Tale As Old As Time
Beauty and the Beast | Bill Condon
Fantasy/Romance/Musical | PG | 2h 10m
The classic fairytale of Beauty and the Beast has been around for generation of little girls. The 1991 animated musical, based off the tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve in the mid 1700’s, has been remade into a shiny, new live-action film. The 2017 film, directed by Bill Condon and starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens, adds a bit of a 21st century twist on the fairytale while still keeping the classic story’s giddy, lovey dovey feel.
It seems as though Disney has been on a sort of live-action reboot from Maleficent (based off of Sleeping Beauty and released in 2014) to Cinderella (2015), The Jungle Book (2016) and now Beauty and the Beast (2017). Not to mention all the movies planned to come out in the years to come. These include Aladdin, The Lion King, Mulan, Cruella (based off 101 Dalmations), Lady and the Tramp, The Little Mermaid, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and the list continues! I guarantee that I’m not the only person who thinks this next couple years are gonna be some of the best years of film (at least for us Millennials).
In this film, Emma Watson does not disappoint as Belle. Although fans on the 1991 Belle may disagree due to the fact that she is very clearly a strong feminist. Watson having played other strong feminist roles in the past, most obviously as Hermione in the years of Harry Potter films, and being a huge supporter off screen, was very familiar with this aspect of the character. Casting wise, I do not think they could’ve found a better actress to play Belle, Ms. Watson embodies the compassion and intelligence of Belle perfectly.
The costumes are beautiful and each given there own modern twist from those in the cartoon, thanks to costume designer Jacqueline Durran. Special effects were another aspect that was a HUGE part of this film, from the CGI of the beast to Lumière and the dishes in the “Be Our Guest” scene. This scene just goes to show how strong of an actress Emma Watson truly is, having to shoot this entire scene sitting at an empty table by herself, stating that “It was the most boring scene [she's] ever had”.
Of course, Disney being Disney, the villain of the film has a humorous sidekick. The villain, in this case, being Gaston (Luke Evans) and his clumsy, and adorable sidekick, LeFou (Josh Gad). It’s interesting that Condon, being openly gay himself, makes the character LeFou gay as well. This film reinforces the stereotypes that people of the LGBT community commonly face, like the fact that they are weak, pansy and feminine. However Josh Gad, even though he is not gay, plays this part magnificently.
This character also caused some controversy in Malaysia. The country has strict laws against homosexuality, and films are only allowed to feature gay characters if they are portrayed in a negative light. The Film Censorship Board of Malaysia required that the film remove 4 minutes of material in order to be released however Disney continuously refused to make cuts causing the release to be delayed 14 days. Eventually the film was released with no cuts and a P13 rating, prohibiting children under the age of 13 from seeing the film unless accompanied by an adult. Which although was not placed on the film here in the US, I think could be very fitting simply due to the action in scenes involving the wolves or even when we see the more aggressive side of the Beast in the beginning parts of the film, all which could scare young children.
This film contains all the humor, the romance, the music, and the action that you would want in a family friendly film. This rendition of Beauty and the Beast will be a score for the whole family.
