Beauty and the Beast (Live-Action)

[Disney Duster]

Yes, Escapay, you were specific about that part, but that was about it. You remarked a little on Belle but only saying she has a realistic busy-ness. I would have written about the many different important or just notable components of the film like "Emma Watson seems reserved not only with the town but perhaps the whole film, even when asking her dear father for things, but then there are times that from her blooms a shining spirit, like over a book or her new feelings for the Beast" or something along those lines. You once told me in an email you wouldn't stand for passive aggression, but now I should? Well I will. I'll even apologize. I'm sorry I hurt your feelings over your review. Keep writing here. I even said your review was elegant and touching.

Tsom, I think what rodrigo_ca said sounds right!

Sicoe Vlad, what a good list! I must have forgotten Beauty and the Beast was your second favorite film! No wonder you were so excited for this film and loved it so much!

I am so glad the film is going to do so well! It's wonderful how much monetary and interest-grabbing success this will make and I knew it would break records. I hope it becomes one of the highest grossing films ever!

[thedisneyspirit]

Well, I didn't like the film. And I was positive for it, I liked the trailers and the cast, and the original is my favorite Disney film (I'm just obsessed with the BATB story in general), but this movie just didn't do it for me.

-The biggest issue is the pacing for me. For every time they're copying line-by-line scenes of the original, when not they're inserting a lot of filler that could've easily been cut out of the film, since it basically amounts to nothing (the Beast's tragic backstory, the book, Belle's mom's backstory, the wasted role of the Enchantress, Belle the inventor is only really pointed out in one scene) or adds anything subtancial to the film. The movie just drags and not in the good way. It's long, and it takes forever to get the points across.

-The leads are very unlikable. Watson portrays Belle with this sense of snobbishness that makes her come off as really haughty and somehow "better" than anyone. It just feels like the movie is just Belle-Emma waltzing around, and nothing really substancial comes out of it (no flaws or character growth to work with). That and I feel she's just not a good actress, she often looks annoyed or confused in many of the scenes. The Beast also comes off a bit colder, and I feel we don't even get to see him much, I think they've even cut scenes that feature him in the original.

-I didn't really like that they named the sexist village after the original female author of the story, it felt like a slap in the face more than a "cute" nod like Maurice's rose or the Cocteau candelabras were.

-Lefou's sexuality was such a publicity stunt I felt ripped off, really, those two seconds dance almost pass you by without you noticing it. That and I don't know, they try to make him seem likable but often I felt he came off as being Gaston's "sassy gay friend", which

-The Beast is nameless...again. And there's no point in this version considering they give every other character, including the freaking dog, a name over him.

It's not all bad, the music and songs are nice, and characters like Gaston, Lefou and the objects are cute and actually endearing (total waste of Ian Mckellen and Audra McDonald though), the set designs and the costumes overall are nice, but it has way too many problems for me to actually enjoy it. But i find it interesting how outside critics are very polarizing, some love it while others found it mediocre.

[Mmmadelon]

I still have to wait 2,5 week before I'm going to see it I'm so tempted to watch clips on YouTube but I'm trying to stay strong

[blackcauldron85]

‘Beauty and the Beast’ Director Bill Condon on the Changes He Made to Disney’s Classic, Deleted Scenes & More [Interview]
http://www.slashfilm.com/bill-condon-interview/

How the New ‘Beauty and the Beast’ Compares to the Animated Classic
http://www.slashfilm.com/beauty-and-the ... -original/

[Escapay]

You once told me in an email

So apparently things I write in confidence in an e-mail is fair game for posting in public. Apology accepted, but this behavior is not. This isn't the first time it's happened, but it'll certainly be the last.

To keep this post on-topic for everyone else, I think my review speaks for itself in terms of my (largely positive) reaction to the film as a whole. I plan on watching it a few more times (trying to plan an IMAX viewing this weekend) to really assess the film in individual parts, though I don't know if I'll write about it on my blog or save it for a commentary. But either way, I really enjoyed this rendition of the tale. Having moments from this film now be part of the ever-evolving "Beauty and the Beast" mythos is always a good thing.

