WARNING: This Review Contains Spoilers
In 1991, Disney introduced us to their fifth princess, Belle of Villenueve, and taught us that beauty is never only skin-deep. This also ended up being one of the first films that they remade in the 21st Century.
Openings
Understandably, both openings are reasonably different – as one is animation and the other live-action. They seem to have made the remake a lot more extravagant as we are introduced to the prince during the party before the entrance of the witch. The original, on the other hand, tell us this story via stained glass. One of the main similarities between them is that after the transformation the Beast damages his own portrait.
In terms of the opening song, the scene is pretty much frame-by-frame – including the interactions with the villagers. However, in the remake, there is no man the stocks at the start. Also, the book Belle reads in each one is different. In the original, she has just finished reading Jack and the Beanstalk but in the remake its Romeo and Juliet, which is actually referenced later in the original.
Clear Differences
As someone watching both of these films for the first time, there were distinct differences that stood out to me. Firstly, Belle’s father. In the original film, he is an inventor and the people of Villenueve see him as a crazy man from the outset whereas in the remake he seems to be an artist and only seems to be seen as crazy when he returns from the castle looking for help to rescue Belle. Along with the quality of him having an inventive mind means that he is not afraid that the appliances in the castle are talking, instead, he is interested in how they work.
Secondly, the Beast himself is portrayed rather differently. In the original, he is gentler with Belle than he is in the remake. For example, it is his idea to give her a room in the castle where in the remake Lumiere lets her out of her cell without his permission. In addition to this, there is a lot more emotion to the way she switches herself for her father in the remake. Instead of the Beast dragging him out of the cell for Belle to take his place, she forces him out herself when she hugs him goodbye.
It is also an important difference to mention, that her father makes it to the castle alone in the original, without his horse Phillipe, whereas in the remake they arrive together. There is also hay at the castle which I have to admit I find a little strange as we never see a horse at the castle for the Beast to ride.
LeFou
The first thing I will say that I found strangely interesting, is how much Josh Gad actually looks like the animation of LeFou from the original animation. I am not sure if he was a deliberate choice for this reason but it does add a brilliant quality.
The one thing I am not quite sure about, is the decision to make him ‘gay’. Now, it may not be obvious in the way it is portrayed but there is a different tone between the two versions of the song ‘Gaston’. In addition to this, at the very end during the closing dance scene, he ends up dancing with a man. More importantly, it is the man that is more than happy to be dressed up like a woman during the fight.
The Beauty of Animation
The original Beauty and the Beast film was a ground-breaker for Disney when it comes to animation as their first dance scene is actually a cross between 2D and 3D. What I love about the way the animation is used in the remake is the fact that Lumiere has actual legs but what I dislike is the decision to give both Mrs Potts and Chip proper faces. There’s something very charming about the fact that Chip’s handle and Mrs Potts’ spout are their noses so I cannot quite understand why this needed to be changed.
The fun part about the animation in the original, is based mainly around the horse Phillipe. When he and Maurice are on their way to the market and get lost, he knows that the shortcut they try to take is dangerous and deliberately tries to go a different way like he has a mind of his own. This is something that cannot be done with a real horse.
Rose Reaction
At the centre of our story is the enchanted rose which holds the Beast’s fate in its delicate petals. In both films, Belle sneaks into the west wing where the rose is kept only to face the wrath of the Beast. However, there is a distinct difference between this scene in the original and the version in the remake, but the Beast reacts exactly the same way. The rose is kept inside a glass bell jar which in the original Belle opens to admire its beauty. In the remake, she is just staring at it through the glass but the Beast gets just as angry as he does in the remake. Now, I understand that opening the jar could be a danger to the rose but I do not see how looking at it could have any effect on their fate.
Belle’s Mother
This is something that is only mentioned in the remake, along with the fact that they used to live in Paris. It makes it easier to understand why Belle is viewed the way she is in the small village of Villenueve, as it is not normal for them to see such an educated young woman, once this information is brought to light. Outside of her mother’s representation in the windmill scene at the start of the film, we learn about her and why they left Paris when the Beast asks Belle to look into his magic mirror as the first place she chooses is Paris before asking to be shown her father. We are told that her mother was sick with the plague and they leave to protect Belle. Why none of this is mentioned in the original film, I do not know but I feel it does not add anything to the remake.
In Conclusion
My feelings may have been helped by the fact that this is the first time I have seen either version of Beauty and The Beast but I actually quite enjoyed both of them. The heartstrings that are pulled by the remake and the linear tale told by the original made the films quite enjoyable to watch.
