So a couple of weeks ago we finally got a decent trailer for the live-action Beauty and the Beast that comes out next March and it is FANTASTIC. For the record, I am not a huge fan of Disney remaking its classic films. However, I am so much in love with Maleficent and Cinderella. Both films paid tribute to the original animated classics but also re-invented (and even improved) the original stories, fleshing out the characters and illustrating their respective worlds. The original animated Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite movies ever--no, seriously, ask me what my favorite movie is and that is one of the answers I am likely to give you. It is for sure one of my favorite Disney movies. So I was not on board with the news that they were doing a live-action reboot. But the more I’ve heard about the new Beauty and the Beast, the more excited I’ve gotten for it, especially with the all-star casting. But these are the things I am most curious and excited for:
- The townspeople
We got a couple of good shots of the people in the little town, celebrating at the tavern and then going to pillage the castle. Who are they? What is their relationship with Belle? Are these background characters going to be a little better fleshed out? What makes them idolize Gaston so much? And is there more to why they would follow Gaston’s very bad idea to go attack an enchanted castle?
That last point especially--there’s this one post on Tumblr that suggests that Belle and the Prince don’t live happily ever after in the cartoon because the French Revolution happens (Bored: #8). What if for this version the town people going after the Beast IS the French Revolution? The costumes we’re seeing for this adaptation are more eighteenth-century than nineteenth so far. The Beast/Prince is technically an aristocrat who rules over the town. What if in this version the towns people know about the castle (but Belle and her father don’t) and even though the ruling family disappeared they still harbor some resentment? And then their attempt to revolt backfires? That would be cool.
- More character development for Maurice and his relationship with Belle
Maurice is shown at the beginning of the trailer riding onto the castle grounds in the snow. Then he is shown plucking a rose from a bush when he is attacked by the Beast.
This leads me to wonder if for this adaptation the story will be borrowing some elements from the original fairy tale. Furthermore, I’m wondering if we’re going to get a backstory for Maurice and Belle--Belle’s mother, Maurice and Belle before they moved to the village, Maurice’s work as an inventor. Their interaction in the trailer is interesting. What kind of a relationship will they have in the scenes leading up to Maurice’s imprisonment?
- The Beast’s backstory
According to Buzzfeed analysis, if the Beast is 21 and the castle has been enchanted for ten years, then he would have been eleven when he fell under the curse. Gaping plot hole, right? Maybe Disney decided to take that idea and run with it. I doubt they would be showing us a random protrait of the prince from when he was a kid otherwise. But the most interesting thing is, in the new trailer the young prince is shown in the painting with a couple that I would have to assume are...his parents??? Does he have parent issues of some kind??? In case you can’t hear it, that is the sound of my backstory radar going off.
(But why the fetch does his name have to be Adma? That’s like the worst name for a Disney prince ever.)
- A bigger glimpse of--life before the enchantment?
These are the two most intriguing screenshots I got from the trailer:
There are people at a fancy-dress party in a ballroom, all wearing white and dancing. I re-watched the trailer and yes, it is the same ballroom that Belle and the Beast dance in. These are the courtiers of the Prince attending a celebration--sometime before the enchantment falls on them.
- How does this magic work?
“Think of the one thing you’ve always wanted. Find it in your mind’s eye. And feel it in your heart.”
What is he explaining to her? What are they talking about? Does this castle already have some kind of magic that the Prince abused, and that resulted in everyone being cursed?
- The Enchanted Castle
The castle looks amazing. It’s an interesting throwback to the castle in the original.
And I LOVE the shots we’re getting of the gardens. This castle isn’t as gothic or foreboding as the castle in the animated version. It’s more elaborate in decoration and design, from what we’re seeing.
A lot more ornamentation. Even for the enchanted objects. If this follows the same trend as Maleficent and Cinderella, then Beauty and the Beast is going to be an eye-candy binge fest!
- Development for Belle and Beast’s love story
The internet jokes that Belle falls in love with the Beast because of Stockholm Syndrome. I can think of at least three better examples of Stockholm Syndrome in Disney than Beauty and the Beast, but that's another post. In the cartoon the love story checks out because the Beast overcomes his stubborn behavior rather than Belle justifying it. The live-action story might take a slightly different route.
There will be at least some relationship tension in the beginning--we are going to get Belle running away and Beast saving her from the wolves. But we don’t really get much of a pretext for Belle having a big attitude like in the original. Maybe she and the Beast have a relationship based on something besides getting over their egoes. I think the library scene was hinting at that. Also, is there a particular occasion for the ballroom scene? Is it just the Beast asking her if she wants to do something different for the night or did they reach a milestone?
- The Battle on the Castle Roof
We get a couple of brief shots of the fight between the Beast and Gaston. What kind of a threat is Luke Evans as Gaston going to pose for the Beast? And why is Belle in her underclothes and what part does she play? There’s a part of the trailer where Maurice tells Belle to not be afraid. There’s something going down.
- Emma Watson as Belle
I don’t watch a lot of movies so I haven’t seen her as anything since Hermione. But I wonder how much of a typecast Emma Watson was for the part of Belle. Will we get to actually see more of Belle’s intellectual side? Will it influence the Beast? Or will there be more to her character that we didn’t see in the animated version?
- EWAN. FREAKING. MCGREGOR.
If this is what Lumiere looks like as a candlestick wait until he’s human!!!!!
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