Beauty and the Beast (Live-Action)

[JeanGreyForever]

Can anyone explain the first part of the song with the young prince singing? I've heard it's a flashback where he is singing to his mother on her deathbed but it seems like an odd transition to go from him to the present with the objects. What's the context of the scene: is there a flashback before the song starts, with the song starting at the end of the flashback or is the flashback literally just those first few lines of the song? Do we even see the prince and mother or are they just offscreen?

After the wolf chase, Belle tries to nurse the Beast back to health. As he's resting, Belle asks why the objects are still cool with him after he caused them to be cursed, especially since they didn't do anything. Mrs. Potts responds that after the Beast's mom died, his cruel dad made the Beast cruel just like him and the servants didn't do anything about it. While they are talking, it turns out the Beast isn't sleeping but has overheard the conversation. He looks solemn and melancholy as he reminisces about being a young boy singing to his sick mother on her death bed while his father takes him away from her bed. There's no flashback before this song. The flashback is literally those few lines. You see the prince, his mother, and his father.

Thanks for that context. It's odd that the song begins with a brief flashback but I guess it'll make more sense when I watch the movie Friday. In the companion book I read, it explained that the objects tell Belle about the Beast's past while she is nursing him, but I wondered if there was more included that wasn't in the book.

[D82]

I agree. I prefer Josh Groban's version, but the movie version is great too. I think it's highly probable the song gets an Oscar nomination next year.

I like the rest of the new songs too, although I think the demo of "Days in the Sun" is much better than the final version. It seems the Beast was supposed to sing it at first. It's a shame they changed it. Maybe they thought there were enough songs for the Beast, or perhaps "Evermore" was done later and replace this one as Beast's song.

I'm loving Evermore as well since I first heard it, although I actually prefer Dan Stevens' take on it. It has more soul imo compared to Josh Groban's.

I usually prefer the movie versions to the covers by famous singers, so I'm actually surprised I like Josh Groban's version more on this occasion. Maybe it's because I heard that version first and I got used to the song being sang that way. But I agree that Dan Stevens puts a lot of emotion into the song, the ending of his version in particular is amazing.

[Disney Duster]

Disney's Divinity, ok hardly anything you said rings true or makes sense to me but I can at least say that Cinderella blew Beauty and the Beast out of the water by being more successful in a more important way than money or amount of people having interest for it before they even see the actual movie – and that way is critical acclaim. You said the film would be more successful, and it isn't in the important way. And you say Beauty and the Beast has a “better cast” than Cinderella? Not according to those who saw (or heard) the acting now!

[Disney's Divinity]

amount of people having interest for it before they even see the actual movie

Amount of interest can also be judged by soundtrack sales and DVD/Blu-ray/Digital sales.

[Vlad]

I have ordered the deluxe soundtrack, and I was really curious as to how the packaging is.

Here are a pair of unboxing videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKu-tzutiPA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xus7sh5cRrg

Cool! Thank you very much for the links. It looks amazing!

[D82]

^ You're welcome. Yes, it's a nice packaging.

[Musical Master]

The NY Post review declares the live-action version better than the original animated film? Color me surprised.

http://nypost.com/2017/03/14/beauty-and ... r-cartoon/

[D82]

New interview with Alan Menken:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-v ... ter-985602

[bkelly25]

Let me make this clear. We are not going to know how this film will do over the weekend. The ONLY reason people and the media are thinking this might be a billion dollar film is because once you pledge your allegiance to money and politics, you do not see the wars of this world. Other countries always view the USA as hypocrites because in many ways, we are. We think we can change the entire world to either be "goody Christians" or "gay lovers." But you know where it will lead us 10 maybe 40 years from now? I hate to say this but this will be our future: [Image removed due to graphic content]

America, stop acting like we are the saviors for everyone because we are not! Christians and gays, you may hate each other SO much, but you see that picture above, that is what hatred really is. I do not want to see that happen. But ever since George W. Bush, these tensions have grown. And there is no one to blame but America.

[megustajake]

The gay character debacle has been so overblown. I don't even want to give Disney too much credit for being "progressive," because it seems the bromance is played for laughs more than anything. I think "Paranorman" played it far more cleverly. I'm gay myself, but I think Disney would've been smart to keep the reveal an easter egg since it doesn't seem much more than that.

I've read a majority of the reviews and it's hard to gather a clear consensus. Some critics really sing its praises but it's struggling at Rotten Tomatoes with 67%. I hope it clears 70% once all the reviews are in.

[D82]

"Something There" extended clip:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAJxYWG8aTw[/youtube]

And new TV spot:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZH1GuLpcp0

[Disney Duster]

Amount of interest can also be judged by soundtrack sales and DVD/Blu-ray/Digital sales.

Yup. Interest.

Have we ever found out what movie sales were of past Disney live-action films?

What really matters is if we all think the movie's good!

I’d like to discuss how the costume designer put things on Belle’s yellow dress costume indicating that the castle is “a living thing” and is “creating” the costume. Does she mean both the servants and the castle itself? I believe the enchanted objects make the dress and then magically rococo from the castle goes onto the dress, but the designer says Belle’s ear cuff and hair ornament and necklace represent things from the castle being alive and making the costume. I can’t tell if Belle has leaves or feathers on her ear cuff, but she does have feathers in her hair ornament. The costume designer said Emma Watson wanted them, but what on earth do they have to do with Belle’s character or the story and what do they represent? And her necklace is supposed to be “a magic interpretation of the tree of life”. What the?! What does that have to with Beauty and the Beast?!

