If you don't live under a rock, you have seen the trailer for the re-make of Disney's Beauty and the Beast that is set to hit the big screen in March of 2017 (link to the trailer here if you want to join the rest of the world). Other than the fact that they are brining to life this childhood (and adulthood, let's be real here) favorite, there are some really important things happening with it, arguably the most important being Emma Watson's portrayal of Belle.
Emma Watson is famous for her feminist rhetoric and causes, including being a United Nations Goodwill Women Ambassador for gender equality, and on the set of Beauty and the Beast, she is continuing her work. The first change that was made is that now Belle is not only a bookworm, but an inventor. Watson explained this by saying that,
"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."
Most recently however, it was reported that Watson refused for Belle to wear a corset. She and the directors worked together on this, deciding that such an active princess wouldn't have been held back by a corset. “In Emma’s reinterpretation, Belle is an active princess,” costume designer Jacqueline Durran added,“She did not want a dress that was corseted or that would impede her in any way.”
This spurred from controversy about the women in other recent disney re-makes, like Cinderella where Lily James (Cinderella) was met with backlash at her impossibly small waist that she admitted was due to a liquid only diet while filming.
Honestly, not only am I thrilled that Emma Watson is going to be Belle, but I am so excited that she is setting a precedent of changing small aspects of these classic movies to make them even more appealing to today's fans.