Albert

[Widdi]

Anybody seen it at a DBOX theatre yet? The theatre in town just installed a row of them and I'm curious to try it out, but not sure if it's worth the extra $9 a ticket. Going to see it tomorrow night. I'll probably fork out the cash, but any input would be appreciated.

[Vlad]

trying to plan an IMAX viewing this weekend to really assess the film in individual parts, though I don't know if I'll write about it on my blog or save it for a commentary.
Albert

Oh, yes, I totally recommand you see it on an IMAX screen, it looks beautiful.

I'm going to see it a second time this weekend as well.

[Disney Duster]

Dosencola, I think "Evermore" was the best song they made and did not invent reasons for it other than the good reason that the Beast should have his own song and tell his feelings. Josh and Luke did indeed do good transitions while keeping some goofiness. From what I remember of the origingal, though, "Be Our Guest" felt like it was happening on a dinner table. Kevin Kline was indeed a good, believable father for Belle. I think Ewan was pretty good but especially Ian as their enchanted object selves and did indeed invent new characters. The enchantress never needed a place to stay, though, she was pretending, to test the prince. I agree on Emma Watson and the ballroom dance scene and the transformation. However I felt they were in love as they danced in the ending.

Musical Master, I don't agree all the additions should have been in the film, just maybe one like Belle being an inventor and the expansion of things already from the original, and I definately think the love felt more real in the original film instead.

Mooky, I'm glad you got some enjoyment from the film. I agree it's not exactly a masterpiece, and Kevin Kline was good, but had no problem with Josh Gad acting like a lot of gay men actually do, and Ian McKellan was always great to me whenever he spoke! Lol about Emma Watson. What did she do that showed she had a lack of understanding of her character and the movie's message? She wasn't kind enough or she didn't love the Beast despite his ugliness? And yea CGI Beast could have - should have - been better. Probably prosthetics would have been better. Great point about Belle's father not telling Belle about her own mother. And I totally agree about the Beast's parental backstory. Also good point about stopping for the rose after Maurice's encounter in the castle, I had wondered that too, and Belle knowing about the curse probably isn't the best idea either, like you said.

Kbehm29, glad you loved the movie and I, too, liked how Gaston seemed nicer than in the original film...at first, but then, what he does later, was actually more evil! I also noticed Emma Watson's autotuning...

JeanGreyForever, yea I agree on Maurice, as for Gaston's stupidity, though, he was still mysogynistic for saying women could only be beggars without a husband or father and her being simple and that she needed to worry about "her own" kids. I still liked Emma's washing machine and teaching a girl to read. Belle's dress is just so awful, yes. I sort of agree on Lily James except I thought she put her own nuances in her Cinderella. I didn't know the Beast was showered with love in the original story. In the original, isn't he a good guy just turned into a beast because he won't marry a fairy? I also prefer the Beast learning to read from Belle. I, too, liked Belle asking for a rose and Maurice getting imprisoned for it like in the original fairy tale. And it makes sense. He did steal from the Beast, and then Belle did ask for it in the first place. I prefer "Days in the Sun" to "Human Again" because of the sombre tone and I don't mind Belle or the Beast singing in it since, actually, Belle has no song all her own ecxcept a reprise and the Beast only has one.

Thedisneyspirit, I'm sorry you didn't like the film, but it's ok because you still have the superior original! I, too, feel the pacing was a little off and they could have cut things down a bit. I didn't get Belle being a snob, but it's ok if you did. I do feel the Beast was colder, though, like you said. I don't feel the village's name is a slap in the face but maybe it is. I don't think LeFou's sexuality was a publicity stunt but I did feel ripped off, lol. And yea, what's with no-named Beast? I thought Ian McKellan and Audra McDonald were used well, though.

So apparently things I write in confidence in an e-mail is fair game for posting in public. Apology accepted, but this behavior is not. This isn't the first time it's happened, but it'll certainly be the last.

To keep this post on-topic for everyone else, I think my review speaks for itself in terms of my (largely positive) reaction to the film as a whole. I plan on watching it a few more times (trying to plan an IMAX viewing this weekend) to really assess the film in individual parts, though I don't know if I'll write about it on my blog or save it for a commentary. But either way, I really enjoyed this rendition of the tale. Having moments from this film now be part of the ever-evolving "Beauty and the Beast" mythos is always a good thing.