[Vlad]

I am so excited to see the movie this Saturday.

I have a question for those who've already seen it. How was the Beast's death scene? Was it as sad and touching as the animation?

[DisneyFan09]

Now I've finally heard all the songs (through YouTube) and I'll give my thoughts of them. To be honest, I didn't like the new rendition of the prologue by Menken. It felt too overdone and pompous (I rather preferred the quiet rendition in the trailers). But it's noteworthy that the prologue cites that the film takes place in France.

Belle: I've ranted enough about Emma Watson several times, but never about her singing, so this gives me a pass. Her voice is extremely thin, generic and lacks any emotion by any means. I do like this new rendition (that she's labeled as the only bookworm in the town and that the book is about two lovers! Now that could've been cited in a different way, so it's somewhat a stretch for Disney). But the ending of the song is inferior to the rest of the song. The reprise is quite nice, though.

Be Our Guest; Ewan McGregor actually does a fine job. He sounds engaging and charismatic with a hint of French. It's notable how they've changed the "ten years we've been rusting line" (certainly aware over the fuzz it has created). Thompson's contribution is underwhelming, as is the ending of the song.

Beauty and the Beast; The pace of the song is quite stretched out, which makes the pace even more theatrical (in lack of a better term). However, the last end of the song is superior to the first half. Thompson does a superior job here. The finale version is quite tedious and overdramatic.

Something There; The orchestration of the song is fine, but it's still inferior to it's animated counterpart.

Gaston; Inferior to it's animated counterpart, but still not a utter disgrace. I liked the pause within the song, though.

The Mob Song: It's good enough. Frankly, though I wasn't mesmerized, it was still a well-made rendition of the song.

How Does a Moment Last Forever: Quite tedious, dull and frankly uninspiring. Truly forgettable. The music box version is slightly superior, but still not good enough to redeem the song.

How Does a Moment Last Forever (Celine Dion version); Quite tedious, boring and sentimental. Though Celine Dion has always been a mixed bag for me (shifting from making fairly good ballads to tedious ones), this one belongs in the latter category.

I've already cited my opinions about Evermore and Days in the Sun, so I won't repeat myself.

[Sotiris]

"Days in the Sun" was written a decade ago.

"Days in the Sun" initially came about 10 years ago, when the idea of a Beauty and the Beast live-action film was first floated around. I was in London opening Sister Act, and Tim [Rice] and I got together and wrote two songs, including "Days in the Sun." It's a lullaby when the enchanted objects and Belle and Beast think about what they miss about their lives. Bill thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to establish a lot of backstory — we're emotionally attached to these characters, and we want to feel more of a connection to who they are.

Source: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-v ... ter-985602

[tsom]

I am so excited to see the movie this Saturday.

I have a question for those who've already seen it. How was the Beast's death scene? Was it as sad and touching as the animation?

The death scene was sad, but what happens immediately afterwards (or what was happening in tandem to the death scene) was even sadder and I definitely almost cried the first time I watched it, and I NEVER cry at movies.

[disneyprincess11]

I am so excited to see the movie this Saturday.

I have a question for those who've already seen it. How was the Beast's death scene? Was it as sad and touching as the animation?

The death scene was sad, but what happens immediately afterwards (or what was happening in tandem to the death scene) was even sadder and I definitely almost cried the first time I watched it, and I NEVER cry at movies.

I'm going to guess: Lumiere, Cogsworth etc. turn into objects?

[Disney's Divinity]

Yup. Interest.

That was a point towards your derision of ticket sales as only measuring interest “before” viewers have seen the finished product. Album and home media sales would largely show interest in consumers after having seen the film.

What really matters is if we all think the movie's good!

Are average people's reviews included in RottenTomatoes scores? They don't at all represent what I, you, or "we all" may think.

[D82]

New clip:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFVc8hW6gjQ[/youtube]

"Days in the Sun" was written a decade ago.

"Days in the Sun" initially came about 10 years ago, when the idea of a Beauty and the Beast live-action film was first floated around. I was in London opening Sister Act, and Tim [Rice] and I got together and wrote two songs, including "Days in the Sun." It's a lullaby when the enchanted objects and Belle and Beast think about what they miss about their lives. Bill thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to establish a lot of backstory — we're emotionally attached to these characters, and we want to feel more of a connection to who they are.

Source: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-v ... ter-985602

I was surprised too when I read that. Don Han also mentioned recently in an interview that the project started back then:

We thought about doing a live-action movie going back ten [or] fifteen years, because “Beauty” had been a success as an animated film and then a big success on Broadway as well, so it was a chance to retell the story, and I think the only thing we were waiting for, maybe, is [for] the technology to catch up a little bit. Because we knew to tell the story with all these [living] objects, it had to be something that was spectacular to the audience, and a reason to redo it.

Source: http://www.insidethemagic.net/2017/03/i ... the-beast/

[tsom]

The death scene was sad, but what happens immediately afterwards (or what was happening in tandem to the death scene) was even sadder and I definitely almost cried the first time I watched it, and I NEVER cry at movies.

I'm going to guess: Lumiere, Cogsworth etc. turn into objects?

Yep!!