Easy Drawings Tumblr Beauty and the Beast Cast 2017

Rhetorical Ink Reviews: Beauty and the Beast (2017 Live Action)

**Careful for SPOILERS below**

I will be the first to admit that I'm a HUGE Beauty and the Beast fan. I had the book as a kid, wanted to be Belle, and have had a large fascination with the story and believe it spurned me into wanting to draw more.

So, the Live Action adaptation had HUGE shoes to fill for me before even going in. I tried to look at the film as a standalone and not judge it based on the predecessor…a VERY hard task when watching, I might add.

My best friend saw it with me and she loved it! What did I think? Well, putting ten thoughts alone would not do my favorite childhood movie justice. So instead, I am doing a Top Ten Likes and Top Ten Dislikes. Careful for spoilers!

My Top Ten Likes of Beauty and the Beast (2017):

Originally posted by dailyplanetnerd

10. The set and costumes: Everything has layers and detail and colors that pop but also makes sense for the time period. I LOVED the costumes and even the yellow gown, considering the wardrobe "makes it" in this, grew on me quickly. As for the sets? They are beautifully ornate and have a classic "other worldly" look to them. I could watch the movie over and over to gawk at the scenery and character designs.

9. The Opening Scene: Nothing will ever live up to the deep voice of the narrator and the stained glass…but there was something so fresh about how we started on the Prince, how the dance unfolded, and how the Enchantress appeared. She looked gorgeous and the classic French scene was a welcome addition (more so than others…but we'll talk of that soon). In any case, it is a worthy contrast from the beginning, when he's surrounded by beautiful girls, to late when there's only Belle.

8. Kevin Kline as Maurice: Kevin Kline is a fine actor, and he brings such a charm and dignity to the formerly bumbling character. I still like Maurice in the animated movie, but it makes more sense for Belle's father to be an artist and hopeless romantic than a "world famous inventor." Kline's performance was a highlight for me and definitely added to the movie as a whole.

Originally posted by luuuuuke-evans

7. "Kill the Beast!" I'll talk more about some other songs below, but this was by far my favorite number; this is EXACTLY what I was hoping for with this song in live action form. It does not disappoint. Speaking of "Kill the Beast…"

Originally posted by lukecastellan

6. We see Gaston and Lefou learning where the castle is: A big question I had as a kid was, "How did they know where to go to find the Beast?" In this, we get our answer. Lefou and Gaston actually follow Maurice to the woods, where he believes he can route them to the Beast's castle. This backfires on him, but in any case we learn how Gaston and Lefou knew where to go in the first place.

Originally posted by wizardfrenchfries

5. Belle is more an inventor….and a teacher: It makes sense for Belle to be as learned as she is to be more of the inventor. I loved the little scene where she does her own laundry with the contraption she made and is trying to teach a little girl to read. After having to sit through a preview for a CGI movie where the boy character is an inventor and the girl, lo and behold, wants to just be a dancer…it's nice to see "ahead of their time" people represented in a modern movie's version of a classic time period.

Originally posted by bigbadroman

4. Lefou paying off the people to dance and help during "Gaston:"

It was a little tidbit to note for the film, but Lefou pays off the people to help dance in the "Gaston" music number; and Belle does pay for the food in the market she gets. It's little touches like that which help to cement this story in a more "realistic" world.

Originally posted by chandelyer

3. The ensemble of side characters:

This entire cast was well-chosen. Josh Gad as Lefou? Perfection; he was born for the role! Emma Thompson as Mrs. Potts?  She's about as close to Angela Lansbury as you can get for this role, I feel. Ewan McGregor as Lumiere? I was on the fence about this casting, but it works so well. Luke Evans as Gaston? He fits the part great. Sir Ian McKellan as Cogsworth? Again, I had no clue what to think, but he may have been my favorite in the whole side cast. Even Stanley Tucci and the Wardrobe's actress were great choices. They really did a perfect job casting the side characters…but as for the main characters…

Originally posted by parkxiaowu

2. Dan Stevens as The Beast/The Prince:

This WAS perfect casting! I know they've altered the voice and distorted it to sound similar to the animated Beast. But seriously, the motion capture work on his face and his range of emotion are perfect here. It's hard to believe, but I care more for his character as the Beast than the animated (for reasons below); plus, the main thing: He looks SO much better as the human Prince. From the opening to the end scene, he may be my favorite character, actor, and part of the film. Definitely a genius casting choice and excellent performance!

