BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
Rudimentary, dear Watson
Disney’s 1991 animated classic gets a big-budget live-action makeover.
released OUT NOW! pG | 129 minutes Director Bill Condon Cast emma Watson, dan stevens, luke evans, ewan McGregor
Disney’s ongoing mission to recreate their animated classics in live action continues with this update of the 1991 Oscar winner. You can argue that it’s a bad decision to meddle with greatness, but you also can’t deny that this is going to fill the studio’s coffers. Plus a good story is a good story whether the characters are doodled by animators or portrayed by living, breathing actors – and, of course, this is a good story. So this new version of Beauty And The Beast is great fun and well worth your time, even if you consider the original cartoon sacrosanct.
It does have a down side, and that is a wooden performance from Emma Watson as Beauty – a real pity, especially when she sings (and we use the term loosely). Thankfully, the Beast opposite her bursts with life, as Legion’s Dan Stevens growls and grumbles with more passion than you see from Watson in the entire film. Luke Evans, meanwhile, walks away with the Most Valuable Player award by bringing the boorish, muscly Gaston to life with such ease.
As for the magical creatures populating Beast’s enchanted castle? They’re just as much of a delight as they were first time around, only now their relationships are more developed, so they seem more like people than things. Song-wise, “Be Our Guest” in particular is an actual improvement on the toon, and there are also extra numbers added to the script from the stage version of the musical.
All in all, this is a clever ploy from Disney to reinvigorate an old property: it’s just a shame they went with Big Name Star over talent for their non-hairy lead. It’s a tale as old as time... Jayne Nelson
Gaston’s sidekick LeFou is the first openly gay character in a Disney film; only over16s can see it in Russia.