Beauty and the Beast is Exactly What Every Little Belle Wanted

The live action version of Beauty and the Beast premiered last weekend across the country. For me, the movie was almost exactly what I wanted it to be. First, you should have a few expectations going into this movie. It is a filmed version of the stage production. It is not just a live action version of the 1991 animated film. There are more songs, and there is more story. It really is a more grown up version of the movie. We worry that that the people in the castle are going to fade into nothing, that Belle and her father have real life problems with real consequences, and it makes us remember that once upon a time, we did not have the entire world in our pockets.

The movie has an all-star cast. Emma Watson plays Belle, accompanied by Luke Evans, Dan Stevens, Ewan McGregor, Emma Thompson and Sir Ian McKellen.

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I loved the very beginning of the film. The sounds just line up exactly with every memory I have of turning on Beauty and the Beast as a child. It takes me back to sitting in my living room watching Belle fall in love over and over again. I think my favorite thing about the beginning of Beauty and the Beast in general is that I believe she is reading Aladdin. I love the way the adorable little library is portrayed in the movie, rather than assuming a town that felt reading was weird was capable of supporting a bookstore.

Gaston is portrayed as a much more realistic villain. He was not an original part of the Beauty and the Beast story, but had been added in Disney’s animated feature. He gives a face to the villany, which was probably important when telling this story to children. Many of the things our characters have to overcome are antagonistic forces, such as time, and regret. Gaston gives us someone to hate. He got a more detailed, developed, three dimensional character along with many of the other cast members. Belle’s character does not change much, but her father, La Fou, and several of the secondary cast members receive this treatment. They also added more secondary cast members who had speaking parts than in the animated film.

In some ways, watching this story made me incredibly sad. When I was young, I wished more than anything to have a library like Belle’s. Beast opens the doors to the library, and the shelves go towering up to the ceiling. Amazing light flows in. You can just breathe in and smell the old books. The old, thick wood shelves hold a cacophony of secret worlds. This depiction made me want to read everything in the world, I wanted to be able to look and understand at writing in every language. It was a rather childish dream, because I never put any effort into trying to learn multiple languages, especially ones with different letters. It makes me realize how much of a different person I am today. In some ways, I have been disillusioned with books. I realize that not all of them are amazing. I find that I reread books I like instead of reading as many different titles as I can. With our advances in technology, creating a library like Belle’s is not practical. We have every book ever written available at a touch of the fingers. I wonder if ten year old me would be happy with the decisions I have made with my reading choices, or if I have lost some sort of innocence that I can never get back. I wonder how many children today and in our future are never going to be excited by reading the titles on stacks of books, or running their fingers over the spines until one calls out to them. They will not have this tactile feeling, and they may not think it is amazingly special for Beast to have given Belle this gorgeous, expensive, astounding gift.

The costuming was amazing. There is even explanation of why there were adornments on Belle’s dress that would not have been possible in her time period. (Yes, the explanation is that it’s magic, but come on… ) They make sure to put Belle in a variety of flowing dresses as well as some more common clothes. There are two different, iconic yellow dresses and she makes an appearance in the red winter ensemble as well.

I was highly disappointed with the battle for the castle. All of the characters in the film appear in the battle, but I feel like the objects defending the castle were too sparse. The scene felt forced and not at all as epic as I would have expected.

This movie had so many great things that you will have trouble picking your favorite. The two that topped our list are the really cool architecture and the dinner scene for Be Our Guest. The pillars of the castle have these huge vines carved onto them. Gargoyles guard the roofs. The castle looks amazing in a completely different way after the spell is lifted, but there isn’t nearly enough time to see all the details. I like the assumption that Beast’s castle would have an oubliette rather than a cell in the basement. It seems much more authentic. Be Our Guest came off as simply magical. It was humorous, and gave you a ton of places for your eyes to linger during the song. It was simply an experience and you have to go see it yourself.