Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de
Villenueve’s popular romantic fairy tale ‘Beauty and the Beast’ is updated for
the umpteenth time in Disney’s latest live action treatment starring Emma
Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans and Josh Gad.
With its “beauty is only skin deep” and “true beauty comes from within”
theme and counterpoint to fairy tales like ‘Snow White,’ ‘Cinderella’ and
‘Sleeping Beauty,’ in which the beauty and the handsome prince live happily
ever after, it’s easy to see why this fable possesses such a timeless appeal,
but few people may be aware that this tale was borne out of social-economic
necessity in its time and place, 18th Century France, an era when
young women of marriageable age (“beauties”) form alliances with men of wealth
and good standing but lacking in appearance (“beasts”) out of convenience
rather than love as a matter of course.
You should be familiar with the
story by now. A witch turns a handsome
young prince (Dan Stevens) into an unsightly beast after he refused her shelter
because of her looks (she’s an enchantress who appeared to him in the guise of
an ugly old hag as a test), along with his servants whom she transforms into
various mundane household objects. To
break the curse, the princely beast must learn to love another and in turn earn her love in return
before the last petal of a rose falls off.
To make a long story short, he manages to do so with a headstrong and
bookish young woman uninterested in love named Belle (Emma Watson) in the
nick of time despite various obstacles, not the least of
which was the rakishly handsome but dastardly villain Gaston (Luke Evans).
Glossy, exuberant and with charm
to spare, BatB is another joyous and wonderful Disney offering that’s nigh impossible
not to like. Watson is quite simply
radiant, and the fact that virtually all the songs in the film are instantly recognizable
and familiar didn't hurt either, making
BatB a highly accessible musical for all ages.
With this in mind, it comes as no surprise that this latest incarnation of the classic
had already earned its place as the highest grossing live-action musical of all
time.
Grade: A
Grade: A
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