Beauty and the Beast (2017)

I have been waiting for this movie since it was announced. I love fairy tales (which may surprise you if you meet me.) It doesn't matter to me if a film adaptation is a direct take (like this one) or a more loose/thematic interpretation (Sydney White). I have seen some fairy tale movies that weren't good but, I was hopeful. Beauty and the Beast is fantastic and I was delightfully surprised that they added some original songs.

I went with my mother to the El Capitan Theatre for my viewing (it was her birthday present). I especially wanted to go because they had costumes, props, and set pieces from the film (more on those later). We went to the 7:25am showing because all other (except 10:30pm) showings were sold out by the time I got tickets. This baffled me somewhat as tickets are somewhat expensive and it's not in 3D but, we went. The curtain was magnificent. It was a specially designed curtain of Swarovski crystals that changed colors with the music played by the magnificent organist (Rob Richards who wore sparkly shoes).

I knew that there were going to be a lot of kids there as this is a Disney film. That being said, I am still baffled by the amount of people who thought it was okay to bring their very young children (like 3). Two people even brought in infants (who were, I assume, asleep through the entire movie) and several people brought toddlers. I know this because they started to fuss and cry at different parts of the film. People think Disney means children's movies but, it actually means family movies. As in, movies that are okay for like a six year old not a toddler.

Before the film even started, there was this amazing projection show that essentially went through the musical and story high points in a matter of minutes that culminated in rose petal confetti being shot out of cannons. I do not envy the people who have to clean that up after every showtime.

The movie begins with providing some backstory about the prince and the curse. The prince was a cruel man who only cared about beauty and throwing lavishly extravagant parties filled with beautiful people. During one of these parties, a terrible storm forces an old woman to seek shelter in the castle. Repulsed by her appearance, the prince tells her to leave after which, she reveals herself to be a beautiful enchantress. Because he has no love in his heart, she curses him to be a beast until he can love someone and earn their love in return but, this must be done before the last petal of an enchanted rose falls. And everyone who lives in the castle is cursed as well. An interesting point (that is revealed at the end of the film) is that if the curse isn't broken, the servants (Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, etc.) aren't just stuck as housewares forever, they're stuck as inanimate housewares forever. No talking, dancing, or, for Lumiere, seducing the maid-turned-feather duster. The townspeople are also affected in they don't remember the prince or anybody who worked/lived in the castle (more on this later).  

The story proper then opens with Belle walking through town and her comments on life in this poor, provincial town. The entire town talks about how though Belle is very beautiful she's rather odd because she's female and likes to read. The only one who doesn't think this (besides her father) is the town's parson/book lender. We see Gaston and LeFou  riding in to town after a hunt. Gaston comments on how Belle is beautiful and she will marry him. LeFou, being astute, mentions to Gaston how Belle is "so well-read" while Gaston is more "athletically inclined." Because how else would you tell your best friend/boss that he's an idiot. They come to town and the triplets swoon over Gaston with LeFou telling them they don't have a chance. Gaston attempts to charm Belle and fails spectacularly. He seems to think that he still has a chance. (Hint: he doesn't.) We learn that Belle's father, Maurice, creates music boxes to sell at, presumably, the next town over that's larger.

Maurice leaves but, there's a thunderstorm brewing on the horizon. While in the forest, a tree is felled by lightning causing Maurice to take an unfamiliar path. While making his way down the path, Maurice notice that it's snowing. In the middle of June. Wolves attack causing Maurice and Philippe (the horse) find their way to the Beast's castle. Maurice ventures around feeling grateful for both the food and shelter until Chip decides to say hi. Then, Maurice nopes it out of there. Pausing for a moment, Maurice stops to pick a rose for Belle. The Beast doesn't like this and imprisons him.

Philippe runs all the way home. Belle goes after Maurice and ends up at the castle. Upon finding her father, the Beast appears and Maurice is understandably upset about being imprisoned for life for picking a flower. Belle takes Maurice's place and stays. Lumiere takes it upon himself to free Belle. Belle throws a stool at Lumiere because what else would you do when a candlestick starts talking and moving. Lumiere and Cogsworth (reluctantly) escort Belle to her room. From this point on, everything happens fairly similar to the animated version. The biggest difference is that we find out what happened to Belle's mother. She died from plague and told Maurice to take Belle so she wouldn't get sick too.

