Disney’s Beauty and the Beast is a live-action remake of the classic animated fairytale. The new production strives to appeal to a modern audience while also staying true to the original storyline and music while adding a few new twist to the original classic.
Beauty and the Beast is about the fantastic journey of Belle, a bright, beautiful and independent girl who is taken prisoner by a beast in his castle. Despite her fears, she trades places with her father who was taken prisoner by a beast. However, she befriends the castle’s enchanted staff and learns to look beyond the Beast’s hideous exterior and realize the kind heart and soul of the true prince within. The main storyline has remained unchanged from the original animated film and stars Emma Watson (Belle) and Dan Stevens (Beast) did a superb job throughout the film. Belle and the Beast share an unlikely love story while learning to look beyond appearances.
Emma Watson, known for playing Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter film series, plays the free-spirited and independent Belle, making her an inspirational figure. Overall Belle shows other girls that it is okay to be different. Dan Stevens is the perfect fit as the harsh but sensitive Beast. He is best known for his role as Matthew Crawley in the hit British TV show Downton Abbey, and currently stars in the TV show Legion as David Haller. The main antagonist Gaston, played by Luke Evans is an arrogant man determined to take Belle as his wife and Josh Gad as LeFou, Gaston’s goofy right-hand man following close behind.
This Beauty and the Beast is very similar to the animated film and has several scenes with lines that are directly from the original movie. However, there are also several differences that help make the live-film have its own originality. One big change in the film is the change of Belle’s personality. In the animated movie, Belle is portrayed as the weird girl by others in the village at the beginning of the film. This is different from the live-action film because girls seem to have a bigger jealousy towards Belle instead of believing she is a weird girl. Also, the new film fills in gaps of the animated movie like the story behind Belle’s mother’s death and why her father had to leave the night he was imprisoned in the castle.
The animation from the live-action Beauty and the Beast looks awfully similar to its cartoon film. The makers of the live-action movie clearly made sure to include some very familiar sets and plot points. The final design of the Beast ended up being various parts from a lion, buffalo, wild boar, gorilla, wolf, and bear. However, the key to designing and animating the Beast was making sure he appeared sincere. The ballroom scene in the film was an important moment for the animated characters. The creators made sure to capture the interconnected relationship of Belle and the animated Beast. The animations made it possible for viewers to feel the romantic and enchanting feeling of the classic film.
Beauty and the Beast was a beautiful remake of the original animated film. Although it’s sometimes hard to remake classics, I feel as though the new Disney live-action film did an amazing job with keeping factors from the old movie while also giving it a new twist.