I loved the animated 1991 version of Beauty and the Beast. I think that I saw it in theaters when there was little money to spare, and I was still young enough to be scolded for liking “worldly” things. I definitely owned the soundtrack in two different formats, cassette and CD. I owned an authorized Disney VHS copy of the film.
Did we need a live action Beauty and the Beast? No. When I asked the same question about The Jungle Book the answer was YES! The animated version never resonated with me, but the live action film gave me chills, opened my eyes to layers of the story that I never saw before and felt unique as if it was the first adaptation when it clearly was not. In contrast, the live action Beauty and the Beast cannot exist without the animated version. There are a handful of details that are fleshed out better, a ton of missed opportunities and a couple of new songs, but other than a couple of stand out performances, nothing that you cannot get from the animated version.
When people tried to get me to see it in theaters, I politely declined for one reason: Emma Watson. I am one of the few people on Earth who has not read any of and only seen one of the films in the Harry Potter series. I got burned with The Dark Tower series. So that means that I have only been exposed to Watson as an actor a handful of times: a forgettable performance in My Week with Marilyn, a hilarious cameo in This Is The End and a so bad its good Noah. What really made an impression on me was her hypocritical critique of Beyonce’s sexiness and feminism and then doing a photo shoot with her titties out. I own a handful of Beyonce songs. I am not a member of the Beyhive. I do not care about what anyone does with their body (except Miley Cyrus because she seems desperate, inauthentic and pathetic), especially Watson, but when questioned about the inconsistency of her admonishment and actions, she confirmed what she said with no apology or explanation in sight. She could have said, “I felt that way then because I was younger, but as I’ve gotten older, I’m seeing things a bit differently. Look, I have boobs now!” So apparently only Watson gets to be a feminist and embrace her sexuality, but everyone else needs to listen to what she has to say. No money for you.
So why did I watch Beauty and the Beast? I adore Dan Stevens, and I was wrong about the live action The Jungle Book. Unfortunately even Stevens with the most intense eye acting skills in the business disappeared under the CGI. There is a first time for everything, and Stevens did nothing for me. Anyone could have played the Beast. Watson did nothing to overcome her forgettable factor for me. I get that people think that she is intelligent because she was Hermione, but was she Belle? Her hair definitely looked like Belle, but I thought not. I decided to ask my mom, “Do you think she is Belle? Literally and as the character?” She disagreed with my assessment that she is plain yogurt. If Casey Affleck could overcome my bias against him with a performance that I had to begrudgingly respect, she could too, and she did not. Where is Paige O’Hara? Hell, I’d take Anne Hathaway. Hathaway may not blow me away, but she always does her job. For a film set in France, I am not aware of a solitary French actor in the entire production.
The live action version really fleshed out the period details by emphasizing the Rococo French style. There are more black people in this production than most films set in present day New York City. The film provided an effective explanation regarding why the town had a power vacuum that Gaston filled by linking it to the curse. My favorite part of Beauty and the Beast is getting a glimpse of what the curse would actually look like if it were not broken so I appreciated when the curse was reversed more. Because the lifting of the curse means that the village is reunited with the castle’s occupants and harmony and community is restored, it makes for a more powerful ending than the animated version.
I do think that live action version wisely was trying to emphasize two cautionary themes that are not explored in the animated version. Beauty and the Beast is primarily a retelling with a happy ending of the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah, which was not homosexuality, but according to Ezekiel 16:49, the inhospitality of the rich to the poor. Instead of God and his angels, it is the Enchantress who punishes the prince. A lot of people wonder why a powerful person could not just make a place to stay in, but the point is not her need because she has none, but the arrogance and unkindness of someone who only has a spiritual deficit. She also punishes his servants because she sees them as responsible for the failures in his character, which they agree with, but damn, even the dog!
The live action version touched on the idea of toxic masculinity. The King molded the prince to be like him, and his real character is the spiritual equivalent of a beast. Gaston’s service in war suggests some unresolved trauma and/or commitment of war crimes that he keeps revisiting as his deceptive actions in dominating the village escalate. There is a sense that he would turn on anyone if given an opportunity. Even his favorite hype man is disturbed. Unfortunately this theme is only a thread in the film albeit an intriguing one. Side note: which war did Gaston fight in? The best part of Beauty and the Beast is Luke Evans and Josh Gad. If you are a fan of either actor, you have to watch this film. Evans is usually the best part of any film that he is in. Unfortunately his films are not that great. Evans was Gaston and paired with Gad, I cannot imagine anyone else in these roles.
A complete missed opportunity was Beauty and the Beast’s failed attempt to give Belle’s mother a backstory. We are told that she was a remarkable woman, but all we see is her death. The film should have made her a physician who became ill during the plague outbreak. The live action version is always playing with dark themes, but ultimately fails to take the plunge. They left her to die alone! Sorry Kevin Kline, I love you, but they did not give you a lot to work with. Kline did a great job, but he did not need this movie. This movie needed him.
Ultimately Beauty and the Beast is at worst an unnecessary imitation of the animated version and pales in comparison. At best, the live action film had many worthy goals that it failed to fully achieve because it felt the need to remain faithful to the animated version to insure success. I don’t think that I wasted my time, but I’m glad that they did not get my money.