During this bonding time, Maurice tries to get help from the townsfolk. Gaston is the only one who goes with him because Gaston wants to marry Belle. Upon being informed of this intent, Maurice also informs Gaston that Belle will never marry him. Gaston then knocks Maurice out and leaves him for the wolves. Gaston's thought process (what little there is) is that with Maurice dead, Belle will have no one to take care of her and will have to marry Gaston. LeFou is uncomfortable with this plan for many reasons. Maurice is rescued by the local spinster, Agathe. Gaston manages to convince the town that Maurice is crazy and should go to an asylum.

Belle sees this in the magic mirror and goes to her father. After seeing the Beast through the mirror, Gaston manages to get the townsfolk whipped into a mob. They arrive at the castle while the residents try to keep them out. During the ensuing battle, Belle and her father escape the asylum wagon by picking the lock. The townsfolk are rather shocked by furniture and other household objects being alive.

After being abandoned by Gaston, LeFou becomes fast friends with Mrs. Potts. Gaston and the Beast fight while Belle looks on and occasionally helps. The Beast is shot be Gaston before Gaston was thrown off the castle. Belle confesses her love while the Beast dies. The denizens of the castle start to become the objects they were turned into. Mrs. Potts frantically searches for Chip but, doesn't find him before she's gone. Chip jumps down to be with his mom but, doesn't make it. The coat rack saves Chip from shattering on the steps and places him next to his mom.

Spoiler Alert: Agathe is the enchantress. She reverses the curse and then we find out some interesting tidbits. Mr. Potts is the man who is a bit forgetful at the beginning of the film. Cogworth's wife is a singularly unattractive woman. To the point of Cogsworth begging the universe to turn him back into a clock. There's a giant party and everyone lives happily ever after.

The display of the costumes, props, and set pieces was much smaller than expected. There was only four costumes and the dress wasn't even the version seen in the film. Still cool but, a little disappointing.

Overall Rating: 4.5/5

Side note: Still ticked at Ghiradelli's taking over the soda fountain/ ice cream parlor next door to the El Capitan. About 90% of the menu now has chocolate in some form or another. Some of us may want a fancy ice cream dessert that doen't involve three kinds of chocolate.

Throwback Thursdays: The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)

The El Capitan Theatre is a brilliant piece of Old Hollywood. It is a massive theatre and, more importantly, is owned by Disney. This delightful news means that it shows Disney films exclusively. When there isn't a Disney film in theatres, they have other special screenings. The most regular of these is Throwback Thursdays where they show an old Disney movie. Last week's screening was of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.

Besides the film itself, the best part of the evening was that tickets were only $10 and that included one small popcorn and one small drink. (At the door on the day of, the tickets were $13.) Try to find that deal anywhere else. The El Capitan is MASSIVE as in, it has a balcony and a concession stand on the balcony level. They also have an absolutely brilliant organist who sinks into the floor when the movie's about to start. 

Before it even starts, there is a brief discussion with three of the men who worked on the shorts for the film. It was cool hearing about working with Walt Disney (however briefly) as well as some fun trivia about the film. Personally, I enjoy hearing about these sort of things however, there were quite a few small children in the audience and they were getting impatient for the film to start. I think they should have had the discussion after the film so parents could take their kids home.

The movie was gorgeous (thank you digital production). It was such a fun hour or so hanging out with Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Owl, Eeyore, Rabbit, Christopher Robin, Gopher (who's not even in the stories), Kanga and Roo. There were two reasons why I wanted to attend this screening. The first being that I love this film. The second was that I haven't been to the El Capitan for a movie since Atlantis: The Lost Empire which was released in 2001 so, it's been a while.

I have always been a fan of the residents of the Hundred Acre Wood (and Christopher Robin too) and I have the original stories too. In fact, because of this recent re-watching, I have just remembered my favorite Disney movie... this one. Studios and directors seem almost scared to make a light-hearted animated film that doesn't teach some important life lesson or impart some great moral (looking at you Zootopia). That seems to have become a lost art.

This Saturday I am going to see the new Beauty and the Beast at the El Capitan. The tickets are comparable to non-matinee showtimes in a "normal" theatre (like AMC) however, the El Capitan is going to have costumes, props and set pieces from the film which more than makes up for the price of admission.

Evening Rating: 4.5/5 (some of the kids in the audience may have been a little too young for a movie theatre setting)