Over the past few years a noticeable trend has emerged with Disney releasing ‘live action’ versions of many of their classic films.
Cinderella and The Jungle Book have already had the treatment, and there are rumours that Mulan and The Lion King are well into the production process. Opinions differ as to whether rehashing the classics is just laziness and a desire for guaranteed success, but there’s no doubt that anticipating the release of these films appeals to our nostalgia. Beauty and the Beast was released mid-March and smashed box office records, re-establishing itself as one of Disney’s most beloved tales.
There’s a stellar ensemble cast – Emma Watson as Belle, Luke Evans and Josh Gad as alpha male chauvinist Gaston and sidekick LeFou respectively, Dan Stevens of Downton Abbey is unrecognisable in the CGI-treated role of the witty and endearing Beast, while Emma Thompson, Ian McKellan and Ewan McGregor as Mrs Potts, Cogsworth and Lumiere positively light up the dark atmosphere of the castle. With a handful of new songs and an elaboration of both titular characters’ family histories, the film otherwise remains largely true to the original film.
