Tale as old as time… right?
HeForShe advocate and UN Women Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson, will be starring in the upcoming reinvention for the Pixar classic, Beauty and the Beast alongside Dan Stevens. Set to hit the big screen in March 2017, Watson decided to put into her own hands to reinvent the Disney movie because it wasn’t “feminist enough”. Unlike other Disney movies such as Cinderella, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty that traditionally showcase the princesses waiting to be saved by a prince, Watson’s version of Beauty and the Beast will revamp Belle’s character making the female protagonist a more active character, along with a spectacular wardrobe transformation.
Last year, the Bristol Old Vic readdressed the innate sexism within Sleeping Beauty in which the heroine has no agency as a character other than by being asleep and awaiting for the rescue of the male prince by creating a gender-reversed Sleeping Beauty. Similiar to Bristol Old Vic, Belle will continue to be a book worm, but the upcoming movie will additionally portray Belle as an inventor who devised a washing machine to do laundry in order for her to be able to spend more time doing what she loves most – having her nose buried inside her books.
Who says we have to give up what we love doing most in order to fit into societal norms? Emma Watson and Disney teach us that with a little bit of passion, we can do both!
If you’re getting as hyped as we are, be sure to check out the trailer here.