A tale as old as time!
Yes, while Disney Animation's Beauty and the Beast was released relatively recently, in
1991, it is etched in the minds of popular culture - thanks in no small part to Disney!
From the now classic film to the Broadway adaptation to the chance to immerse yourself
in the film in Walt Disney World's Fantasyland, practically everyone is familiar with the
sumptuous fairy tale masterly adapted by Howard Ashman, Alan Menken and Linda Woolverton.
And now, as Beauty and the Beast is set to become the crown jewel of Disney's live action
fairy tale renaissance, today we're going to meet the new faces which - the studio hopes
- will take the place of the original animated characters in our hearts.
Now, everybody loves a Disney Animated Princess, but so far, the live action versions haven't
quite captured our attention.
Lily James' Cinderella has come close, but Emma Watson is poised to become the first
true live action Disney Princess - enjoying the same level of popularity as her 2D counterpart.
And that's largely thanks to Watson's already huge fanbase from her role as Hermione in
the Harry Potter films, a character which she portrayed for a decade!
That begs the question though, can audiences see her as anything but Hermione?
This is also Watson's return to blockbuster filmmaking, as since Potter she's stuck to
smaller, more artistic films.
Next, while the original movie asks "Who could ever learn to love a beast?", one also has
to wonder who would ever want to play a beast?!
It could very well be a thankless role, as it will be mostly motion capture.
Not to mention, what hunky Hollywood actor knows what it's like to be considered unattractive?
Well, since Chris Pratt's schedule is pretty busy, Disney has turned to another male actor
with body image issues, the similarly slimmed down Dan Stevens.
Stevens first rose to fame on Downton Abbey, where audiences were taken with his flirtation
with Lady Mary.
But Stevens, eager to pursue a film career, insisted he be written out of the show - and
he was.
Which also means he's moody and difficult, perfect qualities for our Beast!
What's more, he has turned himself into one of the hottest actors in film today - I mean,
The Guest hasn't been a popular rental on iTunes for months because of the quality of
its storytelling...
As for the film's villain, Gaston, he has to not only be ugly on the inside and beautiful
on the outside - the opposite of the Beast - but also very charismatic, and funny!
So while we all know Luke Evans is pretty to look at, a solid actor and certainly capable
of playing a hunter, can he pull off the comedic aspects of the role?
It's also worth noting that Evans is openly gay, appearing with his boyfriend at public
events.
To have such a pivotal, iconically heterosexual role as Gaston played by a gay actor not only
has tremendous potential for opening more doors for openly gay actors in Hollywood,
but is a nod to Disney very large LGBT fan-base.
As for the rest of the human cast, Kevin Kline will play Belle's father Maurice while Olaf
- oh, I'm sorry - I mean Josh Gad will play Gaston's sidekick LeFou.
By the way, both Kline and Gad have sung on the Broadway stage, with Kline winning a Tony
early on in his career for The Pirates of Penzance, while Gad was Tony nominated for
originating the role of Elder Cunningham in The Book of Mormon.
Then of course, the Beast's household staff - turned into household objects - will be
crucial to the success of this live-action adaptation, and a star-studded cast has been
assembled to play them.
Although, how much of each actor we'll actually see remains to be, well, seen.
Scotland's Ewan McGregor will play the very french Lumiere - and perhaps McGregor can
get some help at home with his accent as his wife is French.
But McGregor can definitely be trusted with one of the animated film's most popular songs,
Be Our Guest, as he already brought the house down with Moulin Rouge back in 2001.
Indeed, Emma Thompson will have a lot to live up to with her rendition of Beauty and the
Beast - not just having to compete with McGregor but also Angela Lansbury's original version.
Luckily, Thompson won praise for her musical debut in 2014, playing Mrs Lovett in Lincoln
Center's production of Sweeney Todd - another role, it so happens, originated by Angela
Lansbury.
Also, Ian McKellen, as Gandalf and Magneto come to an end, will keep himself in the forefront
of pop culture as Cogsworth, where he'll go toe to toe with McGregor's Lumiere for control
of the castle.
While McKellen himself has admitted he's not much of a singer, expect Cogsworth's role
to be expanded for him as he's not onlhy a celebrated and fan-favorite actor, but pals
with director Bill Condon.
This live action adaptation also hopes to be a little more diverse than the original
animated film, with Broadway star Audra McDonald playing the Wardrobe while Gugu Mbatha-Raw
- who played another Belle in 2013 - will play the French maid turned feather-duster.
Finally, Stanley Tucci has been brought in to further liven things up - as he always
does - as Cadenza, a grand piano.
Caesar Flickerman would be so proud.
So, what do you think of this live action cast?
Who do you think will do the best job, and the worst?
Be sure to share your thoughts down below!
I'm Grace Randolph and this has been a Movie Byte!
You can watch more, right now!