“Beauty and the Beast” Old as Time No More (2017) ⭐⭐⭐
Beauty and the Beast is not so old-timie anymore. The remake of the classic Disney princess movie, Beauty and the Beast attracts a lot of attention, but I came out of the box office feeling very disappointed. Many of us grew up watching some sort of Disney movie, but the remake of Beauty and the Beast ended up being a failure. Why? Mainly because the movie added some unnecessary elements to the movie and thus created a displeasing effect on the eyes. Yes, Beauty and the Beast added some modern elements to this classic movie, but they failed to smoothly incorporate the diverse casts into the flow of the storyline. The only thing that saves this movie from getting bad press is the fact that this is a well-known Disney princess movie that many young children look up to, and critics are afraid to say the truth because it is Disney.
Bill Condon improvised the 1991 classical Beauty and the Beast into a modern movie with some old elements still intact. The storyline that tells the love story of a beast and a beautiful small village girl still holds true. However, Bill Condon added an additional brutal fighting scene just for the fun of it. It seems like he only added this scene to make the movie longer so the Hollywood industry can call this adaptation a “movie”. Bill Condon, who previously directed the final two installments of the Twilight series and Dreamgirls, mentioned that he always follow his visions when making films. I personally enjoyed the way Condon directed Twilight and Dreamgirls. Dreamgirls and the Twilight series were beautifully presented, very unique, and a high-quality production. However, when creating Beauty and the Beast, Bill Condon must have the vision to add people of color in a white wig and horrible makeup. However, those visions just made the characters very disorganized in this particular movie. I praised Condon for adding some diverse elements into the remake of this Disney movie, but Condon could havr put more money into the costumes and makeup of the extras in the film. Their makeup and costumes looked very cheap and not elegant at all, and that resulted in some displeasing effect on the audience’s eyes. I do believe that the way he incorporated those modern elements is unnecessary because he magically just put them in the movie without giving them much opportunity to blend into the story.
The only thing that keeps me watching this movie is the character Belle (Emma Watson). Belle is the only thing that I thought was perfect, even better than the original Beauty and the Beast. I believe that the way Emma Watson played Belle is flawless. The modern Belle is very realistic and she makes the audience feel very connected to her. For instance, the opening scene when Belle is going through town and going to the bookstore. This scene makes you feel like Belle is just like us because Belle went through the town in the morning, and performed basic morning chores. It is nice to see a Disney princess doing normal activities that many normal people do. But then again, I never doubt Emma Watson’s ability to act. Through the acting experience she received during the Harry Potter series, Watson was able to portray a more realistic feel to the character, Belle. Emma Watson definitely deserves the respect she is getting from the public because she works very hard on her acting skills.
For those who like remake movies better than the original one, then Beauty and the Beast is for you. The modern element to this remake will either impress you or disappoint you. However, with the help of Emma Watson, this movie is not bad to watch. But do I approve of this remake? No. I still favor the original one and will always favor original Disney princess movies.
