Film Reviews | Adaptation: The Beauty and The Beast (2017)

Beauty and the Beast (2017), directed by Bill Condon, is a live-action re-telling film of a fantastic Disney’s fairy tale.

The story is about Belle, a beautiful and independent woman who, because of saving his father, is taken as a prisoner by a beast in his castle. There she befriends the castle’s enchanted staff, and despite her fears, she gets to know the beast and realizes the true colors of the Prince.

What was it adapted from?

It was adapted from Disney’s musical romantic fantasy animated film directed in 1991 by Gary Trousdale and Krik Wise. This 1991 Beauty and the Beast movie stayed true to a French fairy tale written by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont and called The Beauty and the Beast too, and it was also based on a 1946 French film directed by Jean Cocteau and also named the same way.

Did it omit anything to the source material?

Not at all, “The Mouse House has taken no such chances with Beauty and The Beast. The plot, the characters, the cheerful Howard Ashman and Alan Menken tunes: all have been faithfully recycled, as though some enchantress has waved her wand over an old cartoon and suddenly brought it screaming into the flesh-and-blood world” (A.A. Dowd, AV Film, 2017).

Did it add anything to the source material?

Nothing, Disney’s tale as old as time doesn’t feel new, and it is that oldness the great point about the film.

How did it bring the source material to life visually?

Visual effects everywhere. But as the effects company Digital Domain said, creating the character of the Beast was the most prominent challenged mainly because it is “a digital creation based on a performance by “Downton Abbey” star Dan Stevens”. “Often actors wearing motion capture suits wear camera rigs on their heads and have tracking points marked on their faces too. But it was decided that Stevens and co-star Emma Watson should be able to see each clearly to interact more realistically, so Stevens didn't wear a head-mounted camera. Instead, after shooting a scene on set with the other actors, he would go into a studio at a later date to record the second part of his performance. Those thousands of tracking points were then mapped to the digitally-created face of the Beast, transferring the nuances of Stevens' performance to the outlandish creature” (Richard Trenholm, CNet, 2017)

Did it succeed or fail at the box office?

That's a yes! “ Meanwhile, the Beauty and the Beast earned $490.6 million domestically (and counting) in its first week in theaters, while its international box office had swelled to $262 million as of Friday. Adjusted for 2017 rates, the 1991 film’s haul is more like $760 million - but the new Beauty is expected to surpass that figure as well before long” (Yohana Desta, Vanity Fair, 2017).

Bibliography:

A.A. Dowd (2017) Why remake Beauty And The Beast and do nothing new with its tale as old as time? At: https://film.avclub.com/why-remake-beauty-and-the-beast-and-do-nothing-new-with-1798190749 Accessed on: 15/12/17

Richard Trenholm (2017) Beauty of the Beast: The cutting-edge effects behind Disney’s hit At: https://www.cnet.com/news/beauty-and-the-beast-visual-effects-digital-domain-dan-stevens-emma-watson/ Accessed on: 15/12/17

Yohana Desta (2017) How Beauty and the Beast Became One of Disney’s Most Profitable Gambles At: https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/03/beauty-and-the-beast-animated-box-office Accessed on: 15/12/17

Illustration List:

Image 1. The Beauty and the Beast [Film Poster] At: http://www.impawards.com/2017/beauty_and_the_beast_ver3.html Accessed on: 15/12/17

Image 2. The Beauty and the Beast [Film Still] At: http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/movies/your-childhood-comes-to-life-in-the-first-trailer-for-disneys-beauty-and-the-beast-starring-emma-watson/news-story/0497a8c0116a42afcd20b5ba6eb1c163 Accessed on: 15/12/17