Melanie and I have seen the new Beauty and the Beast movie twice this weekend (there were are above at dinner after the second viewing, with some new B&B treasures). I haven’t felt such pure joy at a movie in a very long while (probably not since the Kenneth Branagh Much Ado About Nothing, a very different movie but the final images have a certain similarity and I left the theatre with a similar feeling). It’s magical film, brilliant on multiple levels. It left me crying(to my daughter’s confusion), grinning with sheer joy, and and marveling at the craft. Mélanie loved it too (“I think this is my favorite Belle story.”).
It also left me feeling creatively inspired. I haven’t done much with a Beauty and the Beast story line I realize. Possibly Harry and Cordy – perhaps more than I realized. Harry might not call himself a beast, but he certainly has a caustic exterior and he tends to stay barricaded in his house with his books. Cordelia is certainly a beauty. Harry doesn’t keep her prisoner, but he does marry her knowing she loves another man and is desperate to escape her parents’ house (something he later regrets, not for his sake but for hers, because he wanted her so much he didn’t pay attention to what she wanted/needed). They bond partly over books and she has to leave him, know he will let her go, and then come back to him and have him almost die in her arms to realize she loves him. Harry’s transformation is less dramatic than Beast to Prince, but we do see him change from a bitter loner to a loving father and husband.
I’m gong to ponder more parallels. When Suzanne marries Malcolm she moves into a world almost as alien as the Beast’s castle and at times she feels trapped by her masquerade, but she goes into it willingly to spy on Malcolm. She is shocked to fall in love with him, but she knows he’s a good person from the first.
I will say Ewan McGregor as Lumière convinces me more than ever that he’s right for Bertrand in my fantasy casting and that Emma Watson is my image for Selena in Gilded Deceit.
Who else has seen Beauty & the Beast?
Tracy Grant - Novelist 
March 21, 2017 at 2:48 pm
Ewan McGregor was Lumiere, actually. Luke Evans was Gaston. I thought it was absolutely wonderful, too! Visually stunning, and the music of course was wonderful, too.
March 21, 2017 at 11:41 pm
Argh…. I knew Ewan McGregor was Lumière, I just typed the wrong name. How embarrassing – thanks for catching it! Edited above. It’s Ewan McGregor as Lumière that convinced me even more he’s the right image for Bertrand – after all Bertrand is a master of disguise, so why not as a candlelabrum? :-). Luke Evans was great too – I could see him as Radley.
I agree it was visually stunning – very and wonderful to find a movie that was so technically brilliant and also had so much heart.
March 21, 2017 at 7:33 pm
Loved, loved, loved it! Loved the scenery, the costumes, the actors, the special effects – absolutely everything! The casting was perfect – Luke Evans was fabulous as Gaston – a very believable egotist. Emma Watson was perfect as Belle. Did you realize that Dan Stevens had to learn how to waltz on stilts?! I recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys fairy tales or romance or just very well done movies.
March 21, 2017 at 11:42 pm
So agree, Diane! It was brilliant on so many levels. How interesting that he was on stilts – that must have been quite a challenge!
March 23, 2017 at 3:47 am
Even though I haven’t seen it yet, the reviews have been great Glad to hear you and Melanie has such fun. It would appear Mel has a new princess to admire!
March 23, 2017 at 4:09 am
Yes! Though she was already very fond of Belle. I highly recommend it, Lynne – totally enchanting at any age!
March 24, 2017 at 3:14 am
I look forward to seeing it soon!!
March 30, 2017 at 3:19 am
[…] this and Beauty and the Beast it’s a been a week for fairy tales. My characters often refer to “not living in a fairy […]
April 9, 2017 at 9:13 am
I haven’t seen it yet but I am planning to. It is a musical I love. When it was on stage here in Melbourne many years ago, Gaston was played by Hugh Jackman before he went to London, and subsequently Hollywood. He was fabulous. He has so much presence on stage and really dominated every scene he was in. I saw him again soon afterwards in Sunset Boulevard. I wish a movie would be made out of that one, it is so beautifully atmospheric.