Beauty and the Beast (2017)

 

The 2017 version of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast has the same basic plot as the more famous and more fully animated 1991 version. It also contains many of the same songs as the earlier film version, just performed by different singers. This version still contains a lot of animation—the CGI version of the Beast, for example—so calling it a live-action film is a bit of a misnomer. However, unlike Disney’s unneeded attempt at remaking The Lion King, the newer version of Beauty and the Beast provides a different experience by having actual humans in several roles. In particular, Emma Watson’s performance as Belle, the “beauty” of the title, allows for a greater range of facial expressions than the animated version. (Is it just me or does she look momentarily disappointed when the Beast transforms back into a prince?) The plot, as I mentioned, is relatively familiar. An enchantress puts a spell on the prince (played by Dan Stevens of Downton Abbey fame) and the other inhabitants of the castle, and unless he finds true love, the spell will become permanent. A beautiful magic rose (also CGI) loses a petal from time to time, and when the last petal falls, the changes cannot be reversed. Belle’s father mistakenly winds up in the castle and is imprisoned, and she offers to take his place in order to protect her aging dad (Kevin Kline, not given a lot to do, actually, although we do get more backstory about what happened to his wife, Belle’s mother, in Paris). Based just on the names I’ve already mentioned, you can tell that Disney certainly spared no expense in assembling an all-star cast and a very multicultural cast for this version. Emma Thompson takes on the role of Mrs. Potts, the housekeeper who has become a teapot. Ewan McGregor plays Lumiere, the candelabra antagonist to Ian McKellan’s Cogsworth, the head of the staff who is now a clock. The great Audra McDonald plays a wardrobe but used to be the opera singer Madame de Garderobe, and Stanley Tucci plays her husband, a composer named Maestro Cadenza who becomes a harpsichord after the transformation. Seeing the animated versions of such famous performers is a treat, and they seem to be enjoying taking on these roles. A couple of changes to the original plot did stand out to me. For one, LeFou (an enthusiastic Josh Gad, less antic and yet more spirited than usual) seems to know just how bad a person Gaston is and even tries to get his friend to tone down some of the words of his characteristics. LeFou is much cleverer in this version, to be honest, and it’s Gad’s performance that really makes it work better. We also get a bit more information about what the prince was like before the transformation into the Beast, and it wasn’t good, certainly, but what really matters to the film’s narrative is the slowly developing relationship between him and Belle. Well, that and the increasing jealousy that Gaston (Luke Evans, ratcheting up the narcissism of the character to delightfully remarkable heights) feels about not getting Belle to agree to marry him. Every remake of a famous and beloved film is going to be subject to criticism, and one of the stupid criticisms of this remake was the inclusion of a so-called gay subplot. It’s really not more than a couple of seconds at two points in the movie. When the villagers attack the castle in an attempt to kill the Beast, the wardrobe swathes three men in dresses to scare them away. However, one of them actually seems to enjoy being in a dress; at least, the look on his face would suggest so. Later in the film, during the obligatory musical number signaling a happy ending, LeFou dances with another man for a brief time after they change partners. I doubt that the younger viewers of the film would even notice such moments, which seem more like substandard pandering to the large and faithful gay audience for Disney films. You need a few changes to make a remake worth doing, and if that means trying to have a wider audience feel included, so be it. The most challenging issue for the remake, though, had to be how to depict the dress. You know which dress I mean, the one Belle wears when it has become clear that she truly loves the Beast. The animated version is a stunner, and to put your fears to rest, it’s quite beautiful in this version as well. Overall, the 2017 reimagining of Beauty and Beast is like slightly altering a beloved family recipe. It’s comfort food with just enough changes to be distinct and up to date.

Oscar Nominations: Best Achievement in Costume Design and Best Achievement in Production Design