Beauty and The Beast [Review]

I think when I saw the very first trailer for the new live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast I cried a bit. Anyone who knows me knows that the original Beauty and the Beast cartoon is my favourite film of all time, so hearing that a new version was coming out was huge news to me. Of course, it had to be arranged that I saw it on opening day, so amongst many other excitable fans, we squeezed into screen 6 of the cinema to watch what promised to be a brilliant, brilliant film. 

And of course, there wasn't one bit I didn't love, or at least didn't really really like. Bill Condon kept to the core plot points of the original, only to inject bits and pieces into story that hadn't been addressed before. The additional 45 minutes given to the remake allows for great character development; I particularly enjoyed the deeper exploration of Belle's relationship with her parents, especially her mother, and the more significant role of the enchantress. Alongside this there were also some new songs to add to Alan Menken's repertoire - some may be slightly unnecessary, but wonderful pieces all the same - the best being Evermore, which enables further probing at the Beast's layered character. It's still the musical element which ultimately drives the film and keeps it a 'tale as old a time', if I may be so cheesy. This rendition of Gaston completely rivals the original however, though I can't un-hear Olaf in Josh Gad's powerful vocals. 

Speaking of Josh Gad, his character of LeFou is done superbly. I hugely appreciated the direction they went with his role, clearly in love with Gaston. Though it has been criticised as an overly-stereotypical gay character, his role has always been for comic relief and to be a binary opposite to Gaston himself, and these characteristics only accentuate this further, so I think this can be looked past. His defect from Gaston - something unexplored in the original cartoon - was also hugely pleasing, demonstrating that in the end he is actually quite an individually strong character. The whole cast in general was pretty spot-on; predictably, Emma Watson portrays a more feminist-friendly take on Belle, still in-keeping with both Belle and Emma's own girl-next-door qualities, while Ewan McGregor provides the cheeky edge to Lumiere that juxtaposes the orthodox leader, Cogsworth, that Sir Ian McKellen voices perfectly. Luke Evans' presentation of Gaston was ideal, a devilish quality underpinning his vanity constantly, making his presumed death all the more satisfying, while also supplying some of the most humourous moments of the film. The Beast himself, played by Dan Stevens, was the star of the show in both his intimidating presence and very human side, developing and changing constantly throughout. 

There's so many little intricate details to the film I adored. They kept to the dominant blue/red colour scheme very well, cloaking the rose room in blue (and choosing the actor with the bluest eyes in Hollywood to play the Beast) to connote good, and associating Gaston and LeFou with a dangerous red. I also loved the way you could see Belle riding from the castle in her iconic yellow dress as the Beast sung Evermore, as if his light and hope was escaping him. 

The set design itself was amazing, as was the CGI used to personify the cursed ornaments of the castle. The psychedelic performance of the triumphant Be Our Guest was a highlight of the film, while the ballroom scene was made particularly tear-jerking via the climatic special effects, alongside Emma Thompson's vocals extremely reminiscent of Angela Lansbury's own.

Overall this film was everything I hoped it would be; lighthearted but also emotional, funny but at times quite dark. I can't wait to see it again and again and again.