The live action remake of Beauty and the Beast premiered this weekend, and Fresh Baked took a break from our visit to Disneyland to see the film at Downtown Disney. The film is both familiar and new. All our favorite songs are there of course. As are those classic moments and lines that we’ve had memorized for decades. And as per usual, the filmmakers could not resist putting their own stamp on the re-make, adding in some new songs, new scenes, and some changes in character personalities. So let’s get in to what Beauty and the Beast got right and wrong.

The first live action remake gave us a completely new way to tell the story of Sleeping Beauty. So much so, it’s not even named after the previous title character. Maleficent was…her story. Cinderella however took a near opposite angle, telling an almost identical story to the animated classic. Beauty and the Beast meets somewhere in the middle, telling the same story, but adding a full 30 minutes of story and 3 new songs. And it’s with these 3 new songs that we’ll start.

Got it wrong #1

We’ve been watching Beauty and the Beast for a couple of decades now, and as such, there is a natural cadence to the film. There are beats. Rhythm. And when that rhythm is interrupted, the films momentum gets shot. Most notable was Beasts “Evermore.” It took all the urgency out of Belle’s return trip home to save her father. This is a very dramatic moment in the film, and one where all the other dramatic elements are coming together for a grand finale. This gets ground to a halt with Beasts operatic turn. I couldn’t wait for it to end so we could get back to the heroes journey. I will say though that I thought Maurice’s “How does a Moment Last Forever” to be a decent inclusion, as it gave the character a little more depth.

Got it right #1

Which takes me to a key change that Disney got right with Beauty and the Beast. And that’s with Belle’s father Maurice. In the original, he’s a joke. A town fool who nobody takes seriously. I never liked this quality for Maurice and very much appreciated Disney making him a sober, intelligent, competent character.







Got it wrong #2

Speaking of changes in character, I was again taken out of the moment when Mrs. Potts began her rendition of “Beauty and the Beast.” While it is said that Angela Lansbury’s take on Mrs. Potts is based on a cook with a cockney accent she knew, it’s not really cockney at all. It’s just…Angela Lansbury. But Emma Thompson’s accent has a more pronounced accent, and I just couldn’t enjoy it. I suppose, again, this is due to 20 plus years of conditioning, but can you blame me?

Got it right #2

When I first heard they cast Josh Gad as Le Fou, I felt it was simply a matter of opportunity. He was fresh off his success with Frozen….and everyone LOVED Olaf. But would we hear Olaf? Or would we SEE Le Fou. Well, we saw Le Fou. Josh Gad’s Le Fou. And he was fantastic. I don’t think it could be argued I was wrong if I said he was the best part of the film. His professionalism shone through especially with Gaston’s song, and I came away being a much bigger fan of Josh Gad than I had thought possible.

Got it wrong #3

And it wasn’t just Josh Gad’s casting they got right. All of the cast was good to great. But man did they miss on some of the art. The remaining three misses will be in this vain, starting with the art direction for the castle. In general, it was just way too gothic. Dark, cold, no color really at all. I thought we were in Dracula’s castle, rather than one that had not long ago belonged to a royal family. I get that Beast’s castle isn’t supposed to be…inviting. But I do feel they went way too far. Why would Belle EVER want to live there? And isn’t that the goal?

Got it right #3

You know what just about EVERYONE says about Beast? Why is he such a jerk? Where are his parents? Why is he all alone in that castle with a bunch of talking dishes? Well, we don’t exactly get a complete answer to this question, but we do learn a little more about Beast, and it helps. We learn that he was raised this way by his father, and that the talking dishes did nothing to stop it. We also learn that his mother died before the transformation. Still no news on dad though.

Got it wrong #4

Here’s another complaint about the art direction. What the heck is up with Lumiere and Cogsworth? They were kind of difficult to watch due to their ornate, almost complicated looking style. I much preferred the simple lines of the animated original. In fact, their design confuses me somewhat on the stories time line. They appear to be baroque in still, which is 17th century. But the plague is mentioned later when discussing the death of Belle’s mother, which is 14th century. So…doe I have this wrong? Or does Disney? Either way, I did not enjoy the design choices for most of the talking dishes and furniture.

Got it right #4

Speaking of Belle’s mom…so glad we know what happened to her. But more importantly, I felt this scene went a LONG way to convincing me that Beast and Belle were falling in love. This is a complaint I often have in Disney movies. The damsel in distress seems to just….be in love…with her hero. She just sees a dude in the woods and is all twitterpated. Disney tries to convince us of Belle and Beasts love with a montage. And everyone knows that montages that include a snowball fight equals love.

But this scene, where Beast and Belle go on what was supposed to be a quasi vacation, winds up giving the Beast a glimpse in to Belle’s personal story, and the empathy shows. This scene is the catalyst in the new film form him to free Belle to save her dad because he now sees her father as someone worth saving. THUS giving more weight to Belle reciprocating the Beasts love.

Got it wrong #5

Okay, last one, and this one I may or may not have right. But dang did I not like the way Beast was drawn. At least not with the long shots where we see him in motion. In fact, I liked his close ups. It helped achieve better emotion from what I assume to be a mo-capped Dan Stevens. But the long shots, especially the ones in the finale with him jumping from rooftop to rooftop, looked positively cartoon like. Reminded me of Spider Man. One. It was just too obviously CGI. Is it just me, or aren’t they better at this now?

Got it right #5

We’ll end with the movie’s end. Let me begin again with what we’ve known for 20 plus years. And that is that Belle’s prize for falling in love with the Beast is a handsome prince. I always had a problem with this. Sends the wrong message if you ask me. Ladies, if you love a man enough, or at all, you can turn transform him from a Beast to a Prince. Why would she love this transformed prince? She loved the Beast!

But I very much enjoyed the final piece of dialogue during the films happily ever after ballroom scene. While dancing with the Beast, Belle asks the prince if he’d consider growing a beard. The prince responds with a smile and a beastly snarl. In other words, they both agree that it’s great he’s a prince and all, but we’ll be returning to Beauty and THE BEAST thank you very much.

The live action re-make got a lot right, and some wrong, but in the end, I found the film to be enjoyable and a worthy addition to the Disney library of film classics. They did the animated film justice, while bringing a personality of its own. It’s what movie making is all about and Fresh Baked recommends everyone see the film.





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