Ever sense
2010, Disney has been on a kick to remake the majority of their animated
classics into live action films. Personally, I’ve had little interest in any of
them, as I find the animated originals perfectly fine on their own. Then came
the live action remake of “Beauty and
the Beast” in 2017, and I just knew I was going to see this one. While I
still didn’t think it was necessary, I was still kind of excited to see one of
my very favorite animated Disney movies brought to life in live action, and it
seemed to open the door for new possibilities. Perhaps it would feature new
songs and maybe it would expand the story in ways that the previous film
couldn’t. I sat down for a viewing, kept my expectations mutual, and just tried
to be open to whatever the experience might be. As expected, there was no
beating the original, this film didn’t really need to exist, but in the plus
column, I honestly found this a perfectly enjoyable diversion, and maybe even a
little more charming then I anticipated.
In general, this is a very strait forward
re-telling of the original animated film. A selfish prince is transformed into
a monster by an enchantress, and the terms of the spell are that he won’t
regain his humanity until he learns to love and be loved in return. Not far
away in a small town lives a young woman named Belle, who dreams of
experiencing something greater then what her little home has to offer. All her
hopes are blocked by one self-centered villager named Gaston, who aims to take
Belle as his own prized wife. Meanwhile, during a travel, Belles father
stumbles upon the Beasts enchanted castle, and is soon taken prisoner after
stealing a rose from his garden. After finding the castle herself, Belle
exchanges her life for her father, and thus, her unexpected journey to discover
the soul within a monster begins. Naturally, the two don’t get along at first,
but over time a bond forms between the two, and Belle in return becomes more of
a house guest then a prisoner. Yes, this is a very straight-forward retelling
of the original, and in this paint by numbers retread are mis-steps, but thankfully
there’s also just enough little changes and added details that made this remake
more than just a live action novelty.
The
cast for the most part fill their respective roles very well, and while little
is added to develop the supporting characters, they at least convey some of the
charm from the originals. Emma Thompson,
Ewan McGregor and Ian Mckellen play the parts of the three principle enchanted
objects fairly well, and on a side note, I loved the re-designs for both the
wardrobe and especially the feather duster. Kevin Kline is excellent in the
role of Belles father Maurice, and it’s a special
case where not only is the character different from the original, but also largely
superior.
The quirky nature of the father is still present, but also reserved
in favor of more genuinely touching moments. Truthfully, I think Belle and her
father have the best chemistry of any characters in the film, as it felt
perfectly believable, rather than just two actors going through the motions. On
the flip side, I couldn’t say the same for Belles relationship with the beast.
While the two have some wholesome moments, they just lacked the same magic of
their animated counterparts. I feel like this film is too caught up in
recreating famous moments rather than letting the motivations, passion or even emotions
drive the story. The moment that seems to drive this point home for me is when the
Beast and Belle have their big ballroom dance. While beautifully shot, I just feel
that this scene lacks same humanity on display in the original. For an animated
film, the two shared a wide range of expressions and mannerism in that one
scene alone, where as in the live action version they just seem to stare
blankly at each other. The one good thing about this couple is that they have
some things to bond over. They both love books, and they can both relate to
loosing a parent at a young age. So, little details like that were at least
welcome.
Let’s finally talk about Belle. The original
is still one of my all time favorite animated characters, so there was a lot to
live up to in this film. In general, I thought Emma Watson gave a half-way descent
performance, and by that, I mean that half the time she was very compelling in
the role, while the other half she seemed to be acting on ado piolet. Joking aside,
Emma Watson has proven herself a gifted actress, and there are absolutely times
when I genuinely saw Belle alive and real as opposed to just a familiar face in
a pretty dress. Unfortunately, the performance just isn’t consistent, and there
are those select moments where it just looks like an actress going through the
motions because they were in the script. Still,
for all her ups and down, Emma Watson managed to surpass my expectations, and was
perfectly passable in the role.
