It’s been over three weeks since Beauty and the Beast was released, you’ve probably already seen it. If you haven’t, we have an article on why you should go see it here. I will say this: my review is completely subjective and that I am simply one person with an opinion; you don’t have to agree with me at all. I have also only been able to see it once, though I do plan to go again. That being said, I’m not about to trash Beauty in the Beast because I really did love it, I simply have some complaints.
A bit of context of where I’m coming from: my two best friends decided one night that if I was a Disney princess, I would be Belle, so as you can imagine my expectations for this movie were exceptionally high. This was compounded by the fact that the remake of Cinderella in 2015 was honestly the best thing that happened to me that year (asides from joining Her Campus).
SPOILERS AHEAD!
Good things first! I loved the costumes and sets that were created for this movie. The fact that Belle (played by Emma Watson) tucked her dress into her bloomers so she could get around more easily was great. Is it bad to say I loved her celebration dress at the end of the movie more than I loved her yellow ball gown? The Beast’s castle, in all it’s falling-apart glory, that replaced the animated castle from Disney’s usual opening gave me chills.
I loved the how this movie incorporated more French culture. The dress styles and wigs were a lovely addition, and the scene where the Beast (played by Dan Stevens) gets a make-over for the dance, similar to the scene in the animated version in 1991, was funny. The commitment to the three musketeers and a quick nod in the “Be Our Guest” sequence to their bloody history with the guillotine was fun to watch, too.
As stated in Ellen’s article, linked above, we got backstory on all the characters, even Gaston (played by Luke Evans), who was a captain during the war. I loved how they showcased Belle’s intelligence not just with book reading but also being an inventor. She creates a laundry system where she doesn’t have to wash clothes manually. They also changed the profession of her father, Maurice (played by Kevin Kline) to an artist and we eventually learn what happened to her mother. On top of that we get the basic information needed to know the Beast’s past and they acknowledged that the Beast would have know how to read because he was a prince and he had “an expensive education!”. This also allows for Belle and Beast’s/Adam’s (I’ll get back to that later) relationship to grow naturally and bond over a common trait which enables them to develop a deeper relationship other than the “hey, we’re kinda stuck here together, you wanna make out” excuse.
Belle loses a bit of her quirky, friendly nature and is more modern and guarded. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing! I thought they did a good job of keeping her headstrong but not reckless. It definitely made her more assertive with Gaston. Originally, she had to trick him out of her house. In this remake she outright says no and offers no other excuse because, ladies, as we all know, we do not need an excuse to say no to someone.
They made up for Belle’s lack of lightness by incorporating bits of self-aware humour which worked in some areas and not in others. For example, when Maurice first enters the castle he’s trying to find the owner of the house and he thinks they are always just out of sight, so he goes walking around, shouting his greetings and explanations. He ends up finding the dining room and sits down to eat, only to have Chip (played by Nathan Mack) move and talk to him. His response is hilarious because he reacts like a normal person and the whole lotta NOPE when he flees is perfect. However, there is one line near the beginning of the movie where Lefou says to Gaston, talking about Belle’s admiring qualities, “a certain je ne sais quoi” and Gaston responds “I don’t know what that means.” This is funny in English, but when the story takes place in France, where they speak French… kinda confusing. Another fact that shines a light on this little language problem is that Lumière (played by Ewan McGregor) is basically the only character who speaks in a french accent, while everyone else has a British or American accent.
I know, I know, it’s a Disney movie – there’s a walking, talking buffalo-man for heaven sakes – so I shouldn’t get so hung up on the details. I’m not, but… I’m just saying.
The new music was a real treat, especially because it was composed by Alan Menken, who, if you didn’t know, did the original score for Beauty and the Beast along with many other Disney princess movies such as, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Tangled. The Beast’s song “Evermore” stole the show and our hearts; he shows dramatic and heartfelt feelings when he lets Belle leave him. Not to mention the diverse casting and LeFou’s sexuality were breaths of fresh air. I don’t think they flushed out Lefou’s sexuality to it’s full potential by any means, but it’s a start.
Another quibble I had with the film was the cinematography. Part of what makes this new Beauty and the Beast so riveting is the beautiful sets we have throughout the film, specifically the Beast’s castle, which we didn’t get to see much of. Whenever we were introduced to a new room, we only got to see it in small shots. We never really experienced the grandeur of his castle, or to witness the true decline of the curse on his home. It is also mentioned at the beginning of the movie that the Prince loved to fill his house with beautiful things; now, I know that is shown through the servants becoming literally part of the furniture, but I also would have thought the desire for beautiful things would have transferred to his castle. Basically, what I mean is I wanted to see wider shots and more rooms.
But the biggest flaw in the movie was that we didn’t learn the Beast’s name. This was painfully obvious during the movie’s climax when the Beast calls out Belle’s name, and Belle just kinda looks at him. Like, what are you going to say Belle? “Beast!”? Yeah, that’ll go over well. His name is Adam, btw. This felt like such an important detail in regards to Adam’s story. The 2017 live action movie made sure to expand on the how the Beast didn’t fit in anywhere because of his appearance. If we had learned his name in a key moment we would be reminded of the fact that he is still human even if he doesn’t look like one.
Overall, I am very pleased with the movie. Sure, they missed out on some opportunities, but so does everyone. They took Disney’s 1991 Beauty and the Beast and expanded on what they could. I thoroughly enjoyed watching it and you will, too. If you would like to read another review that delves deeper into the movie, I would suggest this Forbes magazine review, here.