Disney’s Live Action Beauty and the Beast
I’m very slow to get to the popular stuff. Not sure why. Perhaps it’s because there’s such an explosion of information when something really big comes out, I get a little sick of the whole thing before I get a chance to watch it. To give you an example, I’ve only just watched the Harry Potter movies!
So given that introduction to this column, you won’t be at all surprised when I tell you that I’ve only just watched the Disney live action Beauty and the Beast that came out way back in 2017.
I remember the cartoon version from 1991 very fondly. I went with my employer at the time and her two kids and found it all lovely and romantic. I still giggle to remember when Ingrid, my boss’s daughter, a very superior 12-year-old, informed me afterwards that it was all just too unrealistic for her. I guess you have to be either very young or old enough to appreciate the fantasy to be swept away by a fairy tale.
I also remember Hugh Jackman playing Gaston in the live stage version in Sydney years ago, before he was a mega star. It was literally on across the road from where I was working and I didn’t go. Still kicking myself about that!
Anyway, fast forward to a cold and gray Sunday afternoon about two weeks ago when I finally sat down to watch the new version with Emma Watson as B1 and Dan Stevens as B2. My expectations weren’t enormously high. I’d liked but hadn’t been crazy about the live-action Cinderella from a couple of years ago. I imagined BATB would be much the same.
Well, as the film is now featuring on a My Favorite Things column, I don’t think I’m giving away any spoilers when I admit that I found the whole experience utterly enchanting. The songs were great (they were great in the animated version too) and the art direction was lush and magical (the castle in particular is spectacular!).
The casting was particularly brilliant. There are some really big names playing secondary characters in this film – Ian MacKellen, Emma Thompson, Ewan McGregor, Audra McDonald, Stanley Tucci, Kevin Kline, to give you a few examples.
I found the film a surprisingly powerful emotional journey and the romance is beautifully done. I actually think the romantic plot is the secret to this film’s success. There’s strong chemistry between B1 and B2 in this one and it makes their rather rocky love affair believable and moving.
Emma Watson made a lovely, gutsy Beauty and Dan Stevens made the Beast both daunting and sexy, with flashes of vulnerability that made you believe he was on the path to real redemption.
So if you’re looking for a movie to take you away to a world of romance and enchantment and you’re not looking for gritty realism, may I suggest Beauty and the Beast for your next viewing experience?
Don’t worry about thanking me! Be my guest!