"Tale as old as time . . . " | | Beauty and the Beast {2017}

*UPDATE*  Parts of this review have been edited for personal reasons.  If you would like to learn a little more about the thought process behind this decision, feel free to visit my Disclaimers page.


Original [Edited] 2017 Review

Before I begin this review, I would like to draw all of your attentions to the fact that today is the birthday of a very special person: Miss Jessica Prescott.  I've had the privilege of counting Jessica as a friend for a while now, and it is such a blessing to know her!!  (To which I'm sure everybody else who knows her will attest! ;D)  Jessica's a very active, encouraging part of the blogosphere (happy face), even though she doesn't have a blog (sad face), and she's always available for encouragement and fun and general friendliness.   Happy birthday, Jessica!!!

And now, the review :)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Okay.  Okay.

*breathes*  

Y'all, I don't even know how to handle life begin this review.  I guess I'll just go for it.


First things first, however.  If y'all would not read this until after you have seen the movie (if you're planning to see the movie), I'd really appreciate it.  Not because I'm concerned about spoilers (much) -- after all, I'm assuming we all kind of know the storyline of BatB -- but because I know from personal experience that there is nothing like hype and gushing for ruining a movie-watching experience.  And I may or may not engage in quite a bit of hype and gushing in this review.  So.  If you know that you're going to watch this, puh-lease don't read this review just yet.  Of course, I can't stop you, but it'd mean a lot to me if you didn't.  Okay?  'Kay, thanks.  

Moving on!  (Also:  this is long.)


I went to see Disney's live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast in theaters on March 19th, 2017, with my parents and a friend.  (I don't know why I felt the need to let you in on those specifics, but there you are.)

I went into it with fluctuating expectations -- for one thing, I love the 2015 remake of Cinderella so much, and how would BatB be able to compete?  For another, the BatB people had a more substantial starting point in the animated film than the Cinderella people, and didn't that kind of make it both easier and harder to follow it up with a "real people" version?  Also, I had been uncertain from the beginning as to what I thought of the casting of Emma Watson as Belle -- mainly just because I hadn't seen her in anything (but always kind of connected her to Harry Potter), and because she didn't really "look like Belle" to me in general.

So, all that to say, I went in trying to prepare myself to be let down by the movie, to be honest.  After all, though I did -- of course -- like and enjoy and appreciate the animated version, it had never really been a favorite Disney movie, for me personally.  

But, um . . . 


I kind of loved it.  A lot.  

I don't actually know how to express it.  You know how I/we flippantly say that this or that movie "brought joy" to our souls?  Well, this movie actually brought me joy.  Not exuberant happiness (though it did that, too), but the same deeper, quieter, throbbing joy that I experience when I watch the end of The Lord of the Rings -- wistful and longing and thought-provoking.  I'm being totally serious.  This may sound improbable, but I don't know if I can place a movie that has affected me in that particular way, given me that particular, clearly distinguishable feeling, since Lord of the Rings.

(Of course, I realize that this movie may not -- probably will not -- affect everyone the same way it affected me.  And that's fine.  But I wanted to share with you the way that it did affect me.)


I should get on to the "actual" reviewing part of the review, shouldn't I?

Emma Watson very soon won me over.  Even now, looking at her just in the stills, she doesn't really look like Belle, to me -- but it's when you see her in the movie itself, acting . . . that's when you get it.  She does Belle VERY well.  She captures her courage and her intelligence and her sense of humor and her sweetness and her non-pretension and all that.  (Side note:  It was about to drive me crazy that her skirt was hiked up for so long, but then my mother pointed out that the makers were probably trying to reinforce the whole idea of her being absent-minded and what-not.  So that's actually kind of cool.  But still.  I'm glad her skirts were worn normally after awhile. :-P)

Dan Stevens' Beast was also quite good.  More on that later.  


The household staff!  Hearts forever.  I particularly enjoyed Ewan McGregor's Lumiere and Ian McKellen's Cogsworth, and the camaraderie between the two of them. :)  Also, the little boy who played Chip?!  When he was human?!  Major cuteness alert.  

