The renewed tale as old as time

Angel Beltran

More stories from Angel Beltran

The renewed tale as old as time

Everyone remembers the tale as old as time. The original “Beauty and the Beast” came out 26 years ago; now Disney has remade it into a live action movie. So how does the Disney classic hold up? It was the first animated movie to be nominated for Best Picture Oscar.

The movie tells the story of Belle, a girl who lives in a village where she is considered an outcast because she has interests far beyond her village. Her uniqueness captures the attention of the hottest guy in the village, Gaston, who is determined to make Belle his wife. Skip to the other side of the woods where there lives a prince cursed by an enchantress years ago because of his selfishness. The woman turns the prince into a beast and his servants into household items that can talk. The only way to break the spell is if the Beast learns the meaning of love, and someone returns it. When Belle’s father goes into the woods, he finds himself the Beast’s prisoner. When he does not return, Belle goes looking for him. The Beast allows Belle’s father to leave if she takes his place. While in the castle, Belle befriends the servants, and as the deadline of the curse approaches, they try to get Belle to fall in love with the prince.

While the live-action and the original follow the same plots, there are a few differences. The live-action adds more backstory to Belle’s family and explains why they live in the small village. The movie opens with the story of how the prince, played by Dan Stevens, became a beast. However, it is not told through stained glass windows, like in the animated movie. The enchantress also erases all memory of the prince and the castle from the villagers. While in the animated film the Beast had until his 21st birthday for the last petal to fall, the live action rendition simply states when the last petal falls, Beast will remain cursed, and all servants will completely transform into objects with no trance of humanity.

Belle, played by Emma Watson, is more seen as an inventor and teacher. When she tries to teach a girl in the village to read, she is told to stop because the village does not need another girl who can read. Belle also addresses how the village calls her a funny girl and its rude connotation. Gaston, played by Luke Evans, is still chasing Belle, with the help of his best friend, Le Fou, voiced by Josh Gad. Sarcasm is scattered throughout the movie.

During opening weekend, “Beauty and the Beast” earned $170 million and has become the highest grossing PG film released in March.

Even though the plots are the same, the differences in the live-action version make it worth watching. Whether going for the music, acting, or nostalgia, this is a tale as old as time but still timeless–one for all ages to enjoy.