Beauty and the Box Office
Mar 26, 2017
Release Date: March 17, 2017
Director: Bill Condon
Starring: Emma Watson (Belle), Dan Stevens (Beast), Luke Evans (Gaston), Ian McKellen (Cogsworth), Josh Gad (LeFou)
MPAA Rating: PG
Our rating: A+
A tale as old as time, the new Beauty and the Beast movie puts a modern twist on a classic tale of unforeseen love. Many have been anticipating the release of this movie as it is apart of Disney’s live action movie series. From the casting of Emma Watson as Belle, to the release of the cast’s posters, fans of the 1991 film could see the movie coming to life.
The rose plays a big role in the movie and is practically a character itself.
“Besides the fact Beauty and the Beast is tied with Peter Pan as my favorite Disney movies of all time, there was a lot of hype surrounding the film, and I was scared that the film would not live up to neither my expectations nor the hype. But, everything from the costumes to the cinematography to Emma Watson’s singing seemed flawless and I absolutely loved the film. Emma Watson and Dan Stevens really brought their characters to life in a beautiful way and to be quite honest, I’m definitely going to see the movie a few more times within the next few weeks,” senior Moira Meijaard said.
The live action film stayed true to the original in regards to the plot. But with this new version, the audience is given insight into the backstories of the characters, giving them more depth and life. From the Beast before his transformation to Belle’s mother and how it imapcted her family, fans now get to see more of the story. One thing fans have marveled at is how Belle has changed, from a normal city girl to an inventor alongside her father. Belle’s inventions throughout the film reflect how independent and innovative she is.
The iconic dance between Belle and the Beast was one of the most extravagant scenes
“Beauty and the Beast differs from other Disney live-action adaptations in that it does not stray far from the original story and is a pretty [literal] translation. It makes sense as it was the most recently released of the animated films so people in our generation already feel connected to it, while movies like Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Alice in Wonderland were far before our time. They require some modern twists to recapture the audience. The recent release included the development of minor characters and backstory that offered some perspective. Some things had to stay the same though; it wouldn’t have worked without Howard Ashman’s original scores. What is Beauty and the Beast if not a Tale as Old as Time?” senior Caterina Viscito.
Gaston is admired by everyone in the town, which leads to many complications in the film
However, the popular film has created quite the controversy. The film has now been banned from many countries including Russia, Kuwait, and some parts of Alabama. The National Cinema Co. was asked to stop the screening of the movie “for things that were deemed offensive by the Ministry of Information’s censorship department.” The issue: Lefou, Gaston’s trust worthy sidekick, is shown having a romantic fascination for Gaston and what director Bill Condon calls “an exclusively gay moment” that lasts on screen for about three seconds.
Despite this, the movie has still made over $700 million worldwide and has remained number one at the box office for two weeks. Fans just cannot get enough of the movie, finding a new detail every time they watch it. Make sure to catch this cinematic spectacular in theaters before its gone.
