Spoiler Alert – You may want to hold off on reading this post until you’ve seen Beauty and the Beast yourself, as this post may give away details from the new movie.
Beauty and the Beast had already been out for 24 hours when I finally made it to the movie theater to see it myself. I was absolutely excited, albeit nervous because so many people had raved about it the night before and I assumed I was expecting too much. I couldn’t have been more wrong- I was in awe for the entire length of the film. I laughed, cried, and was mesmerized.
There are so many things that Disney did right, but lets start with casting. Everyone was fabulous. I couldn’t have imagined anyone but Emma Watson as Belle and Luke Evans as Gaston was brilliant. Then you have Dan Evans, Josh Gad, Kevin Kline, Ewan McGregor, Emma Thompson, and Stanley Tucci – all people that have talent beyond measure and were able to bring authenticity and magic to all of their roles.
Of course costumes are of utmost importance to me and Disney did not disappoint. They kept everything similar to the classics, but with slight twists and gorgeous detail. Jacqueline Durran was the costume designer and I think she did a great job of taking the designs we already know and love and honing in on the historical accuracy of 18th century France. My favorite costume had to be the floral outfit with red cape that Belle wears during her snowball fight with the Beast, which I also read was made completely with sustainable fabrics and eco-friendly dyes.
Then there were the new songs. I have to be honest, I was listening to one of my favorite Disney radio shows that morning and when this was mentioned I wasn’t thrilled. It is already such a challenge to recreate a classic such as Beauty in the Beast correctly and I couldn’t image how adding new songs would aid in that. But I was pleasantly surprised! I shed a tear during “A Day in the Sun” and when Maurice sings “How Does A Moment Last Forever”. I also thought that the originals were twisted ever so slightly to really give it a new spin. “Gaston” was much like the classic but with some additions from LeFou that not only give you a laugh, but really foreshadow how malicious Gaston truly is. And can we talk about LeFou’s line in The Mob Song? “There’s a beast running wild, there’s no question but I fear the wrong monster’s released”. At that moment I felt a moment of redemption for LeFou and he evolved into a character I never imagined possible.
Speaking of character development, the live action film gave so much more background than the animated film. We get to take a look into Belle’s family and childhood in depth. Gaston is correctly portrayed as the true villain he is from the very beginning. LeFou is seen as more of an individual rather than just Gaston’s puppet. But what really blew me away was the background and perspective on the Beast. The addition of those scenes gave the Beast more of a voice than we see in the animated film and it helps the viewer to truly connect with and humanize him.
The only complaint I have is that I am now even more confused about how old Prince Adam was when the enchantress casted the curse upon him. In the animated film Lumiere sings, “10 years we’ve been rusting” in “Be Our Guest” and since the last petal would fall on his 21st birthday that would lead me to believe that he was 10 when he was cursed. But let’s be real, the animated story doesn’t match up to him being 10 years old and now in the live action film he is clearly at least close to 18. On top of that, in the new version Lumiere’s lyric is changed to “Too long, we’ve been rusting”- so now I am completely and utterly confused. If you have any ideas on this I would love to discuss- so please send me an email or comment below!
To honor the new movie, I decided to create this Belle inspired look along with subtle Beauty and the Beast inspired accessories. This dress is so versatile that it could be dressed down to wear during the week or dressed up- I’ve even worn it to a wedding.
Dress: Forever 21
Jacket: Pacsun (similar)
Shoes: Hot Topic (many hand painted ones available on Easy)
Ring: Tillys (similar)
Watch: Hot Topic
Doll: The Disney Store
Photographer: Carlos Benavides (Instagram @carlosb_1998)
I’ve also been seeing so many other Belle inspired dresses out there that I absolutely love, so I just wanted to showcase some of those here.
(From left to right)
Kohls
Forever 21
ASOS
Modcloth
If you haven’t already seen the new live action Beauty and the Beast, what are you waiting for? Let me know what you thought of the movie by leaving a comment below!