I didn't know you would feel this way about me saying just that from your email. I'm sorry, yet again. I didn't know you felt it was in confidence. But how am I to be sure when you won't write me anymore? Where am I to talk to you? And what did you mean "it'll certainly be the last"? That now you will never email me even though I had no clue I would recieve such treatment for something I didn't think would make you upset? If you don't want to talk about this in public, do what I wish you'd done for a long time and email me.

[Sotiris]

I don't see how a prequel or spin-off can work. None of the established characters can carry a movie by themselves. If they must produce another installment, I'd rather they do a direct sequel instead. There's more potential there. Disney had no problem announcing sequels for Maleficent and The Jungle Book so why not a sequel for BatB?

There are currently no plans for a sequel and the studio — perhaps with Alice Through The Looking Glass as a reminder — won’t try to force one. It will explore possible spinoff and prequel scenarios, Bailey said.

Source: http://deadline.com/2017/03/beauty-and- ... 202047710/

There are currently no plans for a Beauty sequel or spinoff, but Bailey isn’t closing the book on the idea, and he says there’s a possibility of another story set in the same world or a spinoff focusing on a side character. “I feel like [Beauty] is a pretty whole experience, but nothing is off the table if we find an idea that excites us,” he says.

Source: http://ew.com/movies/2017/03/24/beauty- ... n-remakes/

[estefan]

Live-Action The Enchanted Christmas, here we come.

[ChrisLyne]

If we must have a prequel/sequel/spin-off then I'm hoping we get Gaston and LeFou during the wars.

[DisneyFan09]

I don't see how a prequel or spin-off can work. None of the establish characters can carry a movie by themselves. If they must produce another installment, I'd rather they do a direct sequel instead. There's more potential there. Disney had no problem announcing sequels for Maleficent and The Jungle Book so why not a sequel for BatB?

You know what? Now that you mention it, it's remarkable that none of the cheapquels that were released in the heydays of the cheapquels-phase were actual continuations of the story. Both of them were non-canon midquels which took place within the period where Belle was captured. They weren't actual sequels.

Speaking of which, have you seen this new live action version, Sotiris? What are your thoughts?

[thedisneyspirit]

Since the Enchantress likes hopping around town in this version, perhaps the Prince acted like a douche again and that made her curse him again alongside with the servants and then we're at the start all over again and Belle has to break the spell.

[JeanGreyForever]

JeanGreyForever, yea I agree on Maurice, as for Gaston's stupidity, though, he was still mysogynistic for saying women could only be beggars without a husband or father and her being simple and that she needed to worry about "her own" kids. I still liked Emma's washing machine and teaching a girl to read. Belle's dress is just so awful, yes. I sort of agree on Lily James except I thought she put her own nuances in her Cinderella. I didn't know the Beast was showered with love in the original story. In the original, isn't he a good guy just turned into a beast because he won't marry a fairy? I also prefer the Beast learning to read from Belle. I, too, liked Belle asking for a rose and Maurice getting imprisoned for it like in the original fairy tale. And it makes sense. He did steal from the Beast, and then Belle did ask for it in the first place. I prefer "Days in the Sun" to "Human Again" because of the sombre tone and I don't mind Belle or the Beast singing in it since, actually, Belle has no song all her own ecxcept a reprise and the Beast only has one.

I forgot about his comment about women being spinsters without a father or husband. To be fair, he was mainly correct for the time period especially in a small rural setting, but yeah. I agree with you that Lily James had subtle nuances in her version of Cinderella which is why I didn't mind that she was different from the animated version. Annoyingly enough, some of her best scenes were in the deleted scenes though which really showed off her strength and spirit. In the original story of Beauty and the Beast, the prince's mother dotes on her son because her husband dies right before she has him. She has to leave him after several years because of war so her fairy friend raises him with as much affection. I like the melody of Days in the Sun but I felt the song was wasted because it didn't focus on the enchanted objects enough. Human Again gave them their own song so I felt that Days in the Sun should have been a song for just them, especially since Belle and Beast get their own songs, albeit a reprise for Belle.

