With the popularity of nostalgia only continuing to grow over the past few years, it looks like Disney has had some seriously fortuitous timing. Because around the time that nostalgia began trending, the House of Mouse also began remaking classic Disney cartoons in live-action. Starting with 2014's Maleficent, the studio has since produced blockbusters Cinderella and The Jungle Book. Next up is the Oscar winning Beauty and the Beast, which will fly into theaters shortly starring Harry Potter alum Emma Watson. But how will this live-action adaptation affect the original animated feature? According to the Beast himself, it will only improve upon the source material.
Actor Dan Stevens plays Beast in the Disney's live action Beauty and the Beast. While speaking to Nerdist about his work on the upcoming X-Men TV show Legion, Stevens revealed how Disney's latest remake will honor and improve upon the original. He said,
It's also a retelling of a classic fairy tale, which the animated version was as well. There's a few little twists, and it's definitely a movie that's game to play a little bit with our expectations of what we think we're gonna see. And also in making something three-dimensional from two-dimensional, there are a few moments of added depth that add to the story, and there's a little playfulness here and there. But it's made with a huge amount of love and respect for the original, and for the fairy tale, and for the Cocteau version. It's all in there. A lot of the original music is there, and there's some new songs that Alan Menken wrote and it's pretty magical. I'm very excited.
Well, this certainly seems exciting. While some fans may be bored with a remake of the 1991 Disney classic, it appears that the new Beauty and the Beast will actually make a few changes and mess with the audience's expectations.
Since the release of Beauty and the Beast's first teaser, it was clear that those behind the camera knew the original well. The shots used are ones that 90's kids could easily recall from the original, and the upcoming live-action blockbuster certainly seems faithful to its predecessor. Alas, a strictly frame for frame remake wouldn't be very exciting, and so quite a few changes have been made to the narrative.
One of these revisions is Belle's backstory. In order give reason to Belle's isolation from the rest of her village, director Bill Condon made Belle an inventor like her father. And considering how everyone thinks Maurice is crazypants, this would also affect his daughter's reputation. We will also presumably see some flashbacks containing the objects as humans, since the cast's human forms are being highly publicized. Plus, songwriter Alan Menken is adding some new songs to the score.
Beauty and the Beast will arrive in theaters on March 17th, 2017.