I also really like Kevin Kline's Maurice.  Having him as more "level-headed" and more of a painter than an inventor turned out better than I thought it might.  

I wasn't quiiiiiiite as sure about The Wardrobe (ain't no way I'm going to try to spell her real name out) and Maestro -- they were cute and fun additions, but perhaps got a leetle too much screen time?  I'm not sure.  Lemme think about it. ;)




Okay, so, Luke Evans' Gaston.  ALL THE YES.  Bombastic, ridiculous, and arrogant -- Gaston to a T.  

Some of his lines, though (I'm probably paraphrasing):  "No offense, Agathe." ~ "She hasn't made a fool out of herself just to gain my favor.  What would you call that?"  "Dignity?"  "Well, it's enormously attractive!" ~ "You've read it?"  "Well, not that particular one, but -- books, yes." ~ "Think about the war, think about explosions and widows . . . "  "Ah, widows!"

Luke Evans does a good job of making Gaston almost likable . . . until he punches Maurice and *semi-spoilers* ties him up to be eaten by wolves *end of semi-spoilers* and then you remember that he's a legitimately Bad Guy.




There are so many little details that I love in this movie -- one of the things that delighted me was when the staff shows Belle to her room, and an instrumental snippet of "Home" (from the Broadway musical) plays for a few moments.  I was geeking out for a second there, hoping/thinking she was going to actually sing it.  I suppose I'm okay with the fact that she didn't, though it would have been fun to hear/see. ;D

The Beast's new number, "Evermore," was nice.  I will admit, my first impression was that "If I Can't Love Her" (also from the B. musical) would have been better, but then I realized that it wouldn't really have worked, chronologically speaking, since he already did love her at that point.  (Plus, they were remaking the Disney movie, not the Broadway musical.)  As I've thought about the song since (and seen various Pinterest edits *ahem*), it has certainly grown on me. ;-P  And Dan Stevens' voice was unexpectedly powerful!  As were all the cast's voices, for that matter -- I was pleasantly surprised when Emma Watson started to sing the first time.  I had, I confess, in my condescending, musically-"educated" way, expected a nice-but-not-really-that-great voice.  But I thought she sang really, really well, and serves my arrogance right!

Adding the scene where they go to Paris and Belle finds out what happened to her mother was a great touch.  I liked how the Beast (calling him Adam doesn't seem natural) didn't try to hide the doctor's mask from her, and how he didn't try to make her feel better with "extraneous talking."  It gave a good glimpse into how they would work together as a couple. :)


The makers hit the nail on the head with re-envisioning the Disney movie, I think.  They added enough new bits to keep the watcher from thinking they were watching the exact same movie all over again, yet they didn't try to change it too much, either.  They all seem to know how important the animated version is to so many people, and they respected that.  (For instance, having Belle see the Beast talking with the horse when she sings the line "New and a bit . . . alarming . . . "?  Gold.)

I liked how they gave the Beast a backstory so that we have an idea of how and why he became the way he is.  I liked this Beast better than the animated one overall -- I think maybe they gave him more depth in general.  Also, the very beginning of the movie was cool.  I felt that the narrator (was that Hattie Morahan?) spoke the intro a little too rapidly, and it was a little different having a woman's voice rather than a man's voice do it, but I appreciated how they made the opening period-correct.  It was a little disturbing seeing Dan Stevens in all that French makeup, but it was cool to have that nod to accuracy even in a fantasy movie. :)  

And speaking of Hattie Morahan, the sub-plot of Agathe/the Enchantress was great!  I had forgotten that H. M. was going to be in it, so that was a fun surprise. :)  And, of course, it was cool seeing her opposite Dan Stevens again, because Sense and Sensibility '08. ;D


AND GUYS, THE ENDING.  ALL THE PERFECTION!!!!!!!!

They included the Belle-looking-into-the-Beast's-eyes shot after he became human again, and it was fabulous.  Such a neat parallel to the animated movie, and such a powerful part in general!!