I don't see how a prequel or spin-off can work. None of the establish characters can carry a movie by themselves. If they must produce another installment, I'd rather they do a direct sequel instead. There's more potential there. Disney had no problem announcing sequels for Maleficent and The Jungle Book so why not a sequel for BatB?

You know what? Now that you mention it, it's remarkable that none of the cheapquels that were released in the heydays of the cheapquels-phase were actual continuations of the story. Both of them were non-canon midquels which took place within the period where Belle was captured. They weren't actual sequels.

The Enchanted Christmas was supposed to be a direct sequel but Disney felt that viewers wouldn't be interested in a non-Beast Prince or the human versions of the objects. The plotline was supposed to involve Gaston's younger brother, Avenant (inspired from the Cocteau film), coming to take revenge for Gaston's death.

[taei]

Man... I've come to terms with the fact that I love this movie... I mean, it's undeniably flawed, but it's Disney and Beauty and the Beast, so you can't help but fall in love with it haha. I wasn't strong enough, and I'm paying for it by everyone's reaction being surprised and negative haha. It's no where near as good as the original though.

I think the movie is over, they shouldn't attempt a sequel, prequel, or even a short. They should focus solely on their upcoming projects. Starting with removing that self-absorbed LMM from The Little Mermaid

I think I mentioned this in the forum a long time ago, but I was really mad about the lack of sophistication when it comes to scoring the songs in modern Disney songs. Like Let it Go had that ridiculous overpowering drum thing going on and I didn't think that any of the Moana songs had particularly good scores for their songs.

But man... Days in the Sun, and particularly Evemore, have ridiculously good scores to go with the lyrics.. I mean, it's just refreshing to hear a song that is as complete as it could have been.

Also, I really hope that we get to hear the non-altered version of Evermore.. I really want to hear Dan Steven's voice without all the beast effects.

[Disney Duster]

JeanGreyForever, it is true, Gaston was telling Belle what would indeed happen to her, unless of course Belle ran away to a better place or found a way to make and sell things her self. Yay we agree on Lily James! Except I think pretty much all her scenes were about as great, just that the deleted ones did indeed show off the same. I can't find a version of Beauty and the Beast with the parfts about the prince's mother and the fairy caretaker. Might you point me in the right direction? I get what you mean about "Human Again". That song may be the better one, but personally I prefer "Days in the Sun".

[Disney's Divinity]

SPOILERS (Because I'm not going through my ramblings to black out all over the place.)

Saw this yesterday. My favorite parts of the movie are the opening with the Enchantress, “Something There,” “Evermore,” and the ending (from the Gaston/Beast fight on the roof to the end of the Celine part of the credits). I’m really glad Celine was the first thing played over the credits and not the Ariana duet, and I loved the way they showed all the characters again during her song.

Love love love “Evermore,” which is a surprise considering I was only ever so-so on "If I Can’t Love Her." I’ve been listening to it on repeat since I got home. The line “It’s more than I can bear,” the second chorus, and the “beginning of the long, long night” are the parts I’m most in love with. My first thought was that lyrically it makes me think of a more tragic version of “I Won’t Say (I’m in Love),” as far as having someone cynical/hardhearted hating themselves for falling in love. Tbh, it almost went too far in that I couldn’t help wondering if Beast would be suicidal standing atop the castle while watching her leave. I agree with you, taei, I wish we could hear a version with Stevens’ voice without effects.

I thought Emma did a fantastic job—particularly in the scene with the wolves when she nearly leaves the Beast and the fight scene at the end. The only actor who was a question mark to me coming into this was Luke Evans, and I have to say he was as great as the rest. I feel like I’m going to over-use the word, but I loved the design of the castle/ballroom and all the little additions they made, like Belle being outright compared to a spinster-beggar, Belle being put in her place for teaching a girl to read a sentence, Belle assuming Beast must have cursed his servants, Beast lobbing a snowball at Belle in "ST," and Gaston deciding to help Maurice when he comes to the bar and then declaring Maurice mad to protect himself after he attempted to murder him. I liked that Maurice and LeFou were both much more competent. The wolves were well-done. And after all the brouhaha over Belle being an inventor, it wasn't pronounced in-film at all; when she hands her father the correct part before he realizes he needs it was cute.

