A Beauty of a Remake

People have been raving for months now about the live action remake of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, starring Emma Watson as Belle and Dan Stevens as the Beast.

The remake makes a few changes to the classic Disney princess story, such as having Belle work alongside her father as an inventor and implying that Gaston’s sidekick, LeFou, is gay. I normally hate change, but this movie makes the classic story shine in a whole new light.

I enjoyed the plot, especially with the alterations. It brought me back to when I was a  little girl and watched Disney movies with my parents. You can tell the screenwriter put a lot of effort into carefully developing the story, finding a balance between too much and too little change.

I was also a fan of how much the actors were able to influence the film. They worked cohesively with the director and costume designers to create whimsical, yet strong characters.

Emma Watson had the most influence over her character, Belle, and explained some of her changes in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, ”In the animated movie, it’s her father who is the inventor, and we actually co-opted that for Belle. There was never very much information or detail at the beginning of the story as to why Belle didn’t fit in, other than she liked books. So, we created a backstory for her. So, yeah, we made Belle an inventor.”

Overall, the only thing I’d change would have to be the pace of the movie. It progressed slowly at first, which I liked, but then sped up towards the end, and as a result, certain scenes just felt rushed.

Watson, who is known as a strong advocate of women’s rights, blew me away in this film. Not only is her acting and singing amazing, she remodels Belle’s character into a strong, independent role model for young women. Watson wanted Belle to have a job and refused to wear a corset for her dress in the ball scene, even though the film is set in the 1800’s. She said she aimed to make Belle an active princess and that a corset would be too restricting.

“It was quite tricky, because [Watson] was working so hard to create a strong, individual, modern, emancipated kind of Belle,” said costume designer Jacqueline Durran in an interview with Fashionista. “So to try and find balance and try a yellow dress [that would] work for the new Belle that we’re creating was difficult and interesting. I think that we arrived at the end by making it quite simple and something that [Watson] felt she could really move in and be active in.”

It’s nice to see someone making an effort to give young women, like myself, a realistic body image and a strong character to idolize.

Another thing that stunned me about the movie is the CGI. The Beast and the household servants looked phenomenal. “It was important to make everything that could be real, real. I’m not a fan of CG movies. The idea is to feel grounded in a world and not be distracted by things that felt like additions,” said director Bill Condon in an interview with Collider.

I think he definitely succeeded in his goal. The Beast’s fur, horns, and facial features have so much detail and are very realistic. It highlights both the human and animal qualities in the Beast.

As for the household servants, such as Cogsworth and Lumiere, they are so human-like, it’s scary. Cogsworth and a few other characters didn’t have distinct faces, but are cleverly designed to make the features of their particular object slightly resemble a face.

Lumiere, however, is the most impressive. He is created as a human candelabra made of metal, the only non-human part of his body being the candles serving as his hands and hat.

As you can guess, a major factor in this film is music. It wouldn’t be a proper Disney movie without it. I was surprised at how good the actors’ and actresses’ voices are. We’ve all seen movies where, although the actor and actress play their role perfectly, it’s obvious why they aren’t famous for their singing.

That wasn’t the case here, as Emma Watson and Audra McDonald, who plays Madame De Garderobe, both stand out with their fantastic voices. The music and the set combine to create the perfect romantic fantasy film.

I would definitely recommend this movie. Even if you aren’t a fan of Disney, there is enough comedy and romance to overlook the singing and dancing. Remakes aren’t always great, but this one is a hit. It brings the classic story to life without completely changing it and for that, I give it a 9.5 out of 10 attached rose petals. Give it a shot, because I guarantee you’ll be a Disney fan after seeing this movie.