Beauty and the Beast is the story of the importance of inner beauty. There is a beautiful woman, a prince and their romance. The original 1991 Disney film is a beloved classic. There has not been a Disney remake that has been filled with so much excitement as this one and as such has a lot to live up to. And live up to it, it does... for the most part.
This is not Disney's first trip down the remake rodeo, but this was the first one I was fully looking forward to. That being said, Disney please stop remaking your classics!
Beauty and the Beast director Bill Condon wanted to make sure that he was as faithful to the original as he could be and it mainly works.
Bill Condon has stated that most of the shots were exactly like the ones from the original in order to pay homage to its greatness. Still the film is made longer because of this as he and the writers added some backstories to the characters as well as new songs. One of the main things I missed was the beauty of the original's prologue.
Instead of the story told through stained glass windows, we see it being told during one of the Prince's (Dan Stevens) dances. Not that there was anything wrong with this choice, but the stained glass was such an iconic part of the original. Still we see the Prince's transformation into a Beast with those who serve him turning into enchanted objects along with him.
In the nearby village Belle (Emma Watson) is a beautiful, bookish odd woman who dotes on her painter father Maurice (Kevin Kline) and is constantly dodging the advances of the handsome Gaston (Luke Evans). She sings of wanting more than her provincial life. Gaston is handsome and he knows it, every woman in the village (apart from Belle) and his trusty sidekick Lefou (Josh Gad) are sure to let him know. Evans is a great Gaston balancing the cartoonish side of the character with the horrible man who won't take no for an answer.
Just as in the original, Maurice ends up the Beast's prisoner and Belle dutifully takes his place. Again, here there were moments from the original that I was looking for. I missed Beast's outbursts and almost instant regret at realizing what he had done. "Be our Guest" is cool to look at, but is missing charm. The enchanted objects, of course, have gotten a makeover. Cogsworth (Ian McKellan) is the most hilarious one, but mainly due to McKellan's voice acting and not so much the design of the clock.
There is one major thing lacking: chemistry between the title characters. Dan Stevens and Emma Watson both do admirable jobs, but they do not seem to connect with each other. They go through the motions, but only seem to really connect with each other at the end when Stevens is no longer covered in CGI.
All the songs from the original are included as well as some new ones. The songs serve to add backstories to the titular characters. The musical numbers are not as memorable as their cartoon counterparts.
This was the first live-action Disney remake I was excited to see. It follows the original faithfully, but that leaves more room for comparison.
Beauty and the Beast became a classic for a reason and while the remake is still good, it is not as memorable as the original. It will keep you entertained, but at the end of the day, the original is still the one that sticks in your mind.
