Beauty and the Beast, A Legacy Contnued

Written By FeastnFlix on Friday, March 17, 2017 | 9:00 AM

In 1992, Disney made history with the 1991 animated feature Beauty and the Beast when it was nominated for Best Feature by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts. This was a historic moment because it was the first time ever that an animated picture was nominated in the best feature category. That year Beauty and the Beast received a total of 6 nominations at the Oscars that year. It also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, making it the first animated picture to win in the category. In 1994, Beauty and the Beast premiered on Broadway and was the first of many stage productions based on Disney properties. That stage production went on to be nominated for several Tonys and ran for over a decade. Needless to say, the original animated feature is held in very high regard and created a successful legacy. Any interpretation has large shoes to fill.

The story plays exactly the same as the 1991 animated film with only a few additional points. In this version, Belle is not only the odd duck for her love of reading but also seen as a troublemaker because she encourages literacy for all women. Gaston is not just a great hunter, but a war hero. The Beast’s human persona is still shallow but there are moments where he speaks of how loved to dance. It is also revealed that as a prince, he was primarily raised by the castle’s help as his parents had no time for him. Maurice (Belle’s father) is eccentric not just as a quirky trait, but its shown he is a widower dedicating all of his to the memory of his lost wife. And LeFou is not just in awe of Gaston, but likely is actually in love with him. Because the story is so familiar and thus predictable, these additions are meant to provide another perspective and thus a new viewing experience. The additions are welcome and do help by providing more character depth without truly altering the whole story. I would say it’s like the “Director’s Cut” of the Beauty and the Beast story.

This Beauty and the Beast boasts an all-star cast. Because of Emma Watson’s experience playing in Harry Potter film franchise as Hermione, she can perform the character of Belle with the greatest of ease. She is pretty, feminine, strong willed, well spoken, intelligent and marches to the beat of her own drum. Dan Stevens is currently killing it on FX’s Legion so it’s no surprise that he can do the character work for Beast. What I didn’t was that he can sing! Legion can sing! While his voice is deepened through special effects, when the singing hits it’s all him and he is very good. Josh Gad’s LeFou is Josh Gad (The Wedding Ringer and Frozen) playing himself, but that’s not a bad thing. Of all of the characters Josh Gad was the one that we all knew could sing and perfectly matched LeFou in attitude and appearance… no surprises here. Master actor Kevin Kline (Dave, In & Out) takes his character of Maurice and instead of making him a senile joke, brings a nuanced performance of a man that because of great loss is damaged mentally and emotionally and thus sometimes cannot find the right words or express himself properly. Saving the best for last we have Luke Evan as Gaston. While Luke Evans is not the mountain of a man that is the vision usually associated with Gaston, he is able to bring the swagger and fun arrogance of the character to life. Being known for his macho roles in the past (The Hobbit Trilogy, Fast & Furious 6), it was a huge surprise to not only see Luke Evans sing and dance but be really good. Luke Evans as Gaston steals the show for me, especially his interactions with Josh Gad’s Le Fou. I would totally watch a film on their adventures from the war.

As everyone knows, one of the biggest musical numbers from Beauty and the Beast is sung by the help which was transformed into objects and furniture. “Be our Guest” is one of the most and memorable musical numbers in history. Singing lead on that song is Ewan McGregor as Lumiere. McGregor musical talent is well known from the 2001 hit Moulin Rouge, so it’s no surprise he can deliver with all of the gusto the song deserves. If only we could’ve seen him dance the number as well. Rounding out the rest of the furniture is Ian McKellen as Cogsworth the clock, Emma Thompson as the Tea Pot Mrs. Potts, Audra McDonald as the wardrobe Madame Garderobe, and Stanley Tucci as the piano Maestro Cadenza.

I would be shocked to learn that a person alive today does not know some iteration of the Beauty and the Beast story, so it seems obvious that the core audience for this film are going to be fans of the story. For fans of the story and the music, everything you loved from the original is present and they even added a bit more backstory for some of the characters. Beauty and the Beast is a big bright and fun musical for those that need a little bright and joy in our life right now.