I liked that Gaston (and the village)’s ridicule and disdain for the spinster/beggar woman was compared to Beast’s rejection of the beggar woman at the beginning by her being the same woman—essentially pointing at the village's own lack of moral character. Honestly, the intro was perfectly-done; I especially loved Stevens’ face once the Enchantress revealed herself and how angelic she looked (and how that whole moment felt like some kind of biblical test to see if anyone present had any compassion for all their extravagance/decadence—echoed later by Beast calling his curse “damnation”). And I actually didn’t mind that they made Beast’s castle a place of eternal winter. 1.) For how gorgeous the transformation of the castle is at the end as the returning rays of the sun touch the top downwards, and 2.) Because it makes Belle’s golden dress seem more significant as a color choice (and that’s considering the animated film already used its colors to particularly effect, carried over here).

The fight scene between Gaston and Beast was better than the animated film, imo. The fact that Gaston had a gun made it more climactic, I guess? Btw, I like that they kept some of the horror touch from the original film; the wardrobe and the piano creeped me out. I kept expecting the wardrobe to eat Belle alive in the early scenes. And the fight scene between the mob and the furniture was much more disturbing to me knowing how easily all the characters could be slaughtered. I mean, it should be there in the animated film, too, but something about it being live-action made the possibility more prominent (plus, that part of the animated film is much more comical). Watching the characters die at the end was tear-inducing and at the same time nightmare fuel, particularly Mrs. Potts dying in distress and Chip flying midair.

My only gripe with the movie is one I had before seeing it and that’s the Beast’s CGI. It worked in the first half when the character was full-on villain (although he did at times remind me of Krampus when he was in the snow and jumping all over the place), and not so much in the second half when he was meant to be changing into a good person. The nose was probably the part that kept it from working fully, although the lips were a little odd, too (overall, the effect was that he reminded me of the Goblin King from The Hobbit films). Too bad we didn’t get to see more of Dan Stevens, but he definitely did the most he could with his screentime at the beginning and end. He looked sort of like a sex god there at the beginning the way he was lounging on his throne.

The only other odd thing was when Belle and Beast go to Belle’s old home. I didn’t mind the story addition—in fact I’d say it was one of the key scenes where the two characters cement their connection to each other in this film—it’s just I found the scene a little odd because they transitioned next to Gaston in the village when it would’ve been less confusing to show them reappearing in the castle first. Also odd was how they paired up all the characters from the film (LeFou, the Wardrobe, Mrs. Potts, even Cogsworth) at the end, although I was confused by Mrs. Potts' shared look with Maurice at the end?

As for Emma Thompson, I thought she did decently with the title song and I’m glad she got the final line of the Audra McDonald version that ended the film. “Days in the Sun” was fine and I liked Belle’s lyric there about a “change in me.” I’m not too bothered about other songs from the musical being cut, but upon seeing the film, I believe “A Change in Me” could’ve been included and it would’ve worked perfectly, tbh. I loved that they use the same music for “Home” twice as score throughout the film. The only musical number I was disappointed by was “Be Our Guest”—largely because I consider it the best after Lansbury’s ballad in the original, and it just did not have anywhere close to same impact, no offense to McGregor (who I thought was wonderful as Lumiere). On the part about singing, it goes without saying that none of the singers equaled their animated counterparts except Josh Gad, but that’s what I expected back when this film was first announced years ago. That’s just what happens with live-action musicals. *shrug* But everyone was serviceable and I enjoyed the music. If I had to rank the performances by how much I enjoyed them: Something There > B&tB (Audra McDonald) > Evermore > Belle (reprise) > Gaston > The Mob Song > How Does a Moment Last Forever? > Days in the Sun > Belle > B&tB (Emma Thompson) > Be Our Guest.


