Get ready to be wow-ed because Disney has really hit the ball out of the park with Beauty
and the Beast, their latest live-action take on one of their animated classics!
Yippee-ki-yay, movie lovers, it's Jan here!
Stepping into the role of Belle is Emma Watson, who gives a lively performance that's an appealing
blend of warmth, intelligence, and independence.
Watson, of course, already has one iconic role under her belt in the form of Hermione
in the Harry Potter movies.
But by so beautifully updating and bringing one of Disney's premiere animated princesses
to life on the big-screen, Watson has ensured herself another role for which she'll be fondly
remembered for many years to come.
Since making his name in Downton Abbey, Dan Stevens has been doing a great job avoiding
posh pigeon holes by keeping his career nice and varied.
And as the Beast, he puts in a suitably gruff and witty turn, that's really enjoyable to
watch.
Luke Evans is phenomenal as the uber-arrogant Gaston; in fact, he's so good it feels like
he was born to play this role, and really he's the absolute stand-out in the cast for
me.
Like Josh Gad, who plays LeFou, Evans has a background in musical theatre, and they
both get to put that to good use here.
However, unlike Gad, Evans hasn't really ventured too far before into comedic territory, but
he absolutely crushes it in Beauty and the Beast, showing he's extremely adept in the
comedy department.
As LeFou, Josh Gad, who previously gave voice to Frozen's Olaf, works incredibly well with
Evans, adding lots of humour and lovely improvised moments to the film.
Ian McKellen is simply perfect as Cogsworth, and they may be smaller roles but I love Audra
McDonald as Garderobe, Stanley Tucci as Cadenza, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Plumette.
Emma Thompson and Ewan McGregor have tough acts to follow, taking on the roles of Mrs
Potts and Lumiere made famous by Angela Lansbury and Jerry Orbach.
Both put their own spins on the role, adding some delicious touches, and I enjoyed both
their performances, though these will still always be Lansbury and Orbach's roles for
me.
And while I wasn't especially keen on Nathan Mack's take on Chip in the trailers, I found
it worked much better in the actual film, though I do still prefer Bradley Pierce's
original Chip.
Dreamgirls director Bill Condon, his co-writers Stephen Chbosky and Evan Spiliotopoulos, and
cinematographer Tobias Schliessler have put a delightfully fresh perspective on the classic
animation, while managing to keep alive so much of what fans love about the original.
They've done brilliantly fleshing out many of the characters, giving them more depth
and making their actions more believable, as well as adding more realistic elements
to the plot and ironing out some inconsistencies in the animated feature.
They've also included a couple of little meta moments where the film lovingly pokes fun
at itself.
And though there's a rare moment that doesn't feel quite as natural or smoothly executed
as the rest, for instance, when Belle meets Lumiere, they're so few and far between they're
of no real consequence.
As for Alan Menken and Howard Ashman's genius soundtrack from the animation, that plays
an equally prominent part in this live-action version.
In fact, it's fantastic to hear such wonderful new performances of those much-loved tunes,
including Be Our Guest, Gaston, Belle, and Beauty and the Beast.
As well as making a few lyrical and musical changes to some of the original songs, Menken
and Tim Rice have also penned three new songs, my favourite of which is Evermore, sung by
Dan Stevens.
Speaking of the movie's song and dance numbers, which are really charming, I've gotta give
props to choreographer Anthony Van Laast for his work, which channels the animation's influences
including full-on Busby Berkeley as well as adding new inspirations, such as a touch of
7 Brides for 7 Brothers.
Designer Jacqueline Durran is to be congratulated for her work in the costume department.
And production designer Sarah Greenwood, Set Decorator Katie Spencer, and Supervising Art
Director Niall Moroney have outdone themselves bringing to life the world of Beauty and the
Beast, including Belle's village and the Beast's castle.
The castle in particular is truly impressive, with incredibly ornate interiors and exteriors
that seem to grow and subtly change over the course of the film's two hours.
And, along with the movie's VFX team, they've done an amazing job creating characters such
as Lumiere and Cogsworth.
The attention to detail that's gone into the design of these characters is striking, with
elements from their human forms influencing their look.
My absolute favourite of these is Garderobe, who is a triumph of imagination.
To sum up: Beauty and the Beast is an enchanting take on Disney's much-loved animated classic.
Director Bill Condon and his cast and crew have taken what was great about the original
and built on that in new and satisfying ways, while still including plenty of easter eggs
and nods to the original for die-hard fans.
The production design and VFX are jaw-dropping and the costumes, cinematography and song
and dance numbers are gorgeous.
Basically, it's an absolutely magical movie that put a huge smile on my face right from
the start yet also managed to bring a tear to my eye.
And I cannot wait to watch it again!
Now, what are you looking forward to about the live-action Beauty And The Beast, or if
you've seen it, what did you think of it?
Who do you think are going to be your favourite characters and why?
Let me know in the comments below!
I've got more Beauty And The Beast videos on the way, including cool secrets about the
making of the movie, so turn on your notifications for Flicks And The City to make sure you catch
all my latest videos!
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Thanks for watching and see ya next time.
Yippee-ki-yay, movie lovers!