Disney’s been on a roll as of late with their live-action reimaginings of their classic animated films.
Granted, this current trend of theirs isn't going over well with ‘everybody’,
as I pointed out last time, but, for the most part, films like Cinderella and The Jungle Book have been major successes on both a
critical and commercial level instead of just on a commercial one as was
initially the case with these films. And for their latest endeavor on this
front, Disney revives one of its most beloved stories for a new generation; Beauty and the Beast. The studio’s original animated
take on the classic fairytale of the same
name from 1756 was the second smash hit of the ‘Disney Renaissance’ era when it
was released in 1991. In fact, it was so universally adored that it ended up
being the first animated film ever to be nominated for Best Picture at the
Academy Awards, a feat that has only been accomplished 2 other times since then
by, fittingly enough, a pair of Pixar films; 2009’s Up and 2010’s Toy Story 3, which, of course, were released under
the Disney banner. So, yeah, one could say that there was a lot of pressure on
this new take on the ‘Tale as Old as Time’, directed by Bill Condon, who's no
stranger to musicals having written the screenplay for 2002’s Best Picture
winner, Chicago (not to mention
directing 2006’s Dreamgirls, which
won 2 Oscars), and features an all-star ensemble cast. After all, we’re talking
about one of the most famous Disney stories of all time, meaning that this new
film has a hell of a lot to live up to. Thankfully, Condon does do justice to
this beloved masterpiece of a story with a highly enjoyable new take on Beauty and the Beast that respects its predecessor
without being a direct carbon copy of it.
In a quaint little town in France, a young woman named Belle
(Emma Watson) is a complete mystery to the rest of the people living there.
Never once conforming to the expectations that life tries to set upon her,
Belle spends most of her days reading, inventing things, and ignoring the
advances of the town’s popular but egotistical local hunter, Gaston (Luke
Evans), while also hoping to someday leave the confines of her ‘poor, provincial’
town. That day ends up coming sooner than anticipated when she goes to rescue
her father Maurice (Kevin Kline), who had been taken prisoner by a monstrous
Beast (Dan Stevens) that resides within a forgotten castle not far from town.
To save her father, Belle ends up taking his place as the Beast’s prisoner. But,
soon after, she begins to learn the big secret behind the castle and, more
importantly, its mysterious owner. As it turns out, years ago, the Beast was a
selfish and vain human prince who was cursed by an Enchantress after he had
rejected her pleas for shelter. Turning him into a Beast, as well as turning his
servants into enchanted household objects, she puts the Prince under the
pressure of having to find true love in time before the last petal of the red
rose that she initially offered him falls. And, thus, as Belle begins to become
more and more accepted by the Beast and his servants, she does begin to fall in
love with him, which soon causes problems once Gaston learns of the situation.
Now, admittedly, as far as Disney’s remakes go, this is more
like Cinderella than The Jungle
Book. By that, I mean that you
shouldn't go into this expecting a lot of differences between this new version
and the original. It's the same exact story with the same primary plot points.
So, with that said, I know what some of you will inevitably say; “Why the hell
remake a masterpiece then?” But I'm going to ignore that debate for now
because, to me, it all comes down to execution, and I'm pleased to say that
this film is very well-made in every possible way. Sure, it's still the same
story as the original but I'd say that there are just enough new elements in
here, as minor as some may be, that help differentiate it from the original
(e.g. a new plotline that reveals why Maurice and Belle stayed in their
provincial town for all these years). Visually, this film is a top contender
for next year’s Oscar for Best Visual Effects, Production Design, and basically
every other major technical award at that ceremony. Yes, a lot of the visuals
in this are CG but they are done excellently. And as for the songs, well, what
more needs to be said about them? They're the classic songs written by Alan
Menken, Howard Ashman, and Tim Rice and are all handled brilliantly in
live-action. You'll be tapping your foot along to the beat of ‘Gaston’, marvel
at the grandeur of ‘Be Our Guest’, and awe at the beauty (no pun intended) of
the title song, ‘Beauty and the Beast’. There's also some great new songs as
well, including the sweet recurring melody ‘How Does a Moment Last Forever’,
which is sung three times in the film (this includes the end-credits version
sung by Celine Dion who, of course, sung the title song during the end credits
of the animated film) and the Beast’s new big solo, ‘Evermore’.
