Tale as Old as Time...My thoughts on Beauty and the Beast (with SPOILERS)

Beauty and the Beast came to theaters when I was 15 and I instantly fell in love with it. I felt a kinship with Belle because of her love for reading. The music was memorable and I listened to the soundtrack countless times. I lost track of how many times I've seen the movie, but definitely three when it first came out. And, of course, a couple times on stage! I also felt it was cheated out of the Best Picture Oscar in 1992 and didn't see what was so great about Silence of the Lambs in comparison. So I was definitely looking forward to the live action version, as soon as I heard it was in the works!

I finally got to see that version of Beauty and the Beast today. It was everything I was expecting, and more!

If you haven't seen the movie yet, watch the trailer and then go see it in the theater and come back afterward, so that I don't spoil things for you. (There are some differences from the animated version.) :) If you have seen the movie, scroll down and then let me know what you thought too!



There is so much to say about this version. At first, I wasn't sure if Emma "Hermione Granger" Watson could pull it off. Then I saw the pictures of her, along with the various trailers. After that, I was sold. She did a wonderful job portraying Belle and even brought me to tears several times. She has this natural look where she doesn't have to try so hard to be beautiful. Similar to the animated version.

I liked that there was more to the story than what we get from the animated version. We learn some of the Beast's back story, as well as what happened to Belle's mother. It was also interesting that they showed what happened to the objects when the last petal fell, before the spell was reversed. That was remarkably haunting and sad.

The costumes, make-up, scenery, and computer animation were incredible. That really added so much to the movie. I especially loved seeing all the objects in action. The combination of these items brought the story to life in ways I never thought would be possible in a live action re-telling.

I've always been a fan of the songs that were originally written by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, which were now given some new lyrics and a bit of a different feel. They left out the "Gaston" reprise though. I wish they would have fit in some of the songs from the Broadway version (I kept expecting to hear "Home," which is one of my favorites, because the tune played a few times.) However, the new songs felt less memorable to me. Maybe if I hear the soundtrack a few times, that will change, but I am not sure. I felt the movie could have been fine even if they hadn't been included. (Honestly, that's the only thing that I have a criticism about.)

To address the elephant in the room...I did not feel there was much to worry about in terms of a gay story line. People were making this huge deal out of it, and really LeFou was just being himself. I was expecting him to have some monologue where he talks about his love for Gaston. All he did was subtly (or maybe obviously) flirt with Gaston by touching him. Even in the animated version, LeFou is Gaston's number one fan. He fawns over him just as much as in this version. The only part that even felt remotely gay was when he danced with a guy at the end. And that was fine by me too. I really liked Josh Gad as LeFou. That part was meant for him as soon as I heard he was cast. He played it so perfectly. What I didn't like was Gaston taking advantage of LeFou's unconditional adoration for him to manipulate him whenever it suited his needs (or ego). I was glad when LeFou wised up at the end and said that they were in a bad place. It was nice to see him become a good guy after taking whatever "love kernels" Gaston gave him in the past. (Despite Gaston being a bad guy, Luke Evans was much more attractive than the animated version. Definitely more subtle, even though still egotistical.)

There was just so much to love about this new version. I need to see it again when my daughter isn't talking the entire time. I got distracted quite a bit because of that. However, I shed my share of tears and felt my breath catch quite a few times. I also laughed a lot. I loved the objects attacking the villagers. And Cogsworth's line toward the end is hilarious. I loved the addition of Maestro Cadenza (the harpsichord) as one of the objects (as well as his relationship with Madame Garderobe). I also liked how the timing issue was fixed (by not addressing any age or amount of years). Really, all the casting was perfect for this film. One of my other favorites was Ewan McGregor as Lumiere. He paid homage to the late Jerry Orbach in his portrayal.

Definitely one of the best movies I've seen in 2017 so far!

If you saw it, what did you think? Here's a fun video about Easter Eggs in the film.