In a lot of ways, I was lucky to grow up in the greatest part of Disney history. I experienced first-hand the Disney Renaissance, the oft-overlooked Decline, the Dark Ages, all the way up to the current Second Renaissance. There was, however, a major blank spot in my Disney experience: the original Beauty and the Beast.
I knew the movie, of course, but I never saw it from beginning to end until earlier this very year. Therefore, I have no major emotional connection to it. I enjoyed it, but it wasn't part of my childhood the way that other movies were. Which brings us to the subject of today's review.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (2017)
Blogtober Qualifications: Magic, monsters, dark shadows, wolves, wardrobes
I won't be spending oodles of time comparing and contrasting the two versions of the film, since that isn't what I'm here for. Besides, at the end of the day, they're different things, and you'll get different experiences from them. This is just how I feel about the new movie itself, having just finished watching it for the first time less than an hour ago. I'll also be doing my best to avoid major spoilers, but I make no promises. So here we go!
For starters, the whole thing is just gorgeous. You could put the whole thing on mute and just have the scenes playing while listening to soft music, and I reckon you'd have a pretty enjoyable experience. There's a particular scene early on which Belle goes on a bit of walk away from the town, and she winds up on a hill in the distance, looking back at the town occupying its own hill, and she and the village are both breathtaking. It's almost self-defeating, in a way, since it makes you really wonder why she's so unhappy in such a picturesque place, but I guess looks aren't everything.
Speaking of Belle, she's certainly worthy of speaking of. As a quick aside, I grew up with Harry Potter, and Hermione Granger is the first literary character I can remember having a crush on. Emma Watson, who here plays Belle, played Hermione in the Harry Potter films. As such, mine may not be the most objective opinion on the matter.
Still, if my opinion can indeed be taken at face value, she did a commendable job in the role. She's given unfortunately little to do for a while in the second act as we focus on other characters in a song interlude or two, but it's a relatively short drought. Again, I don't intend to compare the two versions of the film, but I will observe that, in the original, Belle's headstrong nature and resistance to authority were more or less told rather than shown, but that isn't the case here. My favorite scene involves her yelling at a door. I offer no further context.
The others generally do a great job filling their roles, especially Ewan McGregor, who is tasked with the unenviable prospect of replacing the original film's most charismatic character, and Josh Gad, whose job it is to bring depth and dignity to a character who was, originally, little more than a sniveling worm. They both succeeded, to say the least.
As for the story itself, it's more or less the same as the original, outside of some new, small plot additions and a bit more character depth, as well as a smattering of new songs (all of which fit in perfectly). There is, however, one major improvement. If you choose to compare the two, you'll get the feeling that, in planning the live-action version, someone was assigned to trawl the internet looking for articles on every single plothole in the original version, for the sole purpose of filling them in. It makes a difference, and goes to show how much a throwaway line can explain something that just doesn't make sense. The film's internal timeline still falls apart a bit in the third act, but that's nothing new, and the climax is engaging enough to distract from it.
Overall, my experience was an enjoyable one, and I would easily watch it again, probably sooner than I would the original. I doubt it will replace the original forever, but for most people who are experiencing the story for the first time, this will be *their* version, the one they grew up with, and it's more than deserving of that.
Before I draw the review to a close, I want to highlight one thing. Blogtober is, at the end of the day, a celebration of Halloween. Today's entry is the prologue, but if you're still doubting that this movie should be on a Halloween list, I would like to point you to the most horrifying sight the movie has to offer.
That right there? That's a face. A face, and arms, and what can only be described as "wardrobe breasts." It terrifies me.
But enough of that. Tomorrow Blogtober begins in earnest. We'll be sticking with the theme of magic and monsters, but this time, rather than vaguely medieval Paris, we'll be in 1920s America. It should be good to be back home.
Until next time!
Current interests:
Listening - Beauty and the Beast: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2017)
Playing - Golf Story (2017)
Reading - Baltimore or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier & the Vampire (2007)
Watching: Unsolved Mysteries (1987)
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