DVDizzy Forum

First look at Josh Groban as the Beast. More images and a new featurette about the costumes on the link.


Source: https://ew.com/tv/disney-beauty-and-the ... e-preview/

Sotiris wrote: ↑Wed Dec 14, 2022 5:51 am I'm really excited for the Paige, Richard, and Alan cameos! It's too bad they didn't get to appear in the remake too.

It's strange they didn't think to give them cameos in the remake, at least to Paige.

Sotiris wrote: ↑Wed Dec 14, 2022 5:51 am I had the same problem with the article, so thanks for finding an alternative link to it!

I'm glad it was useful for someone else as well. I've now read it and I found it interesting that the costume designer admits Belle's original dress was gold:

“I was very careful with color because there’s a lot of discrepancy between her dress and whether it’s gold or yellow. throughout time, it’s been interpreted as yellow, technically it’s gold. That’s why I brought in these elements of gold. 

Source: https://chronicleslive.com/inside-beaut ... -costumes/

D82 wrote: ↑Wed Dec 14, 2022 10:55 am First look at Josh Groban as the Beast. More images and a new featurette about the costumes on the link.

Thanks! You can find even more images, here. This looks much more expensive than The Little Mermaid Live! I'm impressed by the elaborate sets and costuming and its overall scale.

Here are a couple of behind-the-scenes videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwqbDbh32-M
https://abc7.com/her-josh-groban-martin ... /12571614/

Sotiris wrote: ↑Wed Dec 14, 2022 1:25 pm You can find even more images, here. This looks much more expensive than The Little Mermaid Live! I'm impressed by the elaborate sets and costuming and its overall scale.

Yes, I guess it probably is. Not everything looks great, but I guess it's more than enough for this type of event.

Omg I actually love the Beast idea! He looks cool!

D82 wrote: ↑Wed Dec 14, 2022 7:39 pm Here are a couple of behind-the-scenes videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwqbDbh32-M
https://abc7.com/her-josh-groban-martin ... /12571614/

Here's another one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NosQtQnYGAw

Anthony Diecidue wrote:I recently was tapped to paint Josh Groban as Prince Adam for Disney Studios' 30th anniversary Beauty and the Beast Live! This painting and one other I can’t show yet air live on ABC Thursday, Dec 15th and the next day on Disney+.

Source: https://twitter.com/artofant/status/1602348307212222465

It's strange they didn't think to give them cameos in the remake, at least to Paige.

I think that only started with Mulan 2020, didn't it? And that was probably more as deflection from the fact that they altered the original film beyond all recognition, they wanted to put on like they still cared about the original with a hollow gesture like a cameo.

I'm glad the yellow dress is a dress rather than a pantsuit (no shade to pantsuits, but seriously...). I don't mind it or the blue dress, they look fine, but the pink dress probably looks the best of her costumes--I mean, H.E.R.'s costumes.

That painting of Groban is beautiful. The outfit makes me think Russian. Almost as handsome as he is in real life. I suppose it's supposed to be for that moment Belle sees the painting in the film (maybe they'll pause there for Groban to give a song, I guess?? "If I Can't Love Her" perhaps? It would be nice if he did that and "Evermore" as well.)

The soundtrack for the special is already available to stream and download. Here's the track list:

1. Prologue – Alan Menken (2:44)
2. Belle – H.E.R., Joshua Henry & Rizwan Manji (5:19)
3. Belle (Reprise) – H.E.R. (2:39)
4. Gaston – Joshua Henry & Rizwan Manji (3:41)
5. Gaston (Reprise) – Joshua Henry & Rizwan Manji (1:12)
6. Rose Petal Suite Pt. I – The Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration Orchestra (1:32)
7. Be Our Guest – Martin Short, Shania Twain & David Alan Grier (3:52)
8. Something There – H.E.R., Josh Groban, Shania Twain, Martin Short & David Alan Grier (2:16)
9. Beauty and the Beast – Shania Twain (2:57)
10. Evermore & Rose Petal Suite Pt. II – Josh Groban (3:36)
11. The Mob Song – Joshua Henry, Rizwan Manji & H.E.R. (3:35)
12. Rose Petal Suite Pt. III – The Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration Orchestra (0:54)
13. Beauty and the Beast (Reprise) – H.E.R., Josh Groban & Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration Cast (3:06)

