Breaking News: Lots of Beauty in Stills Just Released From Gans' "Beauty and the Beast"

If we had any doubts, these new stills from Christophe Gans' Beauty and the Beast make it clear that this is going to be one very beautiful movie. It's also quite an ambitious (big!) film. (No wonder the Director has said this is his biggest challenge yet.)

One interesting thing to note is that the film is said to echo more of Hayao Miazaki's approach and style than either Cocteau or Disney. Given there are a lot of fantasy elements in the story, this no doubt provides a lot of opportunities to break with the norm in terms of effects and the way the narrative is delivered, so this is sounding more promising than ever.

Here's some more Beauty for you:
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Late last year Lea Seydoux (Beauty/Belle) talked about the film to Black Book saying:

“I love fairy tales and I grew up with Cocteau’s La belle et la bête, so that was like my favorite film so it’s nice do this," said  Seydoux. "It’s not a remake because it’s from a novel, it’s an adaptation. It’s going to be classic.” 

I'm still curious to see how much of Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont's details are retained in the script (which is written by Director Christophe Gans in conjunction with Sandra Vo Anh). I'm guessing there will be a lot of symbolism conveyed via imagery in the film to keep it both family friendly but also layered. (This is my guess though - I haven't seen anything confirming this.)

Here's a synopsis from Filmosphere, which, although gives us some ideas, is pretty broad and doesn't pinpoint any of the missing Leprince de Beaumont twists I'm keeping an eye out for:

1720 AD: After the sinking of his ship, a ruined merchant is forced into exile in the countryside with his ​​six children. Among them is Belle (Beauty), the youngest of his daughters, joyful and full of grace. 

In a harrowing journey, the Merchant enters the magical domain of the Beast, which condemns him to death for stealing a rose. 

Feeling responsible for the terrible fate that has befallen her family, Beauty decides to sacrifice  herself instead of her father. But at the castle of the Beast, it is not death that awaits Beauty, but a strange life, which combines the moments of magic, joy and melancholy. 

Every night at dinner time, Beauty and the Beast meet. At first like two strangers on edge who have nothing in common, they slowly discover who the other really is. While Beauty must reject the Beast's amorous advances, Belle tries to unravel the mysteries of the beast and its domain. 

At night fall, dreams reveal to Beauty the past about the Beast in piecemeal. A tragic story, which tells her that this beast, that is now lonely and fierce, was once a stately Prince. 

Gathering her courage, struggling against all dangers and opening her heart, Beauty will help release the beast from his curse. And in doing so, discover true love.

I definitely get a "classic" vibe from there pics. It reminds me of The Slipper and the Rose, in the best way. Hopefully it will be a little less dated in the execution of effects and film style but otherwise it should hold up very well over time. (Walk in fireplace! *swoon*)

Obviously, Gans' is keeping the reveal of his Beast for a later time but even so, the images are pretty intriguing, don't you think?

You can read more about the film in a previous post HERE.