petal left on the rose. Should that petal fall, the Beast will remain a beast forever and his friends become antiques... or "rubbish" as Cogsworth (Ian McKellen) would have it.
Belle discovers her father has been locked in a cart, taking him to the asylum and upon trying to tell the town of his innocence, she finds herself locked up too - accused of witchcraft and endangering the town. The townsfolk arm themselves and lead by Gaston, go off to find and 'Kill the Beast'. However, Belle is not far behind, helping her father to pick the lock and chasing Gaston to get there first.
There is a mighty hilarious fight scene, followed by a showdown between the Beast and Gaston. Poor Belle can only stand and watch as two men essentially fight over who's going to be her husband. It's a hard life. Anyway, the Beast is shot by Gaston and falls to the ground, while Gaston falls a good way to his death and Belle is left to weep as the final petal falls and the castle goes cold...
BUT! Lucky for Belle, the Enchantress is around to see the love between the pair and she reverses the curse, restoring the castle to its former glory and revealing a rather handsome beast of a man, underneath the shaggy disguise. For the first time in the film, we can see Stanley Tucci's face (who played Cadenza, the harpsichord) and the characters rejoice in seeing their master once more.
In the finale, Audra McDonald (Madame de Garderobe) sings the main theme, while the whole cast perform the traditional Disney 'everybody dance' ending and the credits roll to the same tune!
Favourite Moments...
THE SOUNDTRACK was magical. It's no secret that I love music and there were moments when I was brought to tears. That's right everyone, I didn't cry at 'La La Land' but I did at 'Beauty and the Beast'. The movie stayed so close to the original score here, with a modern twist of an expanded orchestra, so true nostalgia brought me back to the childhood classic.
EMMA WATSON's youthful quirkiness brought a strong and fiery edge to the roll of Belle. Her go-getter attitude and subtle feminist touches meant we saw a different side of the character we all know and love. A particular favourite part of mine was when she was teaching the young girl to read - the importance of education being brought to light with a simple action.
MRS. POTTS, aka Emma Thompson, was hilarious throughout, especially during her "how do you like your tea?" outburst in the final fight. Won't lie, little bit of a girl crush on Ms Thompson - she is indeed a Disney queen.
The Downside...
At parts, I felt the actors' voices sounded a little too autotuned, especially in the case of Luke Evans and Emma Watson. I understand why they did it, not because the actors can't sing but because they wanted a particular sounding voice; in Watson's case, the traditional soft, angelic 'princess' voice and for Evans, a more boisterous, raging tone quality is needed for a man "like Gaston!" However, it almost took away from the uniqueness and reality of the live-action film, so you could tell the actors were miming. To compare it to another film, 'Into The Woods' was a case of music production done just right and in fact, I believe they actually had some live singing in production, to add to its reality, which I believe could have benefited this movie.
The Final Score...
Other than the slight negative above, I thought this film was excellent. Really brought me back to my childhood and at moments, brought me to tears. The swelling music was incredibly powerful and Watson's break out of the traditional passive princess archetype was a real beauty to behold. I am going to slightly disagree with IMDb's rating here and in fact give this film 8.5/10.
Did you know?
This movie features Disney's first use of gay characters in the final few seconds... much to the horror of the people who didn't quite clock that this whole film is technically about bestiality. |
| Picture Credit: http://rebloggy.com/post/beauty-and-the-beast-2k-batbedit-disneyedit-disney-meme-disneyyandmore-m-beauty/94205803713 |
What films have you been watching lately? Let me know in the comments and remember,
There's lots more to come...
Hannah x