Source: http://filmmusicreporter.com/2022/12/15 ... -released/

Oh, nice! I thought it was more likely they'd give him "If I Can't Love Her," but to be honest, I never cared for that song whereas I love "Evermore." I did think about how he already has a version of "Evermore" as an End Credits version though--hopefully he'll sing it a little more theatrically here since he's the character himself. So far, I'm thinking I may just buy the "Evermore" and "B&tB (Reprise)" (since Groban is a part of that one) and not the full soundtrack, depending on how well H.E.R. and Henry do since I already expect Short and Twain to be pretty bad. I think TLM Live may end up being a little better than this one. Shaggy as Sebastian was the only outright dud for me there. Cravalho, Phillips, and Stamos were all okay, while Queen Latifah / Amber Riley were both pretty strong.

Disney's Divinity wrote: ↑Thu Dec 15, 2022 12:44 pm I think that only started with Mulan 2020, didn't it?

Yes, I know. But cameos by members of the original cast in remakes was already a common tradition in Hollywood by the time they made Beasty and the Beast. Disney itself had already done that in the remakes of The Parent Trap or Freaky Friday. That's why I said they could've thought of it before.

Disney's Divinity wrote: ↑Thu Dec 15, 2022 3:31 pm Oh, nice! I thought it was more likely they'd give him "If I Can't Love Her," but to be honest, I never cared for that song whereas I love "Evermore." I did think about how he already has a version of "Evermore" as an End Credits version though--hopefully he'll sing it a little more theatrically here since he's the character himself.

I guess that's why they cast him as the Beast. It's funny, but though I love "Evermore" too and specifically Josh Groban's version, I hadn't realized he already had a connexion with the character until just a few days ago.

By the way, "Evermore" is the only song not from the animated film included in the special. The Little Mermaid Live had two songs from the Broadway musical, "Her Voice" and "If Only". I thought they would maybe include "Home" here, for example, but it seems they didn't add anything from the Broadway version this time.

All the soundtrack tracks are also on YouTube now:

1. Prologue – Alan Menken
2. Belle – H.E.R., Joshua Henry & Rizwan Manji
3. Belle (Reprise) – H.E.R.
4. Gaston – Joshua Henry & Rizwan Manji
5. Gaston (Reprise) – Joshua Henry & Rizwan Manji
6. Rose Petal Suite Pt. I – The Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration Orchestra
7. Be Our Guest – Martin Short, Shania Twain & David Alan Grier
8. Something There – H.E.R., Josh Groban, Shania Twain, Martin Short & David Alan Grier
9. Beauty and the Beast – Shania Twain
10. Evermore & Rose Petal Suite Pt. II – Josh Groban
11. The Mob Song – Joshua Henry, Rizwan Manji & H.E.R.
12. Rose Petal Suite Pt. III – The Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration Orchestra
13. Beauty and the Beast (Reprise) – H.E.R., Josh Groban & Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration Cast

And ABC has posted some of the performances from the show:

Rita Moreno Intro
Be Our Guest
Gaston
Something There
Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast (Reprise)

Henry and Groban were the only saving graces of this. I'm glad they honored Lansbury and Ashman as much as they did. Well, and Moreno as the presenter--I would've rather she had been Mrs. Potts though. I also thought that maybe they should've had O'Hara play Mrs. Potts--the old Belle who's been through it all singing over the new sort of kind of vibe would've been cute. H.E.R. looked nice, but her voice wasn't too great and kind of too deep for the role. I thought maybe she'd better on the End Credits "Beauty and the Beast" since she's a radio artist, but to me she held Groban back from going as big as the song called for lest he swallow up her voice (I think Ariana held John Legend back, too, on the remake version, but not as much). Shania sounds almost like Cher these days. In her prime, she would've been able to do the song a little better (her high notes on "From This Moment On," for example), but even then she wouldn't have been well-suited for it.

I thought they would maybe include "Home" here

I'm surprised they didn't include that either, it's the best of the Broadway show's originals for sure and it would've given Belle more to do here, too.

