Like many young girls, I grew up watching the 1991 Disney animated classic Beauty and the Beast. I never tired of the movie, but as I grew older, I began to want more. I longed to know more about the life and past of the Beast, the quintessential love story, and about the bookish but beautiful Belle I idolized.
The animated film did not delve much into her individuality beyond the fact that she was one of very few literate villagers, and the Beast’s past personality was only introduced as ‘selfish and unkind.’ The romance between the two hardly had time to develop, leaving me wondering how there was enough material to create an entire song celebrating it.
Despite these shortcomings, I never lost my love for the story, so when it was announced that a live action version of the film would be released, I was giddy with anticipation and excitement for a little less than a year as I waited for March.
And, after seeing a late night showing last Thursday night before it officially opened, I am happy to say that I left the theater feeling incredibly fulfilled.
(If you are afraid to keep reading for fear of spoilers, don’t be. I promise there aren’t any.)
The film had a rocky, awkward start as the actors struggled to recreate the memorable opening songs and scenes with the same strong characterizations and comedic elements that were present in the animated version. Some lines were lost as they were rushed without emphasis, and there was a few moments where it seemed that the actors forgot to realistically portray their characters in the imaginary circumstances.
However, everything turned around as the film reached the heart of the story. The CGI effects in the famous dinner scene were gorgeous, eye-catching, and far from cheesy. The new songs that were added allowed scenes to breathe, developed the characters and story even further, and treated viewers to the delightfully new and lovely voices of Emma Watson, Emma Thompson, and Dan Stevens.
The live action film fills in all the holes that were left by the animated movie. The historical context of the French story is much more clear, and much of the confusing parts of the original are better explained. Viewers are given an in-depth look into the childhoods that shaped both Belle and the Beast, the similarities between the two misfits, their bond that eventually becomes love, and more about why Belle wants much more than the provincial life.
The movie delves into Belle’s strength and her struggles as a literate, empowered female inventor in a village that sees such a woman as a threat. The fierce new princess portrayed by Emma Watson is a far cry from the more submissive cartoon version who rejected Gaston more gently and accepted her imprisonment in the castle without as much resistance. Every character is given incredible depth, and because of that, I became more emotionally invested and found myself lost in the world of the story.
The reimagined Beauty and the Beast offers Disney fans so much more to love, ponder, laugh at, and take in. If you plan on seeing the new version of the tale as old as time, I hope you find it as enchanting as I did.