Beauty and the Beast will have its fair share of normal humans, but the magic will kick off when the enchanted characters are introduced. Like the 1991 animated movie, the remake will see a castle who have been changed from their normal forms thanks to a curse. The difference this time around is thanks to the new movie taking a live action approach, it will be packed with CGI throughout. In fact, one of Beauty and the Beast's biggest musical numbers, "Be Our Guest," was almost 100% CGI from start to finish.
Speaking with Oh My Disney, directed Bill Condon reminisced on how so much of Beauty and the Beast was reliant on pure imagination rather than just shooting normally with a camera. For instance, aside from Emma Watson's Belle, everything in the "Be Our Guest" performance was entirely created with computers and special effects. He explained:
So much of [the movie] had to be imagined. You take the number 'Be Our Guest,' which took over a month to shoot, and half a year to plan, and a year to finish. But that's a number, except for Emma, no one's there. It's first created in a computer and then [special effects teams] bring it into reality, but yeah, that was a real ... something I've never experienced before.
Of all the musical numbers that Beauty and the Beast will have, both returning and new, it makes sense that this will be the one almost completely full of CGI. The sequence features Lumiere and Mrs. Potts, the anthropomorphic candelabra and tea pot, singing to Belle about they'll make her feel comfortable around the castle following the young woman's imprisonment. This leads to a hectic performance of the other enchanted denizens serving her food and having a romping good time. So yeah, aside from Emma Watson acting in front of a green screen, there wasn't really wasn't any way to pull off such a chaotic sequence without relying on all those effects.
Unless Disney releases a clip showing some of Beauty and the Beast's "Be Our Guest" in the weeks leading up to the movie's release, fans will have to wait until they're seated in theaters to see the final product. In the meantime, feel free to enjoy the original performance below, which was nominated for the 1992 Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Just like its predecessor, Disney's new Beauty and the Beast will tell the tale of Belle, an intellectual young woman, and the creature former known as Prince Adam, the lord of a mighty castle, falling in love. Along with Emma Watson and Dan Stevens playing Beast, the movie's cast includes Ewan McGregor as Lumiere, Ian McKellen as Cogsworth, Emma Thompson as Mrs. Potts, Luke Evans as Gaston, Kevin Kline as Maurice and Josh Gad as LeFou.
Beauty and the Beast will be released in theaters on March 17, 2017.
