“Come into the light!”
– Belle
Be My Guest
I want to try something new. Rather than write verbose prose in an attempt to articulate my thoughts on a movie, I’m going to provide most of my thoughts in tweetable nuggets along with a quick summary.
As always, let me know if you agree with my thoughts in the comments. I’d love to hear what you thought of the film.
Bulletpoints
- Emma Watson & Dan Stevens are – appropriately – the heart of the film with great chemistry, especially in the 3rd act.
- The film respects and pays homage to the original animated classic in almost all the best ways.
- Everyone has made a much bigger deal out of Le Fou being gay than is ever portrayed in the film… It’s certainly implied, though never stated, and always played for laughs.
- Alan Menken has crafted one of his best works in Evermore.
- Ranking Disney’s three adaptations, this would be third on my list.
- It’s not bad, but it’s not great. It takes a nearly flawless film and tries to add unnecessarily to it.
- This version is perhaps the funniest.
- The CGI is out of control. If The Jungle Book is The Lord of the Rings, this is The Hobbit.
- Likewise, the sets all seemed claustrophobic and small.
- Thus making Be Our Guest really hard to watch.
- I really wish there were more choreographed dance numbers.
- Some of the animation for Beast is really subpar and disappointing, with some shots looking as unfinished.
Bonus Thought
- I did not see the added plot similarity with Batman v Superman coming. It worked much better here.
Summary
Let me be clear: I enjoyed the film; however, this wasn’t the remake I really wanted. I wish they had stuck to turning the Broadway musical into a film or been a bit more true to the original animated film. Still, I think this is definitely a film worth going to see, if for nothing else than the heartfelt story.
The Score
4 / 5
What did you think of Beauty and the Beast? Do you agree with my thoughts? Did you have a different experience? Share what’s on your mind in the comments below and let’s discuss.