When I saw the first trailer for the new Beauty and the Beast, I knew I had to see it.
One of my favorite things is when producers make a movie that was once animated into one with real people. That being said, the best part about this movie is that it had a combination of both, yet everything still looked very realistic.
Belle, played by Emma Watson, was a strong, fierce woman who knew what she wanted and didn’t let anyone stand in her way. She was a caring daughter to her father, Maurice, and their relationship was so heartwarming. I feel as though their relationship showed that sometimes the only man a girl needs in her life is her father, and that is something to be proud of.
Gaston, played by Luke Evans, tried relentlessly to get Belle to marry him, but she didn’t want to. Emma was truly the perfect person to play the strong female lead, and one that didn’t let others make her decisions for her. Although it seemed as though Gaston had good intentions with Belle in the beginning, it became clear that was highly untrue, especially when he attempted to kill Maurice and lie about it. Because I saw the original Beauty and the Beast several years ago, I didn’t remember what happened at the end of the movie. I was honestly shocked that Gaston died, but it almost felt like it was because karma finally caught up to him. For the entire movie, all he did was cause trouble— he tried to kill the Beast and Maurice, hurt his friends, and hurt his fellow citizens in order to force Belle to marry him. When all you do is hurt others, bad things will eventually catch up to you.
On a different note, the other thing that I loved about Belle was her love of reading. I personally love to read books, and she was always immersing herself in one. It was so sweet when the Beast told her she could have his library and do whatever she wanted with it. The Beast also loved to read, and was extremely intelligent just like Belle, which made them the perfect match. I also loved how Belle’s perception of the Beast changed. When Belle first met the Beast, her impression was that he was not a good person, but she was not scared of him. I think there was a piece of her that knew he was someone else on the inside. Belle truly exemplified the saying “don’t judge a book by its cover” because although the Beast was, well, a “beast”, she fell in love for who he was on the inside.
The last thing I loved about this movie was the relationship between all of the Beast’s friends— Mrs. Potts and Chip, Cogsworth, Featherduster, Lumiere, Wardrobe, etc. Although the Beast had inadvertently turned them from humans into various household objects, they still wanted to be there for him. The Beast may have hurt them, but they knew he needed them, not only to get through life as a Beast, but as true friends that will always stay by his side. When all of them turned back into people at the end of the movie, I was overjoyed. It was such an incredible, magical scene and I am still stunned at how real it looked. Although they needed the Beast and Belle to fall in love in order to break the curse and turn them back into humans, it was still all for the right intentions. The Beast spent so many years being ashamed of himself and he wasn’t happy with who he was. Belle made him remember that he has a big heart, and sometimes love can help you realize that.
PC: Digital Spy & Disney Movies UK