Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” has made a reappearance in theaters this spring in a live remake of the tale as old as time. Many people are familiar with this love story from the original animated movie, which debuted Nov. 22, 1991. The majority of Colorado Mesa University students grew up during the prime era of this beloved animated film. Belle’s yellow ball gown was the go-to dress up attire for many of us. This recent adaptation of the princess fairy tale took a more modern turn on the classic screenplay, making a few additions, while still following the majority of the original script.
CMU freshman Genevieve Leary saw the movie and said she had already recommended it to all her friends and family because she loved it so much.
“I was surprised with how closely it followed the original,” Leary said. “I feel that it also had its own modern twists, though, which was pretty cool.”
I personally loved this movie. I walked into the theaters with high expectations. I grew up loving the story as a little girl and fell even more in love with the tale after playing different roles in “Beauty and the Beast: the Musical” in high school. I thoroughly enjoyed the remake and especially the casting of this film. Although not the strongest singer (sounding very auto-tuned at times), Emma Watson played a fantastic Belle. She played a very genuine version of the character, making her a natural beauty.
“I think they made a great choice casting Emma Watson as Belle,” Leary said.
Freshman Brooklyn Buhre also enjoyed the new film.
“I thought the movie was absolutely amazing […] It was unique because they followed the storyline while answering some of the unanswered questions from the original, which was really cool,” Buhre said.
Buhre used to see Belle as a very confident, independent woman, but felt as though Watson brought something new to the character of Belle, making her more quiet and simple.
At first, I was surprised by the new songs incorporated into the film like “Evermore” (the Beast’s solo) and “How Does a Moment Last Forever” (during the additional scene of Belle traveling back to her childhood in Paris). I really enjoyed that extra scene, as it informed us more of Belle’s background and dug deeper into the storyline of her parents and what happened to her mother.
I think the director Bill Condon did a fantastic job creating all the animated characters. I especially loved how realistic Lumière (the candlestick), Cogsworth (the clock) and the Beast appeared.
“The special effects, like the gold falling on Belle’s dress, tied in the old animation back into the live version,” Buhre said. “Little details like that I think Disney did an amazing job at.”
The costumes were incredible as well, with such intricate details in every ball gown seen in the additional masquerade scene.
There wasn’t much I would change about this movie. On a five-point scale I would rate it a 4.7. One change I would make though would be casting LeFou differently. It’s not that Josh Gad did a poor job portraying the character, I just couldn’t help but envision Olaf the entire time. He has such a distinct voice that it became a bit of a distraction. Overall though, Disney did an incredible job in creating a film that still managed to capture the spirit of the film we grew up loving.
