Beauty and the Beast (2017)
This month, I’m taking over the movie reviews because… lack of creativity.
The live action remake of Disney’s animated 1991 film, Beauty and the Beast, was released March 17 and it was amazing! Well, for the most part. I grew up with all of Disney’s animated cartoons, making Beauty and the Beast one of my all-time favorites.
Let’s start off with the opening scene. In the animated version, an old hag shows up to a prince’s castle begging for shelter in a storm. The prince, being selfish as he is, refuses to let her inside. Then the old hag transforms into a beautiful enchantress that curses the prince, turning him into a hideous beast. She also transforms the castle’s servants into furniture. She tells the prince that in order for everyone to turn back into their original form, he must “ learn to love and be loved in return” within 10 years. Then the movie goes about 10 years into the future, and the prince is almost 21 years old.
We just found a plot hole.
If the Beast is 21 years old throughout the whole movie, that would mean the enchantress cursed him when he was only 11 years old. But thank goodness the directors fixed it in this movie. They also fixed the plot hole of how no one in Paris saw the Beast’s castle by making the enchantress place a spell on the whole town that would simply erase all memory of it. And they revealed Mrs. Potts’ husband!
Another good thing about this remake of Beauty and the Beast is the graphics. They absolutely brought Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts and Chip to life. The detail work on the castle and furniture, the costumes, the makeup… they were all stunning and I just couldn’t take my eyes off the screen. The casting was perfect and everything was perfect! Except for the choice of Emma Watson as Belle.
One little thing that bugged me was that every character had a British accent. Beauty and the Beast is set in Paris, France. But every single character except Lumiere and Fifi, is donned with a British accent. In spite of that, I guess that’s how every American-made movie is. Anyone with a non-”American” accent is given a British accent.
Let’s stay on the topic of Emma Watson, though. Words cannot describe how upset I was when I heard Watson sing the opening song with the other villagers… “Belle” is one of my most favorite Disney songs and I guess I was expecting too much of her. The producers auto-tuned that girl’s voice and it sounded awful. I don’t understand why she’s the only one who’s auto-tuned. She isn’t that bad of a singer… is she?! Her acting performance was just strange. I didn’t see any chemistry between her and any character whatsoever. All in all, Emma Watson did not satisfy the role of Belle. She just… doesn’t work as a Disney princess. Go back to Hogwarts and stay there.
Moving onto Lefou — Gaston’s infamous, goofy sidekick. Let me just start off by saying that I adore Josh Gad. I was ecstatic when I found out he’d play Lefou. There was nothing really wrong with his performance, but I think the scene in Gaston’s tavern where he pulled up his shirt to show a suggestive mark was a little too much for a PG audience. Maybe the younger children won’t notice.
So now it’s time for the 10 rank rating. Disney definitely hit a home run with this movie, but Emma Watson did ruin it slightly. And for that, I give this remake a 9.5 out of 10 stars.
