Beauty and the Beast

Beauty & The Beast

Released: March 2017

Starring: Emma Watson, Dan Stevens Luke Evans, Josh Gad

Director: Bill Condon

How do you re-tell a tale as old as time? Simple, you tell it almost exactly like you always have, but embellish it every so slightly
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The original Disney Beauty and the Beast (1992) provided me with some of my most nostalgic childhood memories and is one of my favourite Disney films. It’s one of my favourite films full stop. After that, the benchmark was set incredibly high for any other film, which really only The Lion King and Toy Story have managed to jump successfully (as far as I’m concerned).

To hear that Disney was to begin recreating their classic stories as live-action versions, I was apprehensive to hear that one of my all-time favourites would be remade, and potentially spoiled. John Favreau performed wonders with his version of The Jungle Book (2016) [one of Disney’s weaker originals if you ask me] though, so clearly translating an animated film into a quality live action version is possible. But what about this one? There was obviously far more at stake here.

My apprehension was utterly unnecessary; Beauty and the Beast has lost none of the charm or joy as it transitions from two dimensions to three. Perhaps my nostalgia filter was set to eleven, but from the moment Emma Watson starts singing about provincial life, it feels like being back home, snuggled up in your most comfortable old jumper.

The casting is absolutely inspired throughout. Emma Watson and Luke Evans were simply born to play Belle and Gaston. Josh Gad frequently steals scenes with his cheeky portrayal of LeFou, and every bit of flatware and furniture is played to a tee [Ewan McGregor, Ian McKellen and Emma Thompson, phwar]. It easily makes you forget that you’re watching a remake of an animated classic, as they are often played so beautifully that they could well have been drawn onto the screen.

Our assembled furniture: Cogswoth, Mrs Potts, Lumiere & Plumette

For the uninitiated, Beauty and the Beast is a classic Disney love story. Classic. Traditional. Girl meets boy. Boy loves girl. Girl rejects boy. Girls father gets lost en route to out-of-town market and is imprisoned by a cursed beast. Girl takes father’s place to save his life. Dinnerware sings to girl before offering her a dinner which ultimately, only consists of a small pudding. Girl sees library. Beast and girl dance, and beast develops feelings. Father is sent to an insane asylum, so girl returns to rescue him, but in doing so reveals the Beast is real and the villagers quest to kill him. Villagers kill beast, girl realises she loves him all too late, but this being Disney, it’s not really too late, so he’s fine [if only Disney had been responsible for the Tobie Maguire series of Spiderman films, Uncle Ben would have probably pulled through and we could all have been spared that truly, truly awful train wreck of Spiderman 3 (2007)]. Classic.

What is less classical though, is the stir that Beauty and the Beast seems to have caused. How has a film cantered around (not especially) mild misogyny, xenophobia, Stockholm Syndrome, bestiality and possessed crockery caused a nation as forward thinking as Russia to issue a blanket ban on it? Simple, by having an openly gay character and featuring a “gay moment”.

Except…. nobody actually and explicitly mentions anyone’s sexuality. LeFou is the character in question, and although he certainly does appear to have incredibly strong feelings for Gaston, he never actually acts or declares having any feelings for him. He’s just, well, normal [what an utter shocker (!)] If nobody had released a statement pointedly telling us that he was gay, a few people may have speculated, but nothing would have changed on bit.

So, if LeFou doesn’t mention being gay, or convey it in any particular way, then it must all be down to that fabled moment. Which frankly is an absolute let down, not because it’s overly explicit, or done in poor taste, quite the opposite in fact; I cannot for the life of me work out what it is.

Where might it be? If we’re looking at LeFou and Gaston, there’s a glance here, a shoulder rub there, but nothing that really constitutes a moment.

How about the moment a man appears to enjoy cross dressing? I mean, he might look like he’s pleased about the whole thing, rather than alarmed, but really? The majority of the Chinese army spends the last quarter of Mulan in drag. So again, doesn't really count.

How about when two men dance together? Well, maybe, maybe it’s that, but it’s so fleeting that it suggests nothing at all.

Gaston & LeFou

But apparently controversial moments aside, has anything really been changed (except that the cast are (mostly) played by humans, rather than animated)? Well, there are a few extra songs, a touch more focus on a couple of the background characters, and there are some additional scenes which add to the background of the story. Individually, there’s nothing world changing, but overall, they add some welcome depth, enough that you won’t even notice the considerably extended run time.

Importantly though, nothing has been removed. Some of the classic songs have been slightly reinterpreted, but I think this was always going to happen with new actors singing them, and it doesn’t affect your ability to sing along with them [quietly and to yourself, seriously, people don’t join in if you give it full welly on “Be Our Guest”].

Really the only slight disappointment in the whole film is The Beast. It’s not that he isn’t done well or is unbelievable, he’s just not very beastly. He does look much more like a man dressed as a monster, than an actual monster. He’s just a little too polished. But this is a very small criticism in an otherwise utterly enjoyable adventure.

From the very second we are spun through rural France, around the ballroom, and all the way around the castle, you feel part of the story and thoroughly engrossed. It feels apt that, the film which moved Disney into the age of computer technology (with the wonderful panning shot in the ballroom) has been used as an early player in their live action recreations. A passing of the torch if you will.
It is a joy to watch Beauty and the Beast, completely embracing you in the wonderful world of Disney’s pre-revolutionary France. I could (and have) settle down to watch this over and over again.
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🌟🌟🌟🌟 4 Stars

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I loved

The addition of some extra backstory adds real depth to the story. The classic question of ‘why are all of the staff cursed too?’ is finally answered [thank heavens].

It feels like everyone was born into their roles and every piece of the film falls together beautifully.

Pet Peeve

That French accent! Oh dear, what was Ewan McGregor thinking that one?! It is the worst accent since Sean Connery’s Spanish in Highlander [he just literally doesn’t bother trying, it’s distinctly Scottish]. It’s all the more glaring because nobody else even attempts one, so it stands out like a sore thumb. Petit bonus, you do get used to it fairly quickly, so it doesn’t ruin things.

Heads up guys, six books on a shelf is not a library. In fact it’s barely even a collection.

(Spoiler alert) When The Beast transforms, he is too clean cut. Methinks he should be more rough and ready, given his stint as a monster. Or at least a bit dirty; I mean, he’s just been rolling about and scrapping in the grub! To be fair, Dan Stevens looks exactly like his animated counterpart, which some might love, some might hate, but even so, a few scabs here and there wouldn’t go amiss.

At the end of the film when (spoiler alert (again)) the curse is lifted there is one pretty major flaw. It’s not got anything to do with wardrobes turning into people, or footstools into dogs, but with Chip the teacup. When I was a child I thought that he (cruelly) had a chip in his rim because of his name, but what if instead it was an even more cruel nickname. The way I see it, the chip is actually only there because he had some horrible head injury or another pre-cuppening. Instead of being a happy young boy when he is transformed, he should crumple in a heap of head wounds and tears. Or at least have crippling dyslexia.