I’d rank the remakes as this:

1. TJB/B&tB ~ Objectively, I’d give the edge to TJB, but B&tB has my heart. I thought both had small points here and there I’d criticize, but were mostly perfect.
2. Maleficent ~ A lot of clunkers in this film—the christening scene particularly, but also the opening with child Maleficent—but I liked more about the film than I disliked. I liked nearly all of the cast.
3. Alice in Wonderland ~ I wouldn’t quite go so far as to say I liked the film, but I love HBC’s and Hathaway’s performances.
4. Pete’s Dragon ~ Objectively, I’d say it’s probably better than Alice, but I found it a bit dull and by-the-numbers at times.
5. Cinderella ~ I loved HBC here and Madden as the prince; Blanchett looked absolutely gorgeous throughout even if I found the film’s stepmother to be confused and unsatisfying—which I don’t blame on Blanchett, she does what she can with it—and Lily James as Cinderella was probably my least favorite take on the character of any rendition I’ve seen of the story except Brandy in the ‘90s R&H.
6. Alice Through the Looking Glass ~ Same as the other Alice, only adding that I loved Time, but I thought the story was a little too inconsequential and heavy-handed.

* My mom loved the film, but she thought Emma was perfectly cast back when she was first announced. For what it’s worth, she also thought Emma’s voice was perfect for the movie (high/pure—autotuned, I know, but she didn’t care). She knew Evans more than I did and thought he and Emma were the standouts. She didn’t recognize Gad as Olaf until I told her afterwards. She did say the only other person she could’ve seen as Belle was Natalie Portman if she wasn’t older and she thought the guy who played the Huntsman in Snow White and the Huntsman would've been a good Beast, too. I couldn’t help thinking that with the way this film points out Belle’s possible life as a spinster that Disney could’ve made the film work with an older actor like Portman, but I’m happy with Emma.

Did everything after the curse seem predestined? I felt like Agathe being a character kind of made Belle and the Beast's relationship sort of happen inorganically? Agathe just happened to live in the town where all the characters dwell in; she just happened to nurse Maurice back to health in the woods; she just happened to be at the castle during the invasion scene; she just happened to be there when Belle declares her love for the Beast. It's as if she planned for everything to happen, like she knew the Beast will eventually meet Belle, or she picked Belle to be the one who changes him. Also, she could've spoken up for Maurice in the tavern, but she didn't (even though the townspeople wouldn't have believed her, but still). Did anyone else feel this way, or is it just me? I hope I'm not sounding too crazy haha.

I felt the same way. I couldn’t help noticing the character never speaks to Maurice or in the bar with Gaston either, I believe? She only speaks to Beast at the beginning when he’s being tested.

[blackcauldron85]

New ‘Boss Baby’ Trailer Trolls Disney’s ‘Beauty and the Beast’
http://www.awn.com/news/new-boss-baby-t ... -and-beast

[JeanGreyForever]

JeanGreyForever, it is true, Gaston was telling Belle what would indeed happen to her, unless of course Belle ran away to a better place or found a way to make and sell things her self. Yay we agree on Lily James! Except I think pretty much all her scenes were about as great, just that the deleted ones did indeed show off the same. I can't find a version of Beauty and the Beast with the parfts about the prince's mother and the fairy caretaker. Might you point me in the right direction? I get what you mean about "Human Again". That song may be the better one, but personally I prefer "Days in the Sun".

I feel like the deleted scenes explain her reasons for why she acts later on better. The best example is that without deleted scenes, if you watch the movie, you just see Ella singing to herself in the attic without a care in the world. It's hard to understand why she's shut herself of like this unless you see the deleted scene where she actually tries to reach out to the prince. Not only does this show a determination in her which we don't see otherwise in the movie, basically here we actually see her reach out and try to fight for her love in the way she can, but it suddenly explains why she is so down at the end of the film. She reached out to the prince and he doesn't respond back, so she feels dejected and let down. Suddenly her behavior in the end makes more sense.

