23. June 2017
Beauty and the Beast Review
First of all, Emma Watson is Belle in real life. She is Belle. I cannot get over how perfect this casting was.
She collaborated with the director and put a lot of thought into Belle and her backstory. She made sure that Belle used her intelligence productively, inventing a machine so that girls could learn how to read instead of doing chores. She never changes herself based on the opinions of people who clearly don’t know her at all. She doesn’t agree with her father’s way of life, choosing safety instead of discovery, but she stays with him and takes care of him. She doesn’t care what she wears or what she looks like, just that she stays true to herself and doing some good in the world.
Some people didn’t like how heavily this movie depends on CGI, but it’s about a girl who falls in love with a beast… who lives in a castle full of talking furniture. So I think CGI is okay in this one. I loved the shots of the castle, especially the ballroom. There are so many beautiful images. I know they built the set and props to make everything as realistic as possible. With all the CGI, it was important to still be able to step onto the set and feel part of Belle’s world.
And of course, her yellow ballgown was stunning. It wasn’t a corset and petticoat kind of dress, which fitted Belle’s personality very well. All of her costumes were practical rather than stylish, which stayed true to her character. And even though her ballgown wasn’t that giant sparkling skirt, it was beautiful.
Belle bravely takes her father’s place as the Beast’s prisoner. She plans to escape and refuses to adhere to his demands. But then he saves her life, and she saves him in return. While nursing him back to health, they learn to talk to each other. She gets to know the castle, the servants, and a little bit about the Beast’s past. She reveals bits of her past as well, particularly about her mother.
Then comes the library.
The town library is one shelf, not like the animated version at all. They really wanted to set up an environment in the town of small mindedness. People are illiterate and intolerant, partly because of the Beast’s curse. The enchantress takes their memory of the prince and castle, but she also seems to take away their love of beauty and ability to believe in the impossible. You know, just in case the Beast had a fighting chance.
Unlike the rest of the town, however, Belle is smart. She is concerned about education, kindness, and discovering new things. She tries to improve the town and standard of living, unlike her neighbors who just destroy anything different. The townsfolk are the direct opposite of Belle.
But the Beast is not.
The Beast enjoys reading. His library is massive and beautiful, instantly making Belle speechless. It’s not just that the Beast shares this enormous library with Belle, it’s the fact that he clearly cares about the same things as her. Their mutual love of reading opens her mind to the possibility that they have something in common, so they could have other things in common as well.
While all the other main characters got backstories, Gaston got left in the dust. Gaston is funny and shallow and destructive, but we never get a real sense of his purpose. We know he’s determined to marry Belle because she’s the most beautiful girl in town and he likes how she’s a challenge, but it’s not enough. He’s missing real drive and I wish they would have put more effort into his character.
Instead, his goofy side kick Lefou gets the extra character development. Lefou is supposed to be the comic relief, not a funny guy who is sometimes also sincere and serious. I understand that Disney was trying to broaden their audience, and I am not offended at all by the fact that they payed more attention to sexuality in this film.
But the fact of the matter is, Lefou detracted attention. He stole attention from Gaston, he distracted the audience from Belle and the Beast. I loved Josh Gad as Lefou, that was a perfect choice. The musical number, Gaston, was entertaining and fun. That should have been Lefou’s most significant moment. There could have been more humor in Gaston and Lefou’s antics, but those scenes just fell a little flat.
My favorite part of this movie was the music. The original movie score was mixed in with a couple additional songs from the Broadway version, along with a few new songs. The new songs were beautiful, and it made me realize that Emma Watson can sing. I’s easy to judge her smaller voice when she’s singing classic Disney princess songs, but with the new songs I discovered I do like her voice. I have no one else to compare those songs to, just her. Though I have to say, Audra McDonald was definitely the most gorgeous singer of the show. Her voice is stunning and I kind of wish she sang the title song.
Props to Emma Watson for taking Belle and making her such an incredible woman. Belle is smart and kind and fearless. Taking on that character, especially when that character is a Disney princess, is no easy task.
Belle and her Beast show us that people can change. Belle never expected to stumble into an enchanted castle so close to her poor provincial town. She never expected to meet a beast, much less fall in love with one. Emma Watson mentioned that she likes to think Belle opened the castle library to the public and used it as a school. I really like that idea.
Belle is still spreading knowledge, fighting prejudice, and reading to her heart’s content.
