We see Emma Watson take on the role of Belle, a beautiful and independent young woman who is taken prisoner by the Beast in his castle. She becomes friends with the enchanted staff and begins to look beyond the Beast’s hideous exterior and realises the kind heart and soul of the Prince within.
Dan Stevens, who played Matthew Crawley in Downton Abbey plays the Beast. Oscar winning director, Bill Condon offers his talents to this highly anticipated movie musical.
The Walt Disney film is set to hit cinemas on March 17th. Disney has been planning an adaptation of the story since 2009. Since then, the company has had success with other live-action fairy-tales, such as Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland and Maleficent.
Beauty and the Beast is an adaptation of the 1991 Disney animation and so will follow the plot of that film, which was based on the French fairy-tale by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont.
The Beast was a prince, cursed because he was arrogant to an old woman when he refused to help. He is transformed into a creature and must remain so unless he can find true love before the last petal falls from the rose. He resides in an ancient castle accompanied by his former serving staff who were converted into household objects because of the Beast’s behaviour.
The Beauty and the Beast song, composed by Alan Menken and lyrics by Howard Ashman, was performed by Angela Landsbury in the original film in 1991. The classic song was covered by Ariana Grande and John Legend to support the 2017 film.
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