Directed by: Bill Condon
Written by: Stephen Chbosky, Evan Spiliotopoulos
Starring: Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans
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This film had a lot to live up to. Disney's Beauty and the Beast (1991) was a hugely popular, successful, and critically acclaimed film, one of Disney's greatest, earning two Oscars wins for its music as well as a Best Picture nomination in its day. The filmmakers clearly knew this, as their live-action remake is well and truly a meticulously sincere interpretation. At the same time, in sticking so close to the original, Beauty and the Beast does very little new with its live-action medium.
The tale is, as they say, old as time, and the plot for this is the same as the animated film it lifts is visual design from. It really is almost exactly the same beat-for-beat, however there was a small addition in to Belle's backstory that was not unwelcome, as it helped to add a little more realism to Belle and Beast's slowly growing bond through the mutual understanding of loss. It's a minor change, but it helps the believability of their relationship a little, which has been a criticism of the story in general for a long time. However, other than this light addition, everything that was good about this film's story was only good because it copies the original exactly, and while it's nice to see such an adherent live-action re-creation, there's also nothing added here because of it.
The music is very much the same, and once again we're given something that's good only because it was good in the original, no changes. The songs are wonderful, some of Disney's best, and for that reason there's no reason to change them, but also seemingly no reason to re-do them. They're wonderful, but like the movie itself feel unnecessary. Oh, but they really are wonderful. The live-action numbers are as joyous to behold as they ever were in animation, particularly one of my favourites in "Be Our Guest"; each musical proceeding is sumptuous, extravagant, and as close as to the original as they could get. It's good to re-visit the classics, but the lack of innovation in the music is one more reason that I could've just watched this at home and lost nothing for it.
Probably the most important part of the live-action version for some people is how the Beauty and the Beast were portrayed. Watson is absolutely Belle, bringing the same dignity and intelligence to the role that she did Hermione; I can't pick anything that I'd call a weakness in her performance. Stevens has the more difficult job of expressing the Beast with just his voice, but he does so well enough, the gruff, angry and sullen slowly progressing to cheeky and a little happy believably enough. That said, I must say the Beast's animation, while good, is a little 'uncanny valley' with his expressions and the way he talks. His horns, static as they are, look almost real, but the fur, the mouth, the ears, all move just oddly enough to seem not quite right, I can't exactly put my finger on it. At least they got the eyes of the Beast to look right, expressive and understanding, and ultimately an important part of the film's climax.
Regardless of my mixed feelings towards some aspects of the film, I have to take a moment to fully praise the costume and set design here. These are both incredible standouts from the experience; the village is beautifully brought to life, appearing very much like you'd imagine a whimsical fantasy version of an 18th century French village would. We're given a small town straight out of The Three Musketeers, with a few cartoonish curves to hone the feel of light reverie, and look very much like the animated original's version with a lot of elaboration to further the reality of the setting. Likewise the castle is wonderfully complex, filled with extensive detail in every nook and cranny, a living, breathing realisation of the space offered by the animated original, especially the gorgeous and luxurious library that we spend all too little time in. The costumes are just as well considered, particularly Belle's iconic golden dress, which was breathtaking to see move in real life (though that may have just been Emma Watson taking my breath away). In all sincerity, the movie is good, but the costumes and the sets are great, and the only aspect of the film that was well and truly added to by existing as a live-action piece.
The Verdict: This live-action remake faces the double-edged sword of faithfully re-creating a timeless classic while trying to have its own identity. In the end, the film doesn't offer anything particularly different outside of being live-action, but its reverence for the source material is clear, so we're left with a very good but also seemingly redundant movie. It's certainly a family-friendly experience like its predecessor, so I can see it as a wonderful outing for today's kids who never had the chance to see the original in theatres, and for people who adore the animated version they'll absolutely enjoy the painstaking effort that must've been gone through in order to realise the sets and costumes (seriously they're the best thing about the film), as well as hearing some of Disney's best songs again. I'd personally sooner re-watch the 1991 version, however.
Rating: 7/10
Published March 26th, 2017
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