Friday saw the release of the live action remake of "Beauty and the Beast." This is the day that Disney fans around the world have been waiting for. Some Harry Potter and Hobbit fans may have been as well since Emma Watson and Luke Evans portray Belle and Gaston.
The weeks leading up to this release have been filled with controversy over the announcement that Lefou, Gaston's quirky sidekick, is gay. I for one was not terribly surprised. After all, in the original animated movie Lefou sings an entire song about how amazing Gaston is. However, it did cause a lot of people to boycott the film and some theaters to refuse to screen it.
After seeing the movie I want to say, this part of the story doesn't change it all. It doesn't detract from the magic or change the meaning of the story. It is a remake, so the producers are going to change things or add their own things to the movie. It won't be the exact same movie just with real people instead of cartoons; it will be a little different. I felt that the changes that were made or added to this remake made the movie its own story. So be warned, there are a few spoilers ahead as I discuss this movie.
Lefou
A little bit more on this topic. Lefou recognizes he is different and that the town probably will never accept him. But at the end he realizes the people in the castle are not that bad and sees that they accept each other because of their differences. Lefou helps them fight the mob then decides to stay at the castle. He even finds love in the townsperson who felt fabulous after being dressed up by the wardrobe. Adorable!
The new songs
My favorite addition to the movie was the Beast's song "Evermore." The Beast does not sing much in the original movie, so despite getting to see the relationship between Belle and the Beast grow, we never see what he is thinking. He is usually with another character and discussing what to do about Belle in order to earn her love. This song shows his love for her, how he has grown in the short time they have been together, and his heartbreak over letting her go. Also the cinematography in the scene is incredible.
Maurice as an artist
I thought this helped with their move to make Belle a more independent and modern princess. Her father becomes an artist and while he still has a creative and inventive aspect to his art, he seems more distant from the town. After moving there with Belle, he stays in to work on his art and keep the memory of his wife and the life they had before alive. Belle assists him with her more logical mind when he loses track of things. Making her the inventor also sets her more apart from the town, like when she creates a way to wash her clothes without actually needing to use her hands.
Backstories of Belle and the Beast
This explained some of the questions people had about the beast from the animated film. Why was he such a spoiled brat? Where were his parents when this odd lady came to his door? Why weren't his parents worried about him when he disappeared? What happened to Belle's mother? Why did they move to this town in the middle of nowhere? What time period are they in? With this movie we finally know. Beast was older and his parents were gone, that's why he was alone when the Enchantress came. His father was a jerk. Belle's mother died of the plague. These aspects also made the film darker, which can be scary for some kids, but I liked adding a darker element to it. Despite it being a love about discovering yourself and finding love in being different, the time at which they lived was still difficult.
The Enchantress and the curse
Let's take a look at the curse in the animated movie: plot holes galore. How did the towns people forget about the castle? Did they ever wonder what happened to their prince? Why did the Enchantress curse a 10 YEAR OLD? Now we finally have answers. All of our confused young minds can finally stop analyzing every second of the animated opening if we add in this extended version. Also the fact that the Enchantress stays in the village to observe the effect of her curse was both evil but also quite genius. She would want to see how the village deals with forgetting their family and their prince. She also probably wanted to see what was so special about Belle and Maurice who moved to this village and see how they reacted to a cursed town.
