Picture Review 007 Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast

(Disney)

Be our guest next March 17, 2017

Belle (Emma Watson) with her father, Maurice (Kevin Kline), her smiling knowingly while holding her hand up to him as he appeared to be giving away something with rather begrudging and shocked look on his face.

He might be too busy with his inventions (as an inventor) with her understanding daughter trying to get him to at least stop and rest a bit. With her backstory more defined (see the quote below) to strengthen her plot point of not fitting in, it is more likely that how this family comes across the mansion would be different compared to the animated classic.

+ Highlights +

less silly and more realistic depiction of the father as an inventor,

the close relationship being shown between them,

the beautiful patchworks on Belle's dress and the impeccable set design,

the father's imagination to create knickknacks of animals and objects he hasn't seen himself or based off books.

? Main Contention ?

the room looks to be in the mansion itself based on the size of the room, the table and the ornament or maybe it is in their own house considering the state of the crumbling wall,

his inventions scattered all over the desk based on moving mechanisms might come to life by magic instead of his own doings.

- Lowlights -

replacing the childish charm of the original with more realistic tone could alienate the fans.

In the animated movie, it’s her father who is the inventor, and we actually co-opted that for Belle. I was like, ‘Well, there was never very much information or detail at the beginning of the story as to why Belle didn’t fit in, other than she liked books. Also what is she doing with her time?’ So, we created a backstory for her, which was that she had invented a kind of washing machine, so that, instead of doing laundry, she could sit and use that time to read instead. So, yeah, we made Belle an inventor. ~ Emma Watson 

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Gaston (Luke Evans) was posing in the same pose as in the mural that was actually based on him, if the writing emblazoned on the wall to be believed, to the admiration of others in the tavern. The actor, based on the picture itself, looks the part as he personifies the arrogant personality of the antagonist despite the absence of his trademark bulging muscles. If this adaptation followed the original to the tee, this could be the highlight of a musical number being sung by everyone but whether or not it fits in the context of a live-action movie is still up in the air.

+ Highlights +

the animated alpha male caricature of Gaston is being understandably replaced with more realistic depiction of the ultimate prince charming but with all the arrogance,

immaculately designed tavern and some knowing nods to the animated counterpart with the bright red color and the exposed hairy chest,

less bumbling of an idiot for his sidekick in Lefou,

the sneak peek of the beautiful location they shot in.

? Main Contention ?

how the musical numbers in the animation would translate to live-action,

Disney moving away from their now usual if a bit tired tropes in their characters.

- Lowlights -

the change of profession from a hunter to a soldier for Gaston could affect how his character is being perceived and how he react in the movie as the hunter versus the original beast metaphor would not hold up.

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A sneak peek behind the lens as the director, Bill Condon, trying to direct the lead actress on what to portray as the character, with her character's fascination with books was because of her initial intent to fill the time when she didn't have a purpose in life but it would be useful in her current predicament as her hobby would be vital in finding the cure for the Beast. Now recognized as the signature Doctor Strange looking off the window of Sanctum Sanctorum, she is seen here looking down and away from the huge window as the cloth in her hands indicated that she was wiping it up as the mansion was possibly neglected after the occupants' inevitable transformations.

+ Highlights +

the splitting image between the animated lead and her counterpart,

how ornate the bookcase is and the striking composition of the beautiful window and its grand ornaments with Belle basking in the light.

? Main Contention ?

her cleaning could upset some die hard fans because it is mostly synonymous with Cinderella but that's too shallow of an opinion.

- Lowlights -

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Now we turned our attention to the problematic conundrums of adapting one of Disney's best animated movie: turning the cartoonish designs of the inanimate objects being brought to life and given human features into believable realistic designs in the live-action adaptation.

Judging by the latest lineup of ensemble, they did it just fine with Cogsworth and  Lumière retain their characteristics that can be seen from the teased picture (the first image above ^) although the latter's unrecognizable look that was the closest to its animated counterpart has been traded in with more humanistic features for the candelabra's design. While the heavier set grandfather clock lose the rather terrifying look of his face with a more adorned design on its face. Mrs Potts on the other hand smartly infuse her facial features with the lining of the pot and the feather duster, Babette, exchanges its traditional design with a more modern and even elegant look as she resembles more of a bird than a woman, surely affecting the interactions between her and the candelabra if the original storyline was followed to a tee.

