ONCE UPON A BLOG: Disney's Live Action "Beauty and the Beast" Poster, Trailer & Teasers Update

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Disney's Live Action "Beauty and the Beast" Poster, Trailer & Teasers Update

You'd have to have been living under the proverbial rock not to have heard the internet community go bananas when Disney's first live action Beauty and the Beast trailer hit the web.

The release date remains March 17, 2017 so we still have a little way to go before the hype really begins but don't let that spoil your enjoyment if you've been on the edge of your seat waiting, for after all, "..there's something there that wasn't there before." ;)

I thought it would be best just to put all the updates, to date, here in one post for now (I'll list all the previous posts at the end of this one, in case you need to catch up), and we'll post any significant news as per usual in the months to come.

While there has also been the release of the teaser poster (shown at the head here) and teeny other things, last week the buzz among excited fans increased again as snippets from the "exclusive sneak peek" included on the Diamond Edition of the 1991 classic film (available to buy in October), hit the internet by way of those who got a preview.

Yesterday, however, it became official, so there's a whole lot more to see, as of yesterday afternoon and, of course, I will share it here.

So first, the trailer, which is beautifully done although we're not shown a whole lot. It is, however, much more satisfying than that shoe for Cinderella was, and the music is a very pretty and haunting version of the classic theme too, which is lovely. I have to admit, I'm always curious to see what they do with the Disney castle at the beginning. It appears the Beast's castle replaces Sleeping Beauty's this time around, which works nicely. Enjoy:

The "new images" people are excited about are more to do with how things will be translated from the animated film and realized for a live action setting, but I have to admit, that's one of the things that fascinates me about adapting books to movies, page to stage, or animation to live action: how will they - in this case, director Bill Condon - refresh the classic ideas, motifs, scenes and looks and will those really work in their new setting? (I know there are people who could write an entire dissertation on this!) The other question many are still are asking is, if the first movie is so perfect, why do a remake? The answer from Condon:

“When something is so perfect, why get near it? The answer is technology has caught up to the ideas that were introduced in that movie.”

But onto the eye candy (note: it's over 16 mins so it won't be a quick view, but it will be worth it for fans):

One thing the reviewer noted is that the feel of this adaptation is perhaps darker than expected and although I've seen speculation elsewhere as to whether this Beauty and the Beast will be, perhaps, scary, I share the notion that it has more of an Olde Worlde feel, harking back to an old book somewhere. While this very likely won't be Villeneuve or Leprince de Beaumont's books, (sigh) I have hope that this will send people in search of those versions as well as other time-tested adaptations, like Robin McKinley's Beauty.

With books being such a strong, and beloved, theme through the animated film, I would very much like to see what Disney publishing are busy cooking up, and if there will be any real hark back to classic tales, which is what Belle is shown to adore when we're first introduced to her.

I would also not mind at all if Handypeople magazines got into the theme of building your own enchanted library, or hidden entrances to places by way of moving bookshelves... #hint

A little note about the enchanted objects... the response to the Mrs. Potts, in particular seems, universally, to be one of horror. You would have to admit that being turned into an enchanted object would really be quite horrifying, so it would track with the story, but that's definitely not the demographic Disney would be aiming for with this movie. We can only hope that the final CG models are adapted somewhat because I don't think I could ever look quite the same way at a teapot ever again after seeing that, and I'm a big fan of enchanted objects (and objects gaining sentience after many generations in a family). That said, having objects that are more realistic being brought to life, rather than animated objects living in the real world is a choice I applaud. I'm just curious now to see if they've struck the correct balance...

One update to go: the sneak peek behind the scenes from a featurette, which includes a brief excerpt from a table read between Belle and the Beast. Enjoy:

Although it's clear this film isn't going to be blow-by-blow of the 1991 movie, they're still making sure to hit all those touchstone moments it would seem. A dedicated fan, @bellabestiason, (thanks to Sarah for identifying the creator) put together an interesting frame comparison: