The Flailing Arms of Beauty and the Beast Live Drama
When Disney announced last spring it was going to do a live drama of its epic animation, ‘Beauty and the Beast’, it was received with great gusto. Not a few had great expectations of the animation which was a favourite back in the day. So, Disney went to work, gathered a cast that includes Emma Watson and Luke Evans.
All seemed to be going on well with the new adaptation until the trailers showed some changes that didn’t augur well with fans. One of them was the Mrs Potts character. She was the enchanted housekeeper that was turned to a kettle pot. Fans were not happy that her spout nose was missing. Replacing it was a foot stomp. In his defense, the director Bill Condon said he did his best to retain the features of the original character but to no avail.
However, the recent discourse on the film is the addition of a gay character. Usually, remakes don’t follow the traditional storyline. They tend to give the story a contemporary cinematic theme that can relate to the present generation while giving fans of the original story a sweet trip to memory lane. The danger of such remakes therefore lie in the way those precious memories are relived.
The original plot of the animation follows the tale of a young bookish girl, Belle who was sent off to a castle engulfed in spells. An arrogant Prince was cursed and transformed to a beast, while his servants turned to household items. The only way to reverse the curse is for the Prince to find true love.
In the new adaptation, the introduction of a gay character seemed to upset more than a few people. It is a known fact that diversity has been a core mission of the Walt Disney company. At a time when the call for diversity is echoed in every nook and cranny of Hollywood, Disney’s timing to introduce a gay character may somehow be perfect. Yet, the world is not giving it a thunderous applause.
The character in question is LeFou, the manservant to Gaston, the brutish hunter who wants the Belle to be his wife. Both characters have an exclusive gay moment which displayed LeFou’s effeminate mannerisms. While views are divided, a Christian owned- cinema in Alabama cancelled its screenings of the 3D Musical while Russia will only allow 16+ to watch the movie. With all these uproar, will Disney win or lose in this gamble?