I may have really liked The Jungle Book, but I'll be blunt, I had absolutely no intention of watching Beauty and the Beast. Like The Jungle Book, I either haven't seen the original animated film, or was too young to remember it, what I do know is I don't like Emma Watson, and romantic films aren't my thing, with a few exceptions. Despite my apprehensions, I went into this film as neutral as I could, and with my fingers crossed that this would become one more exception.
The film opens with a scene that sets up the history of the Beast, showing his life before being turned, and explaining the reasons for his turning, while I understand the need for a scene like this in some ways, I don't think it's a very necessary scene, since that would have left more room for suspenseful build up to the Beast's reveal later in the film, which is something the film actually does, keeping the Beast mostly in shadow and hiding his face. We'll get back to the Beast later, but first we'll go into my biggest apprehension, Belle; I was actually surprised by how tolerable Emma Watson was as Belle, and Belle was a pleasantly interesting character, being one of the few literate people in her town, she wants to help the people but is mocked and shunned for it, while she has a close relationship with her father, who's secretive about their past and the fate of Belle's mother. This adds up to a character that's very likable and interesting, and her being an outcast in her town gives a bit of relatability to the Beast. Gaston however is one this film's two scene stealers, every time he's on screen he's all you can focus on, much like Shere Khan in The Jungle Book, he is a fantastic villain. He's completely narcissistic and arrogant, seeing himself as some larger than life hero, and seeing Belle as the only woman worthy of being his bride, the guy's a lovable arsehole throughout, and it's fun to see his arrogance and his lust for Belle drive him to villainy. His right hand man, LeFou, is a similarly fun character, someone who's constantly obsessing over and inflating the ego of Gaston. Disney's little stunt of announcing he was gay a few weeks back may have been really stupid and pointless virtue signalling, but him being gay did nothing for his character, he's a funny and likable guy for the entirety of the film, and his arc towards the end of the film is both well earned and handled in a very funny manner, so well done Disney, you proved to the world how progressive you are and didn't ruin a character in the process. The Beast's various anthropomorphic servants are all very fun to watch too; they are easily the film's most light hearted element, as they talk amongst themselves about their dreams of becoming human again, and their hope that Belle might be one to save the Beast from his curse, they're less like servants to the Beast and more like parent figures, as the Beast regularly consults them, and they ignore his orders and try to force the Beast to actually talk to Belle, it's really sweet. Then there's of course the Beast, like I said earlier, I think the Beast would have benefited from a more suspenseful build up, but I guess it can't be too scary for the kids now. once you see the Beast's face, he becomes a really likable character too, starting off as a grumpy arse who's rude to Belle, but seeing the error in his ways during his time with her, and with some helpful pushes from his servants, he becomes a really sympathetic character, starting to care for Belle, and the veneer of a horrible monster starting to slip.
Being a kids film, not only is the Beast less scary than I think he could be, and should have been, but the film's story is very straight forward; there's a bit of mystery around Belle's mother, but the film doesn't do anything really unexpected, and it obviously has a happy ending. I'd say this is a good thing however, for reasons I'll get into. This film is gorgeous, the aesthetic is very pleasant to look at, in terms of architecture, costume, scenery, is it very convincing looking, no, but it's all very fairy tale esque, which I assume is the idea, this film is based on a fairy tale after all, it's a simple, fantastical tale of romance, and I like that stylish simplicity of it. It being a film about a beast, it's got some CG in it, the servants are by far the most obvious CG in the film, which isn't to say they look bad, in fact they look pretty good, as they dance around in their anthropomorphic weirdness, it gets even weirder when you realise who's doing the voices, which is something you shouldn't look up if you don't know, because I didn't and it's one hell of a cast. The Beast however looks phenomenal, I found myself in a similar place to when I saw The Jungle Book, watching something that I knew was not real, and not even having that thought cross my mind, the only difference is that in this film suspending your disbelief is much easier, despite this film having magic and talking clocks. The more fantastical elements of the film are reflected in its music; very unlike the Jungle Book, this film is filled with songs, Belle is introduced through a song, and every character gets to take part, Belle, the Beast, the servants and Gaston all have their own songs, and for the most part the songs are actually really good, Gaston and Be Our Guest are fun to listen too, but really the only songs I didn't find myself liking were Belle's songs, and that's more my problem than the film's, mushy songs aren't really my thing. They're also fairly spaced out throughout the film, so you're not without a song for too long, and they vary in enjoyability from passable to really good, coming from someone who generally isn't a fan of musicals, as well as romances, as well as mushy songs, that's saying something. The film also ends on a really high note, with a fun and silly climax with the servants, while Gaston hunts the Beast, it's a great mix of comedy and fun, and suspense as Gaston and the Beast come face to face. And while the film ends exactly how you'd expect it to, it was still satisfying to see Gaston's comeuppance, and the payoff of Belle and the Beast, as well as the resolutions of all the smaller characters like the Servants and Lefou.
I like it when a film completely takes me off guard, when I go in with no expectations, even a bit of apprehension, and come out having enjoyed it. Even better when, like the last film I reviewed; Logan, I start to like it more the more I think about it, thinking about it now I would gladly watch it again. It has very likable characters, a simple and fantastical story that's solidly entertaining, and fun music. I must confess, I enjoyed Beauty and the Beast, and it's definitely worth watching.
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