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In advance, I would like to say that the animation Beauty and the Beast happens to be among my favorites, right next to The Little Mermaid, and thus, I was eager to see how the live action Disney Beauty and the Beast would unroll. To my dismay, while it was not terrible, I was still left wanting more of it.
Of course, the new live action film by Bill Condon is derived from the Disney animated version from 1991, not from Jean’s version of Le Belle et la Bete from 1964. In Condon’s film, as in the 1991 film, I was where the story of an imprisoned woman in a Beast’s castle for profit is beautifully sculpted through music. This one, like the 1946 movie, takes one bold step away from the animated previously listed. In this version, Belle tells her father to bring her a rose when he returns from the trip. The beast accuses him of thievery and that is how the father get’s captured. That was the only reference to Cocteau’s film that I picked up on.
Beauty and the Beast is an interesting movie. Most of the actors fit their roles well. Emma Watson as Belle engages Kevin Kline as a brilliant Maurice, Belle’s father. There is excellent rapport between them. Flat characters of the animation are more rounded in this one, for example much has been made of the implication that LeFou, Gaston’s sidekick, is gay. More than that, though, LeFou is given more dimension in the form of an inner moral conflict. Maurice has a past, a dead wife, and some of the enchanted castle staff are married. Overall, the film does a good job at rounding out the story and characters.
More effort was made with Belle’s character. There was some effort to defend Le Belle against the Syndrome of Stockholm that afflicted the 91 version of the film. Belle actively tries to escape, she’s a little more feisty and less helpless. A contest like this also offers more time to organically build the relationship between Belle and Beast.
Now, let’s explore the negative side. One major grievance I have about this film is that it is downright obvious that Emma Watson’s voice has been autotuned. Thankfully, this does not seem to be a problem with any of the other characters, but her lack of vocal talent is even more obvious due to this. I am slightly baffled by why this was, in fact, a problem at all. Some of the greatest old musicals had stars’ singing voices completely replaced by professional singers. Maybe that is viewed as too rude or snobbish these days, but I would much rather prefer it to what we are treated to in Beauty and the Beast.
And, sadly, Emma Watson’s autotuned voice is not the only area where this movie suffers. Her acting ability is mediocre at best and she is not the only one in this situation. Although the Beast looks and sounds decent, he is quite remarkably expressionless. In fact, many of the characters, both animated and live action, including the talented actors in this film and The CGI masters we all know Disney possesses, display a significant lack of enthusiasm and expression. So, yes, the movie is beautiful to look at [even if some scenes are way too zoomed in or pan too quickly to witness much], but it feels rather uninspired.
In the end, it is something I have become rather curmudgeonly about: the movie is longer than necessary. The live action film has an additional 45 minutes to the animated feature, and the new additions are not only lacking value, but dull. To add depth, I think, was the intention, but it does not work. There is also the trip Belle takes back to Paris with Beast to delve into her history, anything that has to do with the enchantress character, who has been tapped for a lot more than what is reasonable, and Gaston being more audibly sinister and violent in his actions. And unfortunately for all of us, Menken seems to have lost his touch because the new songs are just as lacking substance compared to the old ones, and as such, all four of the new songs are like the rest of the added material.
In some ways, Beauty and the Beast is not a bad film all to begin with, but I expected a little more from it. I think there was a chance to do something exciting given how much moviemaking has progress, but that is not what happened. It is a film that is quite similar to the cartoon version but with a touch of charm and more bloat. I still recommend seeing it though, especially if you enjoyed the cartoon version. But maybe try to keep you expectations a little lower than what I had.
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