Morman reviews ‘Beauty and the Beast’

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1972
"Beauty and the Beast"; Courtesy of Disney

In the latest series of Disney’s recreations of their beloved animated features into live action films, the newest installment is “Beauty and the Beast.” Seeking to recapture the magic, thrill and wonder of its source material, Disney has made a film that for the most part leans more toward beauty than beast.

“Beauty and the Beast,” for the unaware, is a film adapted from the 1991 animated film of the same name, which was itself an adapted version of the story written by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve. It follows the story of Belle (Emma Watson), a French woman who finds life in a small village in France without thrill and purpose.

Through a series of events, her father is captured by the Beast (Dan Stevens), a cursed prince living in his castle with his servants, who have also been cursed by an enchantress. Belle trades places with her father, assuming his role as the beast’s captive, and what follows is the perennial tale of finding love in spite of physical appearance.

This movie is only capable is succeeding if the musical numbers translate well, and boy did it manage to find its stride in that regard. All of the musical pieces in the film feel true to the animated film, and the performances in this film tend to outpace the original in some respects.

Emma Watson does a fantastic job lending her voice as Belle. I’m not what you’d call musically inclined, and musicals tend to bore me, but I was pleasantly surprised by Watson’s singing voice. It was cheerful when it needed to be and when singing about the dark themes of the film, she was able to convey the appropriate emotions through her voice.

Belle (Emma Watson); Courtesy of Disney

Even Dan Stevens’ voice modulation wasn’t obstructive in the musical pieces. I was afraid that with the Beast’s necessarily deeper voice, and Stevens’ voice being mixed to attain that deepness, it would negatively affect the way his voice sounded while carrying a tune. My worries were evaporated once I heard his first musical number.

The acting was also pretty good throughout. I don’t have many criticisms in regards to the acting and dance scenes. They were pretty fantastic through the whole film. The best performance, in my opinion, goes to Josh Gad for his portrayal of LeFou. His comedic timing was absolutely perfect, and I chuckled pretty much every time Gad delivered a line. Gad could make the audience laugh, and he could belt it with his voice as well.

Another great performance came by the way of Luke Evans, who played Gaston. I had reservations about Evans’ casting for the role as I’ve never really liked any performance in any previous film he’s been in but again, as with most things in this film, I had my reservations wiped away. He captured the boisterous, annoying, horn-doggish nature of Gaston perfectly. Every time he gave a line, I rolled my eyes, which is the intended effect of Gaston’s character.

Gaston (Luke Evans) and LeFou (Josh Gad); Courtesy of Disney

Hands down the best feature of this film is the overall production design. I expect this film to be nominated for Academy Awards for Best Production Design, Hair and Makeup and Costume Design. The visual aesthetic created by the production crew was nothing short of breathtaking. The inside of the Beast’s castle was astonishing. It felt regal and mystical all in one. I loved the detail which the design crew attended in order to make the sets feel like a cross between a real place and a creation of Disney’s animated wonder.

The score was almost as brilliant as the production design. The only reason it isn’t is because I’ve heard the songs before in the animated film. The score was amazingly faithful to the original, and even the minor changes to it only added to the immersion of the film. The main theme of “Beauty and the Beast” conveyed the horror and beauty of the narrative. It was very well done.

The story also had to make some changes to extend the length of the film in comparison to its animated counterpart. Most of these changes would be more appropriately labeled as additions, because the film is almost a scene for scene remake of the 1991 version. Most of the additions and changes were at best welcome and at worst innocuous. The writers even used some of the changes to fix some of the holes and gaps of the original.

The Beast (Dan Stevens); Courtesy of Disney

Now, I did have some issues with the film. To begin with, the first scene details how it is that the Beast became cursed. While that is how it happened in the animated film, the issue I had was with the change they made regarding the scene. Essentially, in this film the enchantress, disguised as a beggar, busts into the Beast’s castle and then asks if she can stay. When he declines, she curses him. I’m pretty certain most people would deny quarter to anyone who asked to stay after just committing breaking and entering. This change only had me feeling that the enchantress is the real villain of the story.

Aside from that plot point, the only other real issue I had was with the visual effects. While the production design was masterful, the computer generated visuals were anything but. At times the VFX were great but for most of the scenes involving them, they were really inconsistent in quality. Any scene involving the living wardrobe made me cringe, and the Beast was probably the worst because he looked like a cut scene render-model from a last generation video game for most of the film.

Again, at times the effects were pretty good, but the inconsistency of the effects was enough to pull me out of the film a few times. If it was consistently bad, I could have at least accepted the effects for what they were, but when a model goes from good in one shot to literally bad in the next, it’s hard to stay focused for the entire film.

Disney did a respectable job in recreating one of their most beloved animated films as a live action. The music is stellar, the acting without a hiccup throughout and the production design worthy of awards. With only a few narrative issues and inconsistent VFX, “Beauty and the Beast” provides a very rewarding watch, and I believe an enjoyable experience with the family.

I give “Beauty and the Beast” 8 / 10

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