The beauty in ‘Beauty and the Beast’

Disney’s live action remake of “Beauty and the Beast” takes a childhood classic to new heights with the retelling of a timeless princess tale. The colorful musical is full of nostalgia, yet keeps seasoned Disney fans engaged with the addition of new details, mesmerizing design and augmented character development.

Emma Watson shines as Belle, the same beautiful bookworm we’ve grown to love with an amplified feminist personality. In the remake, Belle invents useful contraptions, such as a primitive washing machine, and attempts to teach girls in her town to read, making her a more multi-faceted character.

The Beast, played by Dan Stevens, is much more likeable than his animated counterpart, especially with the film’s incorporation of his backstory. He also a source of subtle humor through sarcastic tongue-in-cheek remarks, one of the many factors that make him a more adequate match for Belle’s wit. The Beast is given a very human-like face, which takes away from the gruesomeness of his character, particularly when shots are zoomed in on his face.

I found myself singing along to renditions of Disney musical originals, such as “Beauty and the Beast” and “Gaston,” which maintained the same lyrics as the 1991 animated movie. My favorite number was “Be Our Guest”; it gave the renowned dining scene a more personal feel without taking away from the grandeur of the moment. The movie also included a few new songs, including Josh Groban’s “Evermore,” which shows more of the Beast’s narrative than we are privy to in the animated version of the film.

The film gave a visibly greater nod to the story’s French origin. Costumes were much more reminiscent of 18th century France, complete with elaborate white wigs and enormous skirts. Fleurs-de-lis were commonly found in interior design and references were made to popular monuments, such as the Notre-Dame Cathedral.  

It’s worth noting that many people took offense to the uber-hyped “gay scene” in the film, and subsequently dubbed LeFou the first gay Disney character. This scene, however, was merely a fleeting moment in which the audience sees LeFou dancing with another male character — hardly a representation of the LGBT community.

My greatest criticism of the film is the dialogue, it became a bit exasperating at times to find the same lines, oftentimes verbatim, from the original film. Though it is inevitable to expect some overlap between the scripts of the two movies, the predictability of the screenplay was disappointing.

While still maintaining its original appeal to children, the remake contains more depth and subtle additions that give new meaning to an old Disney classic, proving that “Beauty and the Beast” is truly a tale as old as time.