One of the best things about the film, though, is its
ensemble cast. Because, damn, does this film have one of the most impressive
ensembles in recent history. Of course, it's all led by Emma Watson, who does a
phenomenal job in the role of Belle. Simply put, she does justice to one of
Disney’s most beloved heroines while also doing just enough to provide some
nice little updates to the character here and there without ever going against
everything that made her great in the first place. And I know that she’s gotten
some flak for her vocal performance during the musical numbers but I thought
she was fine in that department. Dan Stevens is also fantastic as the Beast,
perfectly conveying everything that goes into the character's great redemption
arc. As for the villains of the film, both Luke Evans and Josh Gad are clearly
having a lot of fun in the roles of Gaston and LeFou, respectively. They ham it
up in the best way possible, as Evans perfectly encapsulates our favorite manly
but shallow villain while Gad brings new depth to the role of Gaston’s loyal
lackey. Kevin Kline is great as well in the role of Maurice, as he portrays the
character in a much more toned down manner compared to the original that fits
very well with the new plotline that shows why he’s been so protective of Belle
all this time. And of course, we can't forget about the Beast’s servants and
man did they get a great cast for these iconic supporting roles; Ewan McGregor
as Lumière, Ian
McKellen as Cogsworth, Emma Thompson as Mrs. Potts, Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Plumette
(Fifi in the original film), Audra McDonald as Madame de Garderobe the
Wardrobe, and Stanley Tucci as new character Maestro Cadenza the Harpsichord.
And thus, Disney is now 4 for 4 with their recent
live-action remakes. I mean, admittedly I don't think I can go as far as to say
that it's the ‘best’ of these remakes but I can tell you one thing; it's a hell
of a lot better than its current 71% score on Rotten Tomatoes suggests.
Thankfully, that's still considered a ‘fresh’ rating but I have the feeling
that some of the more negative reviews that the film has been getting have been
a lot more stringent on comparisons between the two versions of this story.
Like I said before, I can see why this is happening. Because this one is
arguably the closest to its animated counterpart out of all the Disney remakes
released to date, the word ‘unnecessary’ has undeniably been thrown around a
lot. Maybe it is… but I don't care. I love the original (it is, after all, my 3rd
favorite Disney animated film of all-time) but I also love this new take on it,
as its heart is very much in the right place. Plus, it is a genuinely well-made
film in terms of its production design and visuals, not to mention having a
fantastic ensemble cast to portray this story’s collection of iconic roles.
Simply put, it's just an incredibly satisfying ‘feel good’ film and in this
current time, this is exactly the kind of film that we need right now. Just
ignore all the negativity in the world for a few hours (especially the
negativity directed towards a certain element of this film; more on that in a
bit) and enjoy a charming new take on a classic that we all know and love. On
that note, to those who aren't big on these Disney remakes, don't worry, for
the original animated film is still as perfect as it ever was. This new version
is ultimately just like the remakes of Cinderella,
The Jungle Book, and Pete’s Dragon; it's a nice complement to the original source.
Rating: 5/5!
(P.S. Well, I should
probably address the big controversy surrounding this film because… oh boy. So,
as many of you are aware, the film has been getting some flak recently from
some audiences after an announcement that stated that it would have Disney’s
first ‘exclusively gay’ moment involving the character of LeFou. Because of
this, there's been quite a bit of heavy blowback from various parties; some
countries banned the film unless cuts were made, a theater in Alabama refused
to show it, and in Russia, it was given
an adult rating. Yes, in Russia, this film is considered nearly as mature as,
say, Logan. To all this, I say… this
is one of the stupidest and most overblown controversies in recent memory. This
moment that everyone keeps talking about is just one SMALL moment at the end of the film. Heck, if it hadn't been
pointed out beforehand, I bet most of us wouldn't have even noticed it because the
film’s quite subtle about it. Bottom line, Disney isn't trying to force an LGBT
agenda down our throats; they're just trying to represent a wider audience.
What the hell is wrong with that? Also, this backlash totally goes against the
great positive messages of this film, namely, you know, accepting people for
who they really are on the inside. So, yeah… this backlash is frigging stupid.)
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