BEAUTY AND THE BEAST REVIEWED
“Beauty and the Beast” is a mixed bag. Upon seeing Bill Condon’s live take on the classic fairy tale, I was underwhelmed. Yeah, I’m that kind of film nerd that prefers the Cocteau version. In a pinch, I’ll take the Shelley Duvall Fairy Tale Theater take on the story. While the Disney version apes large chunks of the original tale, there is something disingenuous bubbling under the surface. Mid 18th – early 19th European fairy tales weren’t meant to be happy stories about finding love. They were quips told to children to quiet them at night during the Napoleonic Wars.
Times change and Disney’s pursuit of happy audiences is to be understood. What felt darling and Oscar History making in 1991 feels quaint now. It’s part and parcel of the Nostalgia bitch wave that seems to permeate through every aspect of popular culture. Audiences are aware that everything they loved as children is being rehashed, but they don’t know what to do with it. Informed viewers can look back to the 1990s and wonder if their parents felt a degree of disgust at the sheer volume of 1950s/1960s shows becoming movies. The disgust fades when you realize that the market was still wide enough for the American Independent Film industry to become mainstream.
So, while watching a near copy and paste retread of an aging cartoon…what is an audience to do? Judging by the box office receipts, most of you chose to see the film multiple times. There was some controversy about a gay character, but idiots will always find a way to worm their way into the conversation. Time past and I kept trying to ask people what they loved about this remake. Most weren’t even conscious of how much this film lifted from the 1991 version.
That’s the beauty of nostalgia traps. The lull of the familiar permits many audiences to forgive and forget the lack of focus and vision. Was the movie well shot and acted? Sure. Does this continue the proud recent tradition of live-action mining Disney classics? Not so much, but it gets the job done.
SPECIAL FEATURES
- Featurettes
- Music Video
- Extended Song
- Song Selection
- and more!
A/V STATS
- 2.40:1 1080p transfer
- DTS-HD 7.1 master audio track
RELEASE DATE: 6/6/17
Celebrity Chef Cat Cora hosts a special celebration for the in-home release of “Beauty and the Beast” in NYC
Today, a spectacular garden celebration on the Rockefeller Center rooftop in New York was held in celebration of the in-home release Beauty and the Beast, followed by an exclusive screening of the film. Hosted by celebrity chef Cat Cora, guests were treated to healthy snacks to create the perfect movie watching experience at home.
Walt Disney Pictures’ magical animated classic “Beauty and the Beast” captures the magical journey of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,” the live-action adaptation of the studio’s animated classic, brought the story and characters audiences know and love to spectacular life and broke box-office records. Now the stunning, cinematic event arrives home on June 6 on Digital HD, Blu-ray™, Disney Movies Anywhere, DVD and On-Demand.
Find out more about Disney Healthy Living here: www.DisneyMickeyCheck.com
