The latest live action Disney Classic is taking the big screen and is set to be the biggest opening of 2017 thus far.
Emma Watson plays the iconic Belle and captures the same charm as she did after years of playing Hermione in the Harry Potter Franchise and even goes as far as to throw in a line from the first film in the opening village scene. Overall, the set and costume design of the movie fully captures the time period of the original and one feels a part of the movie from the first moment on.
The beast, played by Dan Stevens, fully embraces every ounce of the original character from the savage, self-absorbed man that transforms into a caring, somewhat sensitive person that Belle can not resist.
Bill Cordon, who directed this live adaptation wanted to create unique moments, including new never been heard songs written by original composer Alan Menken and new lyrics by Tim Rice which also added to the addition of a new character, Cadenza (voiced by Stanley Tucci). Overall, the music, seamlessly meshed together to create a “Tale as old as Time” for a new generation.
Other actors include, Luke Evans as the dastardly sleek Gaston, his sidekick Lefou played by Josh Gad in Disney’s first ever “Gay” character which brought controversy on all sides. Kevin Kline played Belle’s father Maurice and Ewan McGregor voiced Cogworth while Ian McKeller voiced Lumiere and Mrs Potts was voiced by Emma Thompson.
Overall, the new live adaptation of the ’91 classic, fares well to its predecessor, but keeping the same story while giving it a somewhat modern twist for a new audience, while adding more of a back story to our beloved Belle and her beast. Audiences for the first time got the answers to two of the most puzzling questions, “what happened to Belle’s mother?” and “what happened to the beast to make him so cold?”.
For the answers, make sure to see the movie while it is in theaters. Beauty and the Beast opened in theaters March 16 to packed and sold out audiences and is expected to take number one at the box office this weekend after averaging over 63 million as of its Friday total.