This is the very first version of the story. https://www.amazon.com/Beauty-Beast-Gab ... 0062456210. It's basically a novel so it's not a short fairy tale with only a few pages. Most people aren't aware of it because Jeanne-Marie LePrince de Beaumont later condensed it into a much smaller version which is what most people are familiar with it. The live-action film pays tribute to the original version that is book length by naming the village after the Madame de Villenueve. Basically in this version, there are multiple fairies. I'll put it in spoiler tags so if anyone is interested in reading the original they can be surprised. A fairy falls in love with a human king and has a child with him who is Belle. This is forbidden under fairy law so one of the elder fairies who is not so very nice curses the child to marry a beast while the mother fairy is imprisoned in fairy jail. Meanwhile a wicked old fairy who is responsible for outing Belle's mother, decides to pay a visit to the human king and falls in love with him, but he rejects her because he only loves Belle's mother whose identity he is unaware of and thinks to be dead. This old fairy tries to kill Belle in the hopes that the king will love her then, but Belle's fairy mother has a sister who fakes Belle's death and finds shelter with a merchant whose baby daughter is sick. When Belle's fairy aunt tries to heal the baby, the baby dies, so she replaces the baby with Belle. Belle is thus the adopted daughter of the merchant, his youngest of six daughters, and 11th of 12 overall children.
As it turns out, the wicked fairy is friends with the prince's mother who has left the prince in her care because she has been fighting in wars for several years. At first the wicked fairy is kind to the prince and loving like a mother figure but she briefly leaves for a few months when she is trying to get the human king to fall in love with her. When he rejects her again after his daughter's "death," he also banishes the wicked fairy so she returns to the prince, who happens to be the king's nephew (his sister is the prince's mother). Now the prince is a bit older so the wicked fairy decides she wants to marry him but she is old and ugly so his mother rejects the fairy. The fairy is angry at this and curses the prince to be a beast for his and his mother's vanity and ungratefulness. There are other side effects of this spell including that the beast's identity as the prince and queen's son cannot be known otherwise the spell will be permanent. He retains his intelligence, but the spell prevents him from speaking or acting intelligently so he comes across as stupid and uncultured. Only if another girl can fall in love with him despite his appearance and behavior, then the spell will be broken.
Luckily the evil fairy is exposed by Belle's fairy aunt who has been observing all this and stops the beast and queen from committing suicide. She cannot break the spell but she can help to end it so she turns all the servants of the prince's castle into statutes so they cannot reveal the beast's identity and make the curse permanent. The queen is sent off to another castle with the fairy acting as a correspondent between mother and son so they can remain in contact. The fairy realizes that pairing the beast and Belle is the best way to end the curses on both of them so she orchestrates events to lead Belle to the beast's castle and instructs the beast on how to act so he can win her heart despite his newfound boorishness from the spell. The beast attacking the merchant for stealing a rose is because the fairy tells him to do so because she knows the merchant will pick a rose for Belle. There are no enchanted objects in the castle but there are jinns (or spirits) that serve the fairies and are invisible. Some of these jinns take animal forms like monkeys and parrots so the Beast's palace is full of these animals who serve as Belle's animal friends. In the palace, she visits the gardens and library as well as watches the monkeys and parrots put on plays (the monkeys are actors but the parrots sing for them by hiding under their hats). Mostly Belle just goes to a special room with six windows, with each window broadcasting a play or opera from all over the world. One of the windows basically shows her current events like riots and demonstrations in a country. All the while, Belle has dreams where the prince visits her and she falls in love with him. She is torn between her loyalty to the beast who has given her this new life and also the prince she loves in her dreams but she ultimately picks the beast because she knows that is the right thing to do and also because of her father's advice. Ultimately at the end, all parties are reunited with Belle meeting her real father (the king) and her fairy mother who is freed and becomes an elder fairy herself. The prince is restored to human form and meets his mother (the queen) again, who is also reunited with her brother (the king), making Belle and the prince first cousins. Belle's adopted merchant father becomes aware that Belle is not really his biological daughter but they love each the same and she welcomes him and her six brothers into her life with noble stations. Her five jealous sisters are welcomed in by default, mainly because they each married five men who all fell in love with Belle at one point upon meeting her and are now as loyal to her as her father and brothers.

New ‘Boss Baby’ Trailer Trolls Disney’s ‘Beauty and the Beast’
http://www.awn.com/news/new-boss-baby-t ... -and-beast

They showed this trailer when I watched the film last Thursday. Honestly, it's the only reason I would be interested in watching Boss Baby.

[blackcauldron85]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-AjhXhk19U[/youtube]
(via TheDisneyBlog.com)

*edit*

3 Ways New ‘Disney Beauty & The Beast’ Musical Coming to Disney Dream Draws Inspiration from Live-Action Film
https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/ ... tion-film/