+ Highlights +

the well designed characters in a more realistic setting 

? Main Contention ?

the difference in size, looks and final designs of the castle's knickknacks would determine how they would play a part in the storyline,

how Chip, the little cup with a chip, would look besides them later since he was the smallest in the picture above ^

- Lowlights -

the vast difference between the the amount of nitpicking that could be done (and has been by some) on still pictures of computer generated characters instead of when they are finally in action although the generic lining up of them doesn't do them much favors,

the unnecessary criticism of them chickening out on Lumière's design

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And then there was the Beast. Let's focus on the library first as it was a beautiful set that was in line with the rest of the production for the movie. Let's leave it at that since no words could describe it as well as it looked in the picture. Regarding the couple, they appeared to be discussing on a matter in the book with the Beast reading through it while Belle listened in intently.

+ Highlights +

just look at the room!

the detailed works on her signature dress was more apparent to see while the Beast himself wore a simple but detailed suit

? Main Contention ?

Notice the gold contraption behind the Beast as it can be seen in the earlier behind the scene picture of Emma and the director, indicating she was looking for the books for him or was stopped by him from doing so

the change of the cloth around her neck based on its color could indicate the scene in between the pictures above or maybe just an inconsistency in wardrobe

- Lowlights -

how much the Beast would be consist of Dan Stevens or CGI enhancements is the question being brought up with this image

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Here comes the signature ball grown dress for the penultimate dancing scene with the Beast (which can be seen below), which is unfairly criticized for how the dress and the actress looks especially if compared to the impeccable ballroom. Granted that this is the first official look of the character in the gown and it should represent the beloved classic as well as it could and should hold up against intense scrutiny but these are all staged pictures and Entertainment Weekly doesn't have a good track record in representing the movies they covered well in their magazine (although Disney should have better quality filter system since they approved of them in the first place).

+ Highlights +

stunningly recreated ballroom

? Main Contention ?

how the dress picks up the lights from the candles and refocus our eyes straight on her

- Lowlights -

the visibly muted color of the dress and the rather blank facial expressions of Emma Watson

 

If compared to the most recent Disney's live-action adaptation, Cinderella [2015] solely on the dress the main protagonist wore herself (although it was universally praised by critics and audiences and should be the measuring stick this movie should live up to or even surpass it), how it looked in the movie is even better than how beautiful it looked in the picture below. The still picture of Belle's dress doesn't do her dress justice and maybe it would look totally different when it is in context, just like the scene below where Cinderella's dress was magically conceived by the Godmother.

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The iconic scene between the two titular characters is seen here being rightfully given the fullest attention although it could suffer under the trap of too much Photoshopping. Now the dress itself is properly lit and showed just how beautiful the material is and the subtle patterns at the end of every layer which give a much needed sheen for an otherwise regal yet subtle ballgown. Regarding the coat he is wearing, it is a really well made mini tuxedo jacket that took into account how it looked in the animated movie and updated it to fit his royal outlook and princely demeanor in the live-action adaptation.

Last but not least, the divisive look of the Beast himself brought up a debate on whether or not he should be portrayed in his live-action version more beastly that is closer to his animated counterpart or more humane that resembles the prince in his human form below. Both directions would serve the movie and the overall storyline in different ways: with his more beastly appearance would be a more daunting task for Belle to break through it to see the human inside while appearing more human would present a character that audiences could relate with and Belle could easily reach for. For now, it appeared to be going in the latter direction and while again still pictures doesn't do CGI any justice, let's reserve our final judgement until we see him in action and in the final movie next March.

+ Highlights +

intricate mini tuxedo suit with regal yet subtle dress

? Main Contention ?

the two different paths that could go down with regarding the looks of the Beast

- Lowlights -

unnecessary use of Photoshop and even served as a drawback, CGI still couldn't hold up under scrutiny if in still pictures 

- IMDb - official - wiki - wikia -

- Synopsis -

An adaptation of the classic fairy-tale about a monstrous prince and a young woman who fall in love.

Cast
Emma Watson - Belle
Dan Stevens - Beast
Luke Evans - Gaston
Ewan McGregor - Lumière
Ian McKellan - Cogsworth
Emma Thompson - Mrs. Potts
...

(Director Bill Condon [Dreamgirls],  Rating PG, Genre - Disney, Fantasy, Musical, Romance)

Source: Beyond the Trailer