And then they were reunited with the household and we got to see everybody's human faces and there's just a lot of happiness. :D :D

lurved the wedding dance.  Can we talk about the growl?!  "How would you feel about growing a beard?"  *growl and subsequent giggling*  IT MADE ME SO UNREASONABLY HAPPY. :D  


Aha!  I have cast support on this! ;D  

Like I said, this movie captivated me and gave me joy -- like, actually.  And since that Sunday afternoon, I have been a little afraid that the next time I see it, it won't mean as much; that it'll have lost its luster.  I'm afraid it won't uplift me in the same way again.  

But I think -- given the feelings I got just from writing this review and finding pictures for it and recalling favorite parts -- that it will. :)






Comments

  1. *hurriedly scrolls down* I'm seeing it soon! The music THE MUSIC! What was Evermore like?!

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    1. Eeeeeekkk, I hope you like/liked it!! "Evermore" was kind of similar in feel to "If I Can't Love Her," actually -- basically it's him singing about how he loves Belle and all the things that could have been and all that. It Is Emotional, rather. ;)

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  2. Okay...Olivia, I'm sorry. Even though I plan on seeing this eventually, I read your entire review. (PLEASE DON'T HATE ME.)

    I've just been so interested in e.v.e.r.y.o.n.e's opinions on this since I'd been looking forward to it for so long....then that whole controversy came out...then I found out the "scene" is really not that big of a deal....but still. As of now I haven't gone to see it in theaters. If I don't see it in theaters I'll definitely get it from our library once it's on dvd.

    Anyhow, I'm SO glad you loved it as much as you did! To be honest, my expectations keep fluctuating on this movie. As of lately they've been kind of low, but both you and Jessica loved it....so I'm inclined to think it's better than I currently feel it is. ;)
    (Also. You also don't think Emma Watson looks that much like Belle? THANK YOU. I've felt rather alone in that opinion. :P)

    I guess that's all I have to say since I actually haven't seen it yet...this was a really great review, though. :) (Again, I'm sorry I disregarded you and read it, but I HAD TO KNOW. :P)

    PS. HAPPY BIRTHDAY AGAIN, JESSICA!! <3

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    1. Hi Natalie! I don't usually reply to other people's comments on other people's blogs, but I just thought I'd give you my two-cents worth. Although most people say 'oh the whole LaFou part isn't that bad and it's so quick, you blink and you'd miss it' it is much more prevelant than that. Or at least to me. Perhaps my morals and conceince were just bothering me more than others, or I'm not used to that kinda stuff, but it was very obvious to me, and it came up in more than two scenes. So yeah, that's what I have to say :)
      ~Lissa

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    2. Hi Lissa! No problem. :) Thanks so much for telling me that! I've actually read all the details about the "scene" (or, scenes, as you pointed out). I think my wording in my first comment wasn't the best. What I was trying to say is that when I heard what the actual scenes were, they were less than what I was expecting considering all the hype I had previously heard about them.
      Of course, that doesn't make them any less wrong or unnecessary, but all I meant was that they certainly don't seem to be the "huge, exclusive gay moment" the media was making them out to be.
      Anyhow, hope that makes sense. Thanks again for telling me that; I appreciate it so much when people adequately "warn" others about content in movies. :)

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    3. (I DON'T HATE YOU. Actually tbh I was kind of thinking after I posted it, "Man, I hope some people actually do read it and comment, because otherwise that'd be sad." Hehe. So yeah. All's good.)

      That's great! I'm actually happy you have fluctuating expectations -- I think they're your best friend when going into watching this. So nurture those lowering expectations, haha! Tell yourself it couldn't possibly be as good as me, Naomi, Jessica, etc. say it is, and then hopefully you'll come out of it liking it much more than you thought you would. :D

      (YES. RIGHT. I would've probably cast someone who looks more like Alexis Bledel, for example. But, as I said, she did win me over, so yay! :))

      Haha, not at all, thank you for your comment!

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    4. Haha! Oh, good. That's a relief. ;)

      That's true...I'd rather have low expectations than high ones, anyway. It would have to be REALLY bad to disappoint low expectations.

      I can't wait to see this once it comes out on dvd...

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  3. Hmmm this was interesting. I didn't love this movie near as much as you did, