The smart, bold, and curious princess that I grew up on has finally arrived in live action form, played by none other than the beautiful and majestic Emma Watson. Belle has always been my favorite princess, one that I admired and looked up to as a young girl. I was so enamored by her dynamic relationship with the Beast. They started out as enemies; Beast had taken Belle’s father captive and she was trying to save him, which lead to her taking his place as the hostage. Her time in Beast’s castle led to an understanding of the true nature of the Beast and the uncovering of his secret to how he became the Beast. From this friendship, the Beast learns to reach within and bring out his human side, and they both slowly fall in love with each other despite their stubborn and hard-headed ways. It’s such a magical story that combines looking past judgments and unconditional love.
Emma Watson plays Belle wonderfully; her personality is so similar to the princess I grew up with, therefore I am personally ecstatic with this casting choice. Gaston is played by Luke Evans which interestingly enough is very fitting. Gaston is very brash and arrogant, and I hope Evans is able to pull his weight with that character. Physicality-wise, he resembles Gaston in multiple ways which is important, because I’m sure the audience would prefer to have the live action form follow the well-known and loved animation as closely as possible. The Beast is played by Dan Stevens, a very Prince Charming type, but the costuming in the trailer is astonishing; he looks like a feral beast in all forms but his eyes are so human as they are supposed to be.
Of course my favorite part of the original Disney movie is the soundtrack, and I am happy to announce that it’s just as powerful as it was in the animation, if not enhanced even. In the trailer, it starts off with the piano tune in the prologue of the animated film that sets the mood and the tone of the story to be told. The landscape of the setting is shown, and soon we are introduced to Belle and the Beast. The clips played throughout the film are thrilling and full of action; I can’t help but notice how beautiful and elegant everything looks. The trailer has already surpassed 18 million views on YouTube and is on the trending list as well. It is expected to set a record with its views and surpass box office rates of Marvel movies. It seems almost understated to say that the expectation for this film is high and that it will most likely receive a lot of attention from here on out until its premiere date on March 17th, 2017.