I'm glad they included the "Rose Petal Suite"'s, the last one in particular (before "Transformation") was very pretty. I'll listen to some of the tracks on YouTube later to see if they're a little better than the TV version's to decide what I might get / not get.

USA Today described it as “sparkly, but boring”.

I didn’t watch it (too woke for me), but did anybody else think that the Beast’s costume head looked more ape/King Kongish than American bison as designed for the film by GK?

I loved Shania Twain’s performance with Alan Menken. And a beautiful tribute to Angela Lansbury at the end.

I watched some clips on YouTube. I really liked the tribute to Angela Lansbury, and Shania Twain did an awesome job. I also liked Rita Moreno. Josh Groban was really great, as was Martin Short.

ABC’s Beauty and the Beast special, with H.E.R. and Josh Groban in the title roles, commemorated the 30th anniversary of the 1991 film’s nomination for best picture, the first animated feature to earn the honor. The two-hour musical brought in 4.26 million viewers and led broadcast networks among adults 18-49 with a 0.79 rating.

Source: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv ... 235283940/

The anniversary special captivated with 0.79 in the 18-49 demographic, averaging 4.3 million total viewers overall. Airing on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET with next-day viewing on Disney+ and Hulu, the show led the network to 0.66 in the demo and an average viewership of 3.5 million.

Source: https://www.thewrap.com/ratings-beauty- ... c-special/

Josh Groban's performance of "Evermore" is now on YouTube as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f33TPz6eoWg

I believe the special is on Disney+ in the US now, but it's not available here in Spain yet. I hope it is soon. I'm curious to see the rest of the performances.

So, I just watched the whole thing on Disney +.

Here's what I did enjoy: Martin Short, Josh Groban and Joshua Henry. They stood out, were amazing, and it was a pleasure watching them perform their songs. Paige O'Hara and Richard White's cameos were super enjoyable, and I loved the tribute to Angela Lansbury. I also liked the behind the scenes footage, the fact that they showed a lot of pencil animation, and the alternative scene of Belle and Maurice before he left for the fair.

What I didn't like: what the hell was the Belle (reprise) moment? What was with that ridiculous dance with all those girls dressed as Belle? H.E.R. is a fine singer, but she's not the right girl for this part. Belle's songs are very hard to sing, and she didn't fit the role at all. There were also some moments of some dancers dressed in red...were they supposed to symbolize the rose? Super weird...The moments with Maurice and Belle being attacked by the wolves were so cringy.

I finally watched this on Disney+. I liked it. Maybe the original film is so good it came through, but in the end I just felt they had really accomplished something worth seeing. I really like H.E.R.'s voice now I've heard it. I had seen Joshua Henry on Broadway as Rapunzel's Prince in Into the Woods, and Rapunzel's Prince isn't that different from Gaston, depending on how you do the role, and that's probably where they got the idea to cast him. But he was better as Rapunzel's Prince. As Gaston I wasn't a fan. I did however think Shania and Martin weren't as bad as I feared they would be. My favorite parts were Shania and Menken together and all Rita Moreno's parts. Oh, and I loved the prologue! Loved those costumes especially!

Divinity, I loved your idea of Paige as Mrs. Potts! Vlad, haha, yes, I agree the "Belle (Reprise)" and rose and wolf ballets were "what the?" and cringey, but I actually did find the first rose ballet beautiful at least.

I saw the Broadcast the other day and I must say that I loved it. I liked that it was presented as an event and cherished it`s legacy with Behind the Scenes information and interviews. It made it more special than Mermaid`s Broadcast. It`s remarkable how the some of the animated parts were more edited than with Mermaid. And some of them were in Rough animation. It was also remarkable how Maurice`s introduction was an alternative storyboard version. And how the transformation was a mashup of the animated parts and the acting.
My only gripes with the show was H.E.R. as Belle. She doesn`t have a bad voice, but it was too deep and autotuned to sound like the purity of a Disney Princess. Her guitar solo also felt somewhat out of place, due to it`s misplaced setting. Shania Twain`s rendition of the title song was also a nitpick, as her performance had too much of a deep country twang to it (as she otherwise was fine in her other songs). Otherwise, I loved it and I`ll wonder if we`re going to get similar events for Aladdin and not least The Lion King.