Posts
Disney's Beauty and the Beast, the live action film came out in theatres this past weekend. If you aren't familiar with the story it might be good to brush up on it here. Though, the story is a bit different, this will help you follow along if you haven't seen it or don't wish to see it. If you don't want any spoilers, I would suggest you stop reading about now.
My overall impression was that it was good, but it didn't wow me like I thought it would. Maybe this is because I went in with higher hopes than I should have or maybe it's because I grew up in the 90s and any remake of a Disney animated classic will always deem to be unworthy.
The Plot
I am going to dig right in here at the plot for there is no time to waste.
Things that went well:
- The prince's back story!
- Disney filled some plot holes from their original film in 1991 by giving the prince, his castle, and the village a back story. The princes father's influence and his mothers death, explains his cruelty and greed as a young man. It also helps that he isn't 12 in this version of the story when the enchantress pays him a visit. Also, it is explained how the town could forget that there is a castle and a prince, well now beast, in the woods. The enchantress used magic to erase it from their memory and hide the castle.
- Giving Belle's mom a back story!
- I loved that Belle's mother gets a story in this version. In the original, it is never explained as to where or how Belle's mother went. Did she die? That's what we all assumed of course. In this version of the story, the enchantress gives the Beast a book that can take him anywhere in the world. When him and Belle become closer he let's it take her wherever she wants to go. She chooses Paris France, in the home where she was born and where they discover, her mother had died of the Plague. An intriguing and wonderful addition to this classic tale.
- The servant's taking responsibility
- In the original story, it seems unfair for the entire castle to suffer just because of the actions of a selfish prince. However, in this story, blame is distributed among everyone in the castle and nobody is truly innocent. At one point, Belle, hears the story of the prince's fate told by Mrs. Potts, Lumiere and Cogsworth. She then asks what she can do to help. To this they respond that they are also to blame for their fate, for they did not speak up to the princes father when he was a young boy and let the boy learn to be greedy from his father before him. They take charge and except their fate. The blame is not fully put on the prince or his father.
- The Enchantress
- This addition is a compelling one and has meaning deeper than one might look. We all remember the famous enchantress who cursed the prince and the palace for forbidding her rose and shelter from the cold. Well, in this version, it's quite a bit more than that. Indeed, the enchantress knocks on the princes door and asks for shelter and when he refuses, he curses him and the entire castle, however, it's always wondered, who is this enchantress? In Belle's village, there is a unmarried "spinster" who begs for money and food from the villagers, Agetha. She is seen as unimportant and unworthy due to her lack of a husband now that her father is dead. We think nothing of her until the end of the film when it is revealed, that Agetha is indeed the enchantress. So what? you might ask. This reveals and important message not just for the movie, but for all society. The prince was cursed because he was unkind to Agetha (disguised as an old woman) and paid his price for many years. However, once it is revealed that she is the enchantress that started it all we then see a switch in the plot. The villagers in Belle's village acted similarly towards Agetha as the prince did, that is everyone except Belle and her father Maurice. Agetha ends up helping Maurice when he is left to die in the woods by Gaston. The irony at the end of the movie being that the metaphorical beast wasn't the physical one, but the metaphorical one, the villagers. How does this relate to society? Well, the people we take for granted, or shame have more power and more worth than we seem. For appearances aren't always as they seem and good and evil are nonexistent, for we all share qualities of both.
- Town Library
- In the very memorable song, Belle, at the beginning of the film, Belle goes to visit the library/book shop to return her book and get another. However, in this version she does head to an unspecified place to find a book, but when she arrives, as everyone expects to see rows of shelves, we see one tiny desk with a row of maybe 10 books. To me, that's pretty anti-climactic.
- Literate Beast
- This point is both a good and a bad one. I am glad that they made the prince/beast as educated and interesting, However, this minor detail destroys a bit of the plot for me. In the original film in 1991 and the Broadway musical, a major part of the story is that the beast cannot read. This is how Belle and him bond, and how the beast finds something in his life to enjoy once again. In the Broadway musical, they read the book King Arthur
- Belle's Dress
- Belle's dress was a disappointment to say the least. Yes, it was yellow, but it had significant changes from the original. That is THE dress that everyone remembers from the original film and it was changed and in my opinion, not in a good way. The three tier dress was not working for me and the posters that Disney had released felt misleading because it didn't look like the dress in the film.
- Beast's Lament
- This point is something minor, but seems like a lost opportunity. In the 2017 film, the Beast gets a solo lament song, a great choice and addition on Disney's part. However, if any of you are familiar with the Broadway musical, you are aware of the song the Beast performs (If I Can't Love Her). Its beautiful, heart wrenching, passionate and carries a familiar tune that isn't just repeated throughout the musical, but the animated feature film! This song does more for me than the song that was chosen for the 2017 film. There was an opportunity lost. If you would like to hear "If I Can't Love Her" click here.
- Gaston's Death
- Honestly, Gaston's death seemed very distant and anti climactic. They are hardly ever close to each other and Gaston uses a gun to kill him, which differs from a knife in the original animated film in 1991. The scene also moved incredibly fast and lacked in the effort, action and mastery that was put into the original film. My roommate saw this film with me and her favorite shot in the scene was when the beast disguises himself as one of the beast gargoyles and scares not only Gaston, but everyone watching. This scene lacked that suspense for me.
