TEA TIME: Beauty and the Beast (2017) - Animated Version vs Live-Action Movie

The new Disney's movie adaptation of this old classic just came out, and oh boy, it was worth the wait, it's stunning!

This old classic gets a 20th century kick in - if you've been following Emma Watson's interviews you will known that she tried to give Belle's role a stronger, independent women appeal. As all the new Disney movies suggest, the princess is not waiting to be saved anymore, instead she is the one doing the saving. 

Let's have a look at the main changes made from the 1991 animated version to the new live-action one:

[CONTAINS SPOILER] 

1- The Prince.

Apart from computerized, beastly Dan Stevenson  appearance, in this movie we finally get a bit of the Prince's back story. At the beginnings, we see the young prince having a lavish ball in the castle. We are shown as he throws the beggar women, seeking refuge, out of the castle, at which point she turns into the enchantress and places the curse on the castle.

Later on, we learn about the Prince/Beast 's past and how his mother died when he was a kid, leaving him alone with his cruel father, who raised him as the mirror image of himself.

2-Belle's dad.

In the animated version Belle's father, Maurice (Kevin Kline), was an inventor. Instead in the live-action movie, is presented as a skilled artist. While the role of the inventor is taken up by Belle, when she comes up with a laundry machine that saves her time and work, so she is free to read as much as she wants.

3- Escaping.

As we said Belle is not a passive heroine, so at the first chance she tries to escape the castle. After being dressed up in a ridiculous outfit by Garderobe, she decided to use the fabric to make a rope to climb out of the tower. But her plan foiled when Mrs. Potts sees her and convinces her to go to dinner.

4 - Trembling castle.

One of the feature I loved the most was how the castle was directly involved in the curse. Apart from been divided in the Ovest/Belle's wing - light and rich - and the Est/Beast's wing - gothic and gloomy-, it also starts to crumble every time a rose petal falls.

5- Enchanted Book.

The Beast has an enchanted book that allows him to travel. One of the cruel jokes the enchantress plays on the beast is also giving him a book that can take him anywhere he wants. Though he doesn't utilize it much, since his beastly appearance will be rejected by others. He will use it to take Belle to Paris, where she discovers something about her past.

6- Belle's mom death.

In the movie, the Beast uses his enchanted book to bring Belle to Paris, where she visits her childhood home and learns that her mum died from the Bubonic plague.

7- Gaston is really evil.

After Maurice rejects the idea of Gaston marrying his daughter, Gaston decides to tie Maurice to a tree and let him be eaten by wolves, in the hope that Belle will need a man to take care of her after the loss of her father. Maurice is saved by Agathe, the spinster, that at the end of the movie reveals herself as the enchantress.

8- There's a new character!

We are introduced to a new character: Cadenza. Played by Stanley Tucci, who turns into a piano when the castle is cursed. He is married to Garderobe, played by Audra Mcdonald.

9- Le Fou is gay.

We learn that Le Fou (Josh Gad) is gay. Not really surprising -with all the subtle reference in the animated version-, but he is the first disney character to be officially and openly gay. This fact made it to the headlines all around the world. A theater in Alabama decided not to show the movie in its establishment because of the scene, which I find behind any sense of reason since the only explicit "gay" scene regards Le Fou dancing with a man who enjoy dressing in drags, at the end of the movie. 

10- Mrs Potts and Cogsworth are married to villagers.

We learn that all memory of the castle and its inhabitants were forgotten by the villagers. When the curse is lifted, we find out that both Mrs Pott (Emma Thompson) and Cogsworth (Ian McKellen) are merries to people we already met from the the village.

This were the main difference I spotted, did you find some other important changes?

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