The first full trailer for Disney's live-action Beauty and the Beast was released earlier this week, and while we expected it to look familiar, being that it's a remake of one of the most popular animated films ever made, it may surprise you to see just how much the two films have in common. Check out this side-by-side comparison.
If you've got a keen eye and know the original Beauty and the Beast well, you might have noticed just by watching the trailer that some aspects of the new movie were taken directly from the original. But Moviepilot went the extra mile to show us just how much was the same. Even some of the dialogue, like Belle asking the Beast to "come into the light", is the same line in both films. While the line is a simple one, it was obviously decided that the introduction of the Beast in the new film would be done in the same way as it was in the original.
Not every shot works in the side-by-side of course. The shot of Emma Watson looking down from her tower is set next to a shot of the animated Belle crying on her bed. There could still very well be a crying scene in the new film, it just didn't make it into the trailer. Other shots are similar, but not identical, which is to be expected since the majority of the plot points are expected to be the same.
There is, of course, the one major difference that can't be overlooked. In the animated version of Beauty and the Beast, Maurice is looking for shelter when he comes across the Beast's castle after being chased by wolves, in the live action version, the Beast imprisons Maurice for picking roses from the castle garden. It's an interesting change because the roses are actually a traditional catalyst for the events in the old fairy tales, but one that Disney did not use before. Whether other similarities, like the Beast's shadow filling the screen as he watches Maurice, are intentional nods to the animated classic, or simply coincidences, are anybody's guess.
Unlike Disney's previous live-action remakes, a large part of the viewing audience today remembers seeing Beauty and the Beast in the theaters when it was brand new. There are memories that the new movie will have to live up to. Has the new film made a concerted effort to create something as close to the original as possible or are they simply throwing in references to the original for the real fans to enjoy? Would you like to see a direct remake of the animated classic or something a little more fresh and new? We'll know which we're going to get when we see the complete film in March.
