Today is Valentine's Day, with many people focusing on love stories in both reality and film. Plenty of folks will watch their favorite sappy movie this evening, and few love stories are as epic and adored as Disney's Beauty and the Beast. And with the new live-action version just a month away, the folks at Disney are amping up their marketing and releasing new clips and images from the highly anticipated reimagining. Perhaps the biggest mystery around Beauty and the Beast is how well the cast will sing the iconic score, and now we have a new clip of just that.
Good Morning America just released a new clip from Beauty and the Beast. It shows actors Josh Gad and Luke Evans singing from the song "Gaston", and they sound pretty great. Check it out. The clip starts at the 2:45 mark:
On the rare chance that you were wary of the new Beauty and the Beast, this clip just may change your mind. Because "Gaston" already seems like it will be a highlight of the live action adaptation.
The above clip features a small excerpt from "Gaston", with Josh Gad's sidekick character Le Fou amping up the townspeople from Belle's little town (or quiet village, depending on who you ask). The folks at the pub are just crazy about the handsome hunter, and this song in particular is all about getting Gaston to feel better after being rejected by Belle.
What is perhaps the most interesting aspect of the clip is that it appears that Josh Gad and Luke Evans are singing their vocal lines live. Evans previously stated that the cast sang quite a few of their songs live, and that the editors will choose whether the recorded soundtrack or live vocals sound better in each scene. And in this clip, both actors add a level of freshness and fun to their solos which probably otherwise wouldn't be included in the soundtrack. You can see Evan's vibrato while he sings the high note, and Gad does a bunch of hilarious and strange vocal choices which add to the scene.
It should be interesting to se how much live singing is included in Beauty and the Beast. The cast is pretty phenomenal, with plenty of fantastic singers who are used to performing live. Audra McDonald has a ton of Tony Awards, Josh Gad was nominated for The Book of Mormon, and we've heard Ewan McGregor crooning in Moulin Rouge. And while Disney fans are sure to devour the film's soundtrack once it is released, it's exciting that there will be new colors and vocal choices through live singing.
Beauty and the Beast will arrive in theaters on March 17th, 2017.
