I've heard two sides of the argument on these live action films that Disney has been doing over the last 5+ years. Some people think that they shouldn't be touched, especially the ones that were so great to begin with, since they worry the film will be ruined or redone in the wrong way.
I happen to agree with the opposite side of this argument. I love the live action movies. In fact, the more I loved the original, the more I love the live action remake. I personally think that they give more opportunity for people of various ages, but especially older viewers, to enjoy stories that were originally meant for young children. And for people like me who enjoyed the originals as a child, it gives a new perspective and feel to those movies that we loved so long ago.
I must admit that although I adored the live action Cinderella, (I may actually like it more than the original...) I was a bit disappointed in the musical direction it took. It was the first live action that was redone that really had a few staple songs that people correlate to the movie; for example, "Bibbity-Bobbity-Boo" and "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes." Alice in Wonderland and Sleeping Beauty didn't quite have that piece to weave into the new versions. The Jungle Book, on the other hand, did have those musical numbers. Maybe someone complained {it wasn't me...}. So when they announced the Beauty and the Beast remake, one of my first thoughts was, "please, oh please let there be music!" I waited to hear the news: knew Emma Watson was playing Belle but had no idea if she could sing, saw Luke Evans {Gaston} have a sing off with Hugh Jackman {also played the part in an Australian showing of the show} and had a huge glimmer of hope! But it wasn't until I saw the clip of the song "Belle" with Emma Watson singing that I knew they'd be doing all the musical numbers. And maybe I was behind the news... but either way I was thrilled since I think the music is crucial to this one.
My mom, sister, and I pre-purchased tickets to see Beauty and the Beast on the day it came to theaters. I worried about taking the girls, as many were, because of the nature of the live action films. I didn't know how they might react to real wolves and a real beast and the actual live action in the fighting scenes. I decided to see it myself and decide to take them {or not} later. Well, something came up for Krista and she couldn't make it. Now I had an extra ticket. After a ton of research online about whether the movie would be appropriate or not for them, I decided to go ahead and try taking at least Nora. I asked the girls if they wanted to see the movie, we discussed how it could be a little scary at parts and also how we knew what would happen at the end; it would all be okay. After talking through it, they still expressed interest in going.
While we were watching the movie, both girls had moments where they were a little scared. They both handled it the way we talked about - covering our eyes or ears and not yelping in the theater. It was scariest at the beginning and then at the end but they were no more scared in this movie than any other movie they have seen. If I'm being honest, Trolls scared them more, for some reason. There's typically a villain in children's movies which tend to scare them no matter how real or dark it is. Both girls also really liked the singing and dancing. They enjoyed the costumes. And since there was so much hype around it I'll go ahead and say... no, they did not pick up on anything even remotely sexual in the movie, which I felt was a non-issue anyways.
Nora's Snapchat-style review of Beauty and the Beast.
Janie's Snapchat-style review of Beauty and the Beast.
I loved it. Like Cinderella, I probably loved it more than the original. My only {tiny} complaint would be that Belle's singing was sweet, but not spectacular. Otherwise, I felt the cast, music, theatrics... were brilliant. I cannot wait to own our own copy and see it again!
I keep hearing that Disney is making more and more of these live action films... and I will look forward to seeing every single one!
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