Originally posted by noplaceforsanity

1. All of the added scenes of Belle and The Beast learning about one another:

If I had one, minuscule complaint with the original Beauty and the Beast, it is that we don't get many scenes of Belle and the Beast "falling in love" and getting to know one another. He saves her, gives her a library, and then they just sort of fall in love post-dance…obviously, it's not a huge issue, since you're pacing this out in movie format.

However, I feel this movie allowed more time for these two to connect. Also, they found common ground; first, with their love of literature, but second, with losing their mothers and how their father's shaped who they were: The Prince's with hate, and Belle's with love. It was a beautiful duality and connection created between them and it helped to make the ending better and more satisfying.

Originally posted by partofyourtaleasoldastime

Of course, especially considering the movie is based on a staple of my childhood, it CERTAINLY has flaws, as noted below.

My Top 10 Dislikes of Beauty and the Beast (2017):

10. The obvious Enchantress:

I do like the twist of The Enchantress being Agathe, a character we see throughout the story…perhaps she's keeping the magic strong? However, there are a lot of problematic elements of her being in the movie so much. For one thing, she saves Maurice, which is good, but then when Maurice confronts Gaston, she doesn't do anything. She could have stopped all of our conflict! Also, at the end, while she shows up and it does make sense in a technical sense…she just vanishes. Belle doesn't even see her…what was the point? In the animated movie, the spell was broken without her having to be there. Having her there didn't answer questions; it created more! It just seemed awkward at times.

Originally posted by luuuuuke-evans

9. Gaston's "post-war" blood rage?

While I appreciate them trying to flesh out Gaston's character…this was their choice? He's got post-war bursts of rage? I love how the animated movie treated Gaston just as the jerk-bro who becomes jealous and can't stand that Belle chooses someone over him. Here, his villainous outbursts are "justified" by his post-war blood lust. It just seemed almost like a distraction and didn't seem warranted for me. Gaston is a near-perfect villain. Let Luke Evans do a good job of playing him without trying to make him too complex. Gaston's not smart enough for that.

Originally posted by luuuuuke-evans

8. The unnecessary additional songs:

Maybe I'm in a minority here, but I wasn't crazy about the new songs. The Soundtrack of Beauty and the Beast is nearly flawless. Even the special edition with "Human Again" is okay. The Broadway songs they add…are okay. "Evermore" is not a terrible song (we'll talk more about it below), but the song about "Sunny skies" and "Evermore" are not necessary to make the story better. If you wanted to include them in a "Director's Cut," that would have sufficed for me…I just didn't see the need for them here…again, I'll touch back on this point twice below.

Originally posted by jacobkowalskis

7. Don't bring an arrow to a gun fight:

In the original, Gaston was a hunter, so it made sense he had multiple weapons at his disposal. It also made sense for the time period. And he hunted a lot of deer-like animals, so it seemed fitting that he would shoot an arrow at the Beast and then stab him with a knife….hunting tools for the type of game he hunted.

In this? We just full blown (literally) gun the Beast down. Gaston shoots the Beast three times in the climax. At the very least, he still uses a club like the original. It just seemed like overkill and to me, didn't make as much sense as keeping like the original would have.

Originally posted by luuuuuke-evans

6. The rushed beginning and scenes out of place:

The opening, I loved; however, once that scene was over, the first thirty minutes seemed SO rushed! They rushed through "Belle," then moved some scenes around, and quickly went through the reprise! There wasn't the "wedding proposal" scene with Gaston and Belle! I did LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the reaction of Maurice and Chip, but there were little scenes that were skimmed over and rearranged that just seemed to rush the opening and didn't let us the audience "settle down" into the film. It's not until we're at the scene of Belle running away from the castle that the movie starts to slow down. The editing of the movie in those places was a little disappointing to me.

Originally posted by alittlebiteverything

5. Lefou and the lack of controversy:

Okay, so the last week has been filled with news stories about how Lefou is the first openly gay character in a Disney film. It was a huge source of controversy…but….in all seriousness……you wouldn't really know that watching this film. It's clear he cares for Gaston, but the animated picture portrayed that as well. He shares two seconds with a male character at the very end of the movie in a brief dance…but that's it. All that press and controversy for a tiny scene that seems inconsequential. Eh. Come on, Disney. Commit or not; don't try to play up something that's halfway even developed.

4. The Enchantress's book:

I loved the extra scenes with Belle and Beast developing their relationship over the course of a few scenes. However, one comes out of nowhere and does nothing to the plot as a whole. At one point, the Beast shows her a book the Enchantress gave him as a "joke." It is able to take them anywhere you think of; and Belle chooses the room she was born in, where her mother dies of the plague. While I DO love a few things about this: the fact that it connects Belle and the Beast more, and it explains what happened to her…it's never used again. The book is just a one-time only plot device. The scene it was used in was SO out of place! I would have rather Belle had known why her mother died and just talked it out with the Beast than having used this forced book that logically doesn't fit in with the story.

3. The Beast's Song, "Evermore:"

I don't dislike "Evermore," I don't…but…in the animated movie, when Belle leaves Beast, he is so heartbroken. He lets out a howl of despair, knowing his only chance of happiness has left him, potentially forever. Here, he immediately bursts into a Phantom of the Opera style musical number. Maybe upon reviewing, I'll appreciate it. But I loved how the original was so organic and raw…this seemed almost too Broadway and too theatrical.

Originally posted by joleenalice

2. Emma Watson's facial expressions vs. animated Belle:

I love the original because of the animation, mainly. The expressions and line work showed SO much emotion. Now, I like Emma Watson a lot as an actress. BUT, aside from the wolf scene on….her facial expressions are so subdued. This is most apparent in "Be Our Guest." Belle in that musical number is in AWE! She is so excited, bewildered, and amazed…but here? She just smiles and watches the show. Granted, Emma Watson would have been watching a Green Screen throughout this; but STILL. She doesn't even seem in shock or awe…and that I sorely missed in this film. Now, after the wolves attack Belle, Watson's acting becomes more pronounced. I just wish she could have acted a little more in-character through some of the CGI numbers.

Originally posted by a-dreamers-universe

1. The cut out comedy:

When I asked my brother if he was thinking of seeing the movie, he asked about the fight scene at the end:

Brother: "Do they have the part where Lumiere burns Lefou's butt? Or Cogsworth with the scissors?"

Me: "No."

Brother: "What?! How could they?"

There is so much physical comedy in the original that works; here, and yes, I understand that it is "physically" impossible some of the things they do, I still was hoping there would be more of the original comedy. For example, Cogsworth taking Belle on a tour of the castle isn't even in the FILM! "If it's not baroque, don't fix it." SERIOUSLY.

Originally posted by cloudbender

THE VERDICT?

The original is near-perfect for me. Still today, it is the better film. If you love the original and are expecting a closely faithful adaptation; they try, but it's a miss there, because some of the best parts are either condensed or left out.

If you love Beauty and the Beast, but you're comfortable with them altering parts and want to see new additions to the story? You'll probably like this!

The original is still better though. If you don't want to spend the $10 at the theatre, just wait until the DVD or Blu-Ray comes out and watch the original in the meantime.

If you've never seen the original Beauty and the Beast? PLEASE watch that one first; it's better. If you've already seen the live action one? STILL go view the animated version; you'll appreciate it more.

Originally posted by partofyourtaleasoldastime

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Source: https://rhetorical-ink.tumblr.com/post/158575774597/rhetorical-ink-reviews-beauty-and-the-beast-2017

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