Photo Source: flickr
Nain’s Thoughts
I need to preface this by saying that I’m a huge Beauty and the Beast fan. Bookworms like Belle and myself just vibe really well. So naturally, I was counting down the days until the live action Beauty and the Beast came out. There were, of course, a few scares beforehand. Like that there were going to new songs, the banana tree dress, and that Justin Bieber-looking-doll from my nightmares. But from the reviews I saw, it seemed that people enjoyed the adaption, but weren’t blown away by it. I share a similar opinion. It was beautiful seeing the classic songs like “Be our Guest” and “Belle” come to life. The new songs, however, didn’t really stand out. And neither did the heavily autotuned singing of Emma Watson. Don’t get me wrong, I love Watson, and during the hype for the movie all I could say was ‘Emma Watson is the perfect Belle.’ But throughout the movie I was waiting for it to click, and it just didn’t. And I think the auto tune played its part in that. The movie was aesthetically amazing, aside from the banana tree dress, but some of the character lines didn’t adapt well from the animated film. And that kept me from being drawn into the movie via the characters. Moreover, I think the movie answered a lot of questions about the iconic Beauty and the Beast tale that we all grew up on, but in offering that insight was forced to skip a number of scenes that made the movie great. Personally, I’d watch it again just to see the live-action Gaston and LeFou dynamic. That is something that was embellished in the movie that I think the adaption did right. And, of course, I’d watch it again to see the adaptation of my favorite songs in the animated version. But, I can’t in good faith say that someone who didn’t love the animated film will like the live-action adaptation.
Grace’s Thoughts
Beauty and the Beast was one of the few VHS tapes we had in my house so this was one of the movies I watched over and over again. I was definitely pretty hype to see this.
I think Emma Watson made a beautiful Belle and the dress was stunning in the ballroom scene (such movement!). I was disappointed by the some of the singing since it felt autotuned and reserved. Maybe I’m just a drama queen and like everything to be extra, but I was looking for expression in the music. I don’t think it’s her fault, it’s someone from above like a director.
The visuals were great, the Beast was quite beastly especially when compared to the original. I thought the original cartoon version was kind of cute. So they did a good job with the Beast. He and Belle had some great banter. As a child, Gaston in the original movie was just a straight up villain. In the live action movie, Gaston was a very hot villain. Definitely evil but, wow, great casting.
Overall, I prefer the original, but this version was quite beautiful as well. It was very interesting to see how Disney remade an old classic and what they emphasized more this time.