The villain Gaston is likewise one of my
favorite Disney characters, so I felt this live action portrayal also had some big
shoes to fill. Thankfully, I thought Luke Evans absolutely shined in the role, kept
me entertained every time he was one screen, and for the most part kept the
same spirit of the original. The one down side is that for all of Luke Evans charisma,
he’s still working with a script that doesn’t utilize Gaston’s full potential. For example, one of my favorite scenes from the
original animated film was when Gaston got his wedding fully set-up, ready to
go, and all before even proposing to Belle, because he was just that self-confident he’d
win the girl over on the dot. Then after Belle turns him down, Gaston is thrown
into the mud, and we see our first glimpse of the vengeful villain behind the
ego driven super model. The live action version by contrast features Gaston clumsily
proposes to Belle, she turns him down, and then he just casually walks away
with a quirky smile. It’s moments like that which make this remake feel only
half as good as it’s animated counterpart.
With that said, I don’t mean to sound like
a guy hating on this film just because he prefers the original, so let’s talk
about what this film absolutely got right. First, it should go without saying
that the film is incredibly gorgeous to look at. Seriously, the film crew put
expert attention and detail to the color and set design. The layout of the film was both faithful to the originals design, yet also kind of unique looking.
This film respectfully got two Oscar nominations for both the set and costume
designs, and truthfully, I think this film earned both. I also liked that there
was more added to the enchanted curse than just the prince and all the servants
being transformed into a beast and enchanted objects. This time, the
enchantress also erased any memory of the castle and its occupants from the
people of the village, which fixed some glaring plot holes from its predecessor.
She also cursed the forest to make sure no-one accidentally stumbled across the
castle, except for those she willed to find it.
I’ll admit, I didn’t care for that added detail that the enchanted occupants of the castle would be transformed into solid objects if the prince wouldn’t fall in love by his 21st year. Personally, I felt that the stakes were high enough without the looming fear of literal death hanging over head. Although, this did lead to one of the films more emotional highlights at the end of the film. No joke, that scene with the servants giving their final fair wells to each other got me in the feels more than anything else in the movie.
Let’s finally talk about the musical
numbers, because this was the one aspect of the film that was going to make it
or break it for me. With the one exception of the classic “Beauty and the Beast” ballroom dance, I didn’t want to see a single
song from the original animated film present here. I wanted this film to
feature completely original songs that could make this film stand on its own
and break from the shadow of its predecessor. Much to my annoyance, just about
every song from the animated film was carried over into this movie, and while
they were still enjoyable, they just came off as pointless recreations of
timeless songs. There was definitely a lot of effort put into the
re-construction of these musical numbers, but they just felt tired and slower
than what the animated film could pull off so flawlessly.
The one exception is
that “The Mob Song” was shot, edited
and paced very well here, and honestly felt more exciting to experience then its
animated predecessor. There are at least a hand full of new songs, and
thankfully I loved every one of them. The big show stealer was a new song sung
by the Beast titled “Forevermore”. This
is the kind of original song I wanted to hear in a musical remake of this sort,
I loved the way it was shot, and it’s a treat to see the Beast get his own solo
number. “Days in the Sun” is yet
another excellent new song that might just surpass some of the originals in my opinion.
The song “How Does a Moment Last Forever”
leads to a beautiful little scene which conveys the story of Belles
relationship with her father and longing for her mother all though music, and visual
storytelling, which was great. I’ve always been a sucker for Céline Dion, so hearing
her sing this song just makes me melt inside. Of course, Céline Dion sang the
original “Beauty and the Beast Song”,
so it only felt right to bring her back for this new one. Quick side note, I loved
the end credits, and how they revealed the cast in their respected roles.
Before I wrap up this review, I feel the need
to get something important out of the way. I don't think Disney’s original 1991 version of “Beauty and the Beast” holds any kind of monopoly on adapting the source material ... it just pulled it off perfectly,
and with both original characters, concepts, and ideas that weren’t even present
in the classic fairytale. There have been countless variations of “Beauty and the Beast” over the years, and
each with their own unique strengths or weaknesses, depending on which version
you watch.
Thanks for reading my review of the
2017 remake of “Beauty and the Beast” ... and continue to enjoy the movies you love.