- Lyrical Changes
- Finally, a small detail that bothered me, and probably other Disney fans, was the lyrical changes made in certain songs. Minor lines and phrases were changed and it bothered me a little bit. The most ironic line in the song "Gaston" was eliminated. In the original, he sings, "and every last inch of me's covered with hair." The irony is that the Beast who is a legitimate beast is actually covered with hair and Gaston, in comparison, is not. Eliminating this line, ruins the perfectly marvelous pun that Disney created in it's original animated film.
Belle
Disney's choice for Emma Watson as Belle was both good and bad. She aesthetically, looks very Belle like and has a feminist attitude, one much like Belle. Emma Watson did a wonderful job portraying this iconic character and brought more than just a pretty face to the character. She stood up for herself, was brave and even taught a girl to read. She brought out the character of Belle in a more modern light and her original spirit shined through in this film as well as the old. My one complaint was her singing voice. Emma Watson does not typically do singing roles. I am not criticizing her voice, her singing voice was actually quite good, however, it did not seem to fit Belle as much as I had hoped. If Belle, was more of a minor role, I may have been more likely to look past the singing voice, but unfortunately she is a major part of the story. Overall, Emma Watson's spark brought Belle's character to life and gave her a 21st century feminist edge to the roll.
Beast/Prince
The Beast did an incredible job in his role. His makeup and hair,
which I know were meant to look like France during that time were a bit odd in the beginning of the film, but that is not a critique on his performance. Aesthetically, the animation of the Beast himself was fairly accurate to the original film, however, the horns were a bit large and overpowering in my opinion. The princes back story definitely helped me to find his character more compelling. However, I still feel like he wasn't developed enough that we could fully see the change of heart he faces in the story. I liked the addition of his lament, which I critiqued above, but again, not for his performance. The Beast felt much more distant from the story, but was still a very compelling and important character.
Gaston
Ah yes, the famously handsome villain Gaston. In this film, he is still his same old self, but has some minor character changes that I appreciate. In this film, Gaston is funny, witty, and not as narcissistic as you probably remember. In the beginning, when he tries to win Belle over, he seems to be quite genuine. He brings her flowers, stands up for her and her father (for a short time) and is polite. However, as time goes on, his evil side is revealed. He leaves Maurice, Belle's father, out in the woods to be eaten by wolves, after attempting to help him find Belle who was taken by the Beast. He then lies to the villagers when Maurice escapes and tells them what Gaston did, locks up Maurice for attempted Murder and a liar, and leads a mob to the castle to kill the Beast and marry Belle and ultimately leads himself to his death. The relationship between Gaston and LeFou is expanded on in this film and I enjoy their banter and comedic moments. At one point, Gaston is furious and needs to calm down and LeFou tells him to think of happier times, such as the war. Overall, Gaston did a magnificent job at his role and felt more like a real person in this film than the original.
LeFou
LeFou, the famous sidekick played by the marvelous Josh Gad was my favorite character in this film. LeFou played a much larger role than in the original film and even served as a moral compass at times. In this version of the film, LeFou is more complex. As we know, he is Gaston's sidekick and right hand man, but the difference in this film is that LeFou is in love with him. It is apparent, yet very subtle throughout the film and makes you love him as a character even more. When the villagers approach Gaston about leaving Maurice in the forest to die, they ask LeFou to straighten out the situation. You see him hesitate to do the right thing, but he sides with Gaston because you can tell he loves him. It's heart breaking and brings an intriguing complexity to his character. At the end of the film, he learns to move on from Gaston and knows he wants to do the right thing, and does and deserves someone who will treat him better. In the last scene, we seem him dancing with a man at the ball. Disney has received some backlash for this decision, but it was very well done and brings up and portrays an important subject in our world. Well done Josh Gad and well done Disney!
Maurice
Maurice's character changes very little from the original film. However, he is clearly sane from the beginning and is only seen as crazy after coming back from the palace. I think that knowing Belle's mothers back story helps develop Maurice's character here and makes for a more compelling character. He struggles to tell Belle what happened to her mother, and when Belle finds out (not from him) we as an audience seem to understand and empathize with Maurice a bit more. The relationship between Belle and her father isn't as developed in this story, but the intimate moment at the beginning of the film where Belle helps him with his music box and talking about her mother is a cute one. I also really enjoy Belle's one step ahead attitude with him throughout the film.
Mrs. Potts, Lumiere, and Cogsworth
These three beloved characters haven't changed a bit. They are still just as courageous, hilarious and have those clashing attitudes we remember from the original film. However, I feel like we lost a bit of them throughout the film. They felt almost lost in all the commotion of the film. Though, it still hurt my heart when they all went away for a brief moment at the end of the film. The addition of the idea that with each falling petal, they turn more and more into inanimate objects was compelling, I'm unsure how I feel about it. Watching Mrs. Potts eyes, Lumiere's body turn into a candle stick and Cogsworth becoming just a clock was heart breaking. Especially since Mrs. Potts couldn't find chip before she left. And the fact that chip almost broke... the tears and feels were too much, These three and others played such a minor role in this film, I felt like we lost that comradery throughout the film that we know and love. Also, the animation is a little creepy if I'm being honest.
Summary
The animation, as usual, was incredible. We were brought into a magical world mixed with our world and that is some Disney magic that will never change. The music in this film was just as good as the original. In fact, it almost seems as if it is the exact same music. I cannot tell if they used the old recordings or just used the exact same music with a new orchestra. Thank you Alan Menken for you musical genius! Overall, this movie was good, but very anti-climactic then I thought it would be and I hope as the live action Disney princess films continue, they will improve. There were some parts that they added that I loved and others that they added or omitted that destroyed something from the original for me. Maybe it's because I'm a 90s kid, but a remake is never quite as good as the original.
