Beauty and the Beast is not an exception as I was anticipating this for months since the first hint of Emma Watson playing Belle, the protagonist of the story. I am always skeptical when it comes to remaking of a new version but at the same time hopeful that it won’t disappoint.
I am currently in Doha and the movie premier of Beauty and the Beast in Middle East falls on March 16th. Would you believe that I had this date penciled in a month before? I had asked my colleagues to join me and boy was it great having your girl friends watch the movie with you.
We tried booking our tickets online to reserve slots on the six o’clock schedule but our online transaction couldn’t get through. We ended up waiting for the day itself and bought the tickets five hours before the six o’clock schedule. Yes, it had to be the six o’clock schedule that’s why we were desperate to buy them tickets as most of us wanted to be home early.
Here is the list of significant changes done for the remake
- Stained glass story telling – In this version, instead of storytelling through stained glass, we get to see a live take of the Beast’s encounter of the enchantress.
- Belle as an inventor – She isn’t just a bookworm but also an inventor. She invented a washing machine to get her chore done efficiently while she teaches a kid to read.
- Maurice as an artist – He is an inventor in the original version but as an artist on the remake it doesn’t affect as much for the movie.
- Beast’s bad behavior – It explains here how Adam, the beast, became so cruel and was easily repulsed by the unpleasant image of the Enchantress. He was raised alone by the King, his father who was also as cold hearted as he became when his mother died of illness.
- Belle’s backstory – We now have a glimpse of Belle’s mother which we didn’t get a chance to know of from the original version. We have come to know that her mother died coz of a plague in Paris.
- The Enchanted Book – Aside from the famous mirror and rose, the Enchantress gave Beast an enchanted book which can transport him to whatever place and time his heart wishes to.
- Enchantress as an actual character – Her image isn’t just on a stained glass anymore as she is one of the villagers who live amongst everyone else.
- Chip is the only son – We have known him to have a cupboard full of his brothers and sisters but on this remake he is the only son of Mrs. Potts.
- Castle crumbles when a petal falls – As explained on the movie, when a petal falls it gets them all closer to become real antiques.
- LeFou is gay – Although it is quite apparent when a right-hand of a narcissistic antagonist is drawn to their character, they end up wanting to be him or be with him. But in this remake it is openly portrayed and the humor of it is amusing.
- Cadenza – He is an addition to the castle which is played by Stanley Tucci.
Four stars out of five.
Signing off.