• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Beauty and the Beast (2017) reviews are here

Status
Not open for further replies.
Have you seen/listened to the more recent Disney adaptation of Hunchback?

It's actually VERY good, and fixes a lot of the things from the movie that brought it down (gargoyles, bringing an even darker tone, haaaalf (?) of the ending (it's unclear lol)). It's excellent.
If by half of the ending you're referring to
Quasimodo burying himself alive with Esmeralda,
it's there in the script. Quasimodo's actor quotes the passage from Hugo's text explaining it before the final Bells of Notre Dame reprise.

It's not on the CD because they filled it to the brim as it was, the producer said there was only like fifteen seconds left so they had to make cuts wherever they could.
 
I just had a realization.

The guy at the beginning of the movie who couldn't remember what he had forgotten...it was his wife and son.

I realised the same last night, I think that was a nice touch and kind of filled in a plot hole from the original in a way. Made the look between Maurice and Mrs Pottts a bit odd though.

On Gaston I thought he was perfect, I was worried at first as he was far too likeable up until a specific point in the movie.

For me the concern before the movie was about the showstoppers and they nailed most of them:

Belle - good into song, not amazing but happy enough with it

Gaston - love love love this version of the song, I missed the reprise a little but liked the additions

Be our guest - great

Ballroom scene - maybe could have been grander but it worked well

Mob song - loved this, real anger there
 

Supast4r

Junior Member
I really hated the Beast solo song, it felt so wrong in that moment and broke up the plot momentum. Here we are approaching the climax, Belle is racing away and then.....bam screeched to a halt as we listen to this song that has nothing dynamic or interesting about it. It fell flat and just dragged the whole scene down pace wise. Plus I just hated his voice.
The song felt odd in that spot of them film. In the animated film the beast howls to scare off the wolves so belle can get back to town.
 
I liked it. Not quite as much as I was hoping to, but I did enjoy it. I think that overall the remake of Cinderella they did a few years ago was a better film, but my family didn't have a bad time at this one. My 5-year-old daughter, who loves Beauty and the Beast, approved. I was actually surprised at how amped up the violence felt toward the end. Gaston
shooting the beast three times; tying Maurice to a tree to be killed...
- that's a bit darker.
 

NekoFever

Member
I really hated the Beast solo song, it felt so wrong in that moment and broke up the plot momentum. Here we are approaching the climax, Belle is racing away and then.....bam screeched to a halt as we listen to this song that has nothing dynamic or interesting about it. It fell flat and just dragged the whole scene down pace wise. Plus I just hated his voice.

I hated the lyrics.

I rage against the trials of love
I curse the fading of the light


These wounds they will not heal.
 

Leeness

Member
If by half of the ending you're referring to
Quasimodo burying himself alive with Esmeralda,
it's there in the script. Quasimodo's actor quotes the passage from Hugo's text explaining it before the final Bells of Notre Dame reprise.

It's not on the CD because they filled it to the brim as it was, the producer said there was only like fifteen seconds left so they had to make cuts wherever they could.

I watched the show on YouTube and it was still kind of unclear to me haha. I heard that they didn't have that as an ending at first, then added it in? But when I went and re-read the Wikipedia summary, it's not mentioned, so I'm confused again. Was it in the show by the time it closed?
 

Apt101

Member
Isn't it like this?

2018: Mulan
2019: The Lion King
2020: Dumbo
2021: Aladdin

Damn Aladdin is going to be quite an undertaking with the genie and all of the flying and visuals.

And Dumbo? Surprised by that. I didn't think that was still in the zeitgeist in any meaningful amount.
 
Just got out. Can't type much on my phone, but I really didn't like this. I didn't hate it, but I don't have a drive to ever re-watch. Something felt off about the flow between scenes and moments. And a lot of songs lacked a certain energy. The only song I really enjoyed was Kill the Beast.
 
Is the movie supposed to look like a stage play? It's not entirely unattractive but it feels like it was filmed at Disneyland.

I think it's more of the case where they were trying to be faithful to the aesthetics of the original animation. The castle was mostly fine but the village always came off looking like a set.
 

Monocle

Member
This was actually incredible. Sumptuous visuals, pitch perfect reduxes of the classic songs, and changes large and small that really elevated the whole work. I know the original is a classic for good reason, but I actually enjoyed this adaptation a lot more. Wonderful film.
 
I watched the show on YouTube and it was still kind of unclear to me haha. I heard that they didn't have that as an ending at first, then added it in? But when I went and re-read the Wikipedia summary, it's not mentioned, so I'm confused again. Was it in the show by the time it closed?
So there were two productions for Hunchback's trial run, one at La Jolla Playhouse in California, and the second at Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey (I saw this one).

Between the two runs, they added/removed some things, switched some scenes/songs around, even rewrote a song from the ground up (Thai Mal Piyas). One of the things they added was Quasi's monologue explaining his fate. The bootleg floating around on YT is from the La Jolla show so it doesn't have it.

If it had gone to Broadway they probably would have made more adjustments to the show, but the Paper Mill version is the "canon" version (the one MTI licenses out to theatres - I'm a theatre director at a high school and I requested a perusal copy, not like I don't know the show front to back as is, ha)
 

NekoFever

Member
There were definitely a few places that felt like they took place on a soundstage, if that's what you mean. Especially the village.
A lot of it was very artificial. Like when Belle runs up the hill outside town at the end of the opening song and the whole landscape is CG. It's like Jesus Christ just jump in a car and go out into the countryside.
 

Arkeband

Banned
I hated the lyrics.

I rage against the trials of love
I curse the fading of the light


These wounds they will not heal.

There were a handful of songs that they half-started but lilted off after a verse, yet the second Beast gets jilted he sings a whole song with barely any voice modulation, totally took me out of it.

The rest of the movie was competent and I enjoyed it, with the exception of the almost anachronistic 4th wall breaking LeFou "I just realized I'm illiterate" addition to Gaston.

Also, there was a disgraceful lack of Gaston biceps.

Edit: oh, Dan Stevens is the god of facial expressions. the CGI team must have been like "what the fuck is this guy's problem".
 

TDLink

Member
Yeah, it's a bummer it didn't make it to Broadway, it's excellent. I'd be down with a film version of it!

Let me know if you like it! Some of the added songs are eeeeh, some are great (Rhythm of the Tambourine, Place of Miracles, Someday (this one omg), Made of Stone (also this one) being the standouts to me).

Listened to it all. I agree. Some of the additional songs aren't so hot. But those you pointed out very much are. And the ones back from the film are still great. Bells of Notre Dame feels a bit more broken up/not as good as the film's version though.

Overall I'd still definitely like to see a live action film version of this.
 

munroe

Member
UK, saw it last night and thought it was great, and it's generally an American thing where the audience claps at the end of the movie but with this showing, they did just that.

The only downside was that,though this may be because it was packed out cinema, some of the musical numbers, it was hard to make out the words.

Thought Emma Watson was great in it and that her own strong personality matched well with Belle's
 

D23

Member
Seeing this in 3D tonight! and i just got back from Disneyland two days ago..

That Disney fever is real.
 

Pagusas

Elden Member
Seeing how they are adapting broadway songs for these "remakes" I am SUPER excited for "Shadowlands" in the Lion King. Seriously that song is better than anything in the movie. Rare for an added song.
 

Leeness

Member
Listened to it all. I agree. Some of the additional songs aren't so hot. But those you pointed out very much are. And the ones back from the film are still great. Bells of Notre Dame feels a bit more broken up/not as good as the film's version though.

Overall I'd still definitely like to see a live action film version of this.

Glad we agree! Others that are good but not great are Top of the World, the bar song is fun, Rest and Recreation, Esmerelda. But like, Flight to Egypt...meeeeh. Some of the other fillers don't really stand out. At least with no gargoyles, no Guy Like You!

Bells of Notre Dame is a bit broken but I also like the different story it told. But honestly, nothing can quite hit the highs of the film's version (Clopin hitting that note at the end, omg).

Would like to see a broadway revival of it, or a live action film. It's very good.

Seeing how they are adapting broadway songs for these "remakes" I am SUPER excited for "Shadowlands" in the Lion King. Seriously that song is better than anything in the movie. Rare for an added song.

Would LOVE to see Shadowlands and He Lives in You in the live action Lion King.
 
This was actually incredible. Sumptuous visuals, pitch perfect reduxes of the classic songs, and changes large and small that really elevated the whole work. I know the original is a classic for good reason, but I actually enjoyed this adaptation a lot more. Wonderful film.

This is where I'm at after seeing it tonight.

Like many I was apprehensive about Emma Watson, but she was actually good. Not mindblowingly amazing or anything, but she definitely put in a solid performance. Dan Stevens was a terrific Beast, and Luke Evans was PERFECT as Gaston. Can definitely see why LeFou was crushing on him in this version. Hell, I found myself almost rooting for him even though they made him much more of a dick.

I also enjoyed most of the musical numbers better than the original versions, especially Gaston and the Mob Song.
 

Roo

Member
I watched this movie last night and I honestly felt really disappointed by it.

I've been enjoying all these Disney action movies (some more than others) because they bring something new or take a different aproach to the original animated movie.

This one tho? I couldn't shake the feel throughout the entire movie they were trying to copy/paste everything from the original. The acting was the worst offender. Everyone, especially Belle..(or Emma..) was trying so hard to emulate the facial expressions and body language of the animated Belle I kind of felt uncomfortable at times.

The CG was really rough as well. Those castle/garden and village shots looked so fake I was surprised Disney was ok with the way they looked.

The new songs and
Belle's mom side story
were nice details tho.
I'd give it a 6/10 tbqh.


Oh yeah,
I didn't quite understand Agathe's role at the end. Was she the enchantress? lol
 

overcast

Member
Pretty mediocre flick. Felt very little throughout. Gotta say I was impressed by Luke Evans as Gaston and surprised by how shit some of the CG was.

Might have an early contender for worst line of 2017:
Belle: You should grow a beard
Beast: *Rawr*

I did like the ending scene of the side characters turning into regular old furniture.
 

jimmypython

Member
Just saw it. individual numbers and sequences were great. but the flow wasn't there.

also, as beautiful as Emma Watson was in the film, i don't think he was the perfect cast for the role. Gaston and LeFou were great.
 

zeemumu

Member
Having just gotten out of the movie, I'm gonna double down on my belief that this Gaston is less of a bully and more of a maniac. Dude seems to be constantly on the verge of a murderous rampage.
 
Yeah, it's a bummer it didn't make it to Broadway, it's excellent. I'd be down with a film version of it!

Let me know if you like it! Some of the added songs are eeeeh, some are great (Rhythm of the Tambourine, Place of Miracles, Someday (this one omg), Made of Stone (also this one) being the standouts to me).
Just want to add - Place of Miracles was a cut song from the film that was added back after much revision. So glad it found its way back into the show.
 
also, as beautiful as Emma Watson was in the film, i don't think he was the perfect cast for the role. Gaston and LeFou were great.

She draws people into the movie with her star power, but was otherwise kind of bland throughout. The few times she was trying to mimick the animated faces of the original were just weird.

Luke Evans and Ewan McGregor were incredible, the both of them easily carried the whole cast.
 

HvySky

Member
Saw it last night. Absolutely loved it. I enjoyed it even more than The Jungle Book, although that might just be because I have much more nostalgic love for the original Beauty and the Beast than I do Jungle Book. I walked out the theater with a huge smile on my face.
 
Just got back from seeing this, and thought it was absolutely fantastic. I went in pretty skeptical, as I do with all of Disney's live-action remakes, but quickly found myself fully embracing the familiar story and characters, and happily accepting all of the added elements. There were some parts that fell slightly flat for me (Be Our Guest); but for the most part, I was happy with the way everything had been done. Gaston was the star of the movie for me, surprisingly enough. I never saw Gaston as that big of a character in the original BATB, but wow, Luke really brought him up to star tier. Gaston (the song) was also the one musical number/scene where I'd say that this new film did it way better than the original.

Skimming through some of the reviews on RT, I don't really get the claims of the movie being pretty to look at but lacking substance otherwise. Yeah, the movie had some really stunning and detailed sets, but they always complimented the story. I thought the story was told really well, and that all the new scenes, being as small and intimate as they were, only gave the plot more life and magic.

I really hated the Beast solo song, it felt so wrong in that moment and broke up the plot momentum. Here we are approaching the climax, Belle is racing away and then.....bam screeched to a halt as we listen to this song that has nothing dynamic or interesting about it. It fell flat and just dragged the whole scene down pace wise. Plus I just hated his voice.
I thought the song itself was alright, but it definitely interrupted the pacing. Especially since the entirety of the song was pretty much just Beast jumping from staircase to staircase to window to staircase, making the awkward momentum shift even more stiff.
 

Rentahamster

Rodent Whores
I kinda wanted them to pull a Shrek, and have the Beast stay like that. Or have Belle get some kind of furry fetish and be disappointed that the Beast looks human again :p

Speaking of the Beast, did Belle ever address him directly by some kind of name? What the hell has she been calling him this whole time?
 
I kinda wanted them to pull a Shrek, and have the Beast stay like that. Or have Belle get some kind of furry fetish and be disappointed that the Beast looks human again :p

Speaking of the Beast, did Belle ever address him directly by some kind of name? What the hell has she been calling him this whole time?

Prince?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom