So let me begin by saying that Beauty and the Beast although being a great movie in my opinion has never been my favorite Disney Princess movie. If I had to rank them, Beauty and the Beast would be fifth one my list and that's only if I don't include other non-princess Disney movies: Aladdin, Mulan, Little Mermaid, Tangled, Beauty and the Beast, Moana, Cinderella, Princess and the Frog, Pocahontas, Brave, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty. Because of this, I feel like I was in that weird place where I went to see the movie with not exactly low expectations but not high ones either. Unlike one of my good friends who places Beauty and the Beast as her number one and could not help but nitpick every single scene, I was able to ignore some of the tiny things that irritated her and enjoy the movie for what it was.
Despite this, there was something about this movie that just didn't click for me the way Cinderella did. This was a great movie but it felt like something was missing the whole way through and I cannot for the life of me tell you what that missing thing was. Again this doesn't mean that I hated the film and I would definitely say that if you love Beauty and the Beast, go check this movie out!
Let's jump in, shall we? This is where there will be spoilers!
As is my way, negatives first so we can end on a positive note! Most of my negatives are kind of small things but add up across the board.
First of all, I couldn't help but compare the singing voices of the Beauty and the Beast cast to the original singers and I couldn't help but find them lacking. As a person Emma Watson great but as an actor, I've never understood the hype around her and maybe that's because I don't love Harry Potter like the world does. Despite this I was surprised that I didn't hate her singing voice but despite that, Paige O'Hara was better and this was true across the board. Gaston, and Mrs Potts were just better in the original. I feel as though they should have left the songs out of this movie like in Cinderella to make it feel more realistic (well as realistic as a movie about a cursed prince could be!)
Another problem I had with this film was Belle's dress. I was so utterly heartbroken when she appeared because the gold dress is iconic to Belle and after seeing Cinderella's breaktaking and magical gown in Disney's live action Cinderella, I had such high hopes only for them to be crushed. The dress was pretty, don't get me wrong, but it wasn't Disney magical. It looked like a pretty dress that you could buy in a store rather than one that leaps off a fairytale page.
And finally I was a little weirded out by how they changed Gaston and not only made him less evil in this movie but also gave him a proper backstory and an explanation as to why he was the way he was. Normally this would be a great thing cause you know how I love villains and grey areas but in a Disney movie, especially this one, you need a clear-cut villain. Changing Gaston made him so much more likeable and it makes you wonder why Belle disliked him so much especially based on the era that this film was set in. I would marry film Gaston and not just cause Luke Evans is so hot. Both he and the Beast started out kind of terrible but over time Belle was able to see the better side of the Beast and if she gave Gaston half a chance, maybe she would have seen the good in him too. What does movie Gaston really do that's all that terrible? Try to lock up/threaten Belle's father? So did the Beast and unlike the Beast, Gaston never kidnapped Belle and forced her to live as a prisoner.
Now those are all my outright negatives about the film and before I go into the positives I want to talk about how, like I said before, I was kinda meh about this movie. As I think about it more, I wonder if maybe part of my lack of love for this film was the lack of chemistry between Belle and the Beast. In romantic films, chemistry between the main couple is the most important thing and Lily and Richard in Cinderella smoldered and made our hearts melt. Emma tried her hardest but it's hard to have chemistry with a CGI monster and I think that was a detriment to the film.
I also want to mention that a lot of people complained because they thought this movie was too close to the animated one and I just want to say that I think that complaint is silly. This isn't a prequel or sequel or spin-off from the original Beauty and the Beast but a live-action adaptation. Of course the movie is going to be similar to the animated one and I don't know why you expected something different especially since the movie did add several scenes that answered some loopholes and filled in the story more.
Speaking of, let's get into the positives!
As I mentioned, there were a bunch of scenes and songs added to the movie that weren't in the original animated film and I loved every single one cause I thought they fit so well into the film. I loved that scene in the beginning of the film where the town people attacked Belle for being different because it helped prevent Belle from seeming like such a snob cause in the original she walked around thinking she was better than everyone and it was like why do you hate the people, they're not mean to you! I also liked how the movie added a bunch of scenes from the original Beauty and the Beast fairytale like when Belle's father stole a rose and infuriated the Beast. I also loved the explanations as to why the people didn't know about the prince and how no one in the castle called the Beast by his real name and how Beast was aged up and frozen in age so that he wasn't a child when he spurned the fairy. I also loved the change in the scene where Beast takes Belle to the library because it makes Belle's gratitude and surprise feel much more genuine and less like she was being seduced to break a curse.
I also loved the addition of the Beast's song about Belle leaving (even though I complained about the casts' singing voices) because it was so raw and heartfelt. Even though I didn't like them as much, I did enjoy most of the songs but my favorite has to be the way that Be Your Guest was done. The CGI in this scene was amazing and so magical! I also laughed because Belle kept reaching for food and the plates kept getting taken away before she could actually eat any of it.
Luke Evans was amazing as Gaston. Like I said before, he brought this charm to Gaston that made you not help but love him. Dan Stevens was amazing as the Beast especially since he had to portray as much as he could through his voice alone. I loved the final scene when everyone was hugging each other and finding family members they hadn't seen in a long time and the dance that Belle and Adam (?) shared although it was real creepy when Belle told Adam to grow a beard.
So overall I did enjoy the movie and I would definitely recommend watching it in theaters if you're interested in it because visually it's amazing and watching it on your laptop wouldn't do it justice. I still believe that the animated movie was better and if I had to rank the live-action Disney films, I would put Cinderella before Beauty and the Beast. This adaptation does make me kind of nervous for the upcoming Aladdin, Mulan and Little Mermaid adaptations and I really hope that whatever magic they found in Cinderella can be replicated in these upcoming movies.
I hope you enjoyed my review and I'll see you tomorrow for my Once Upon a Time review!
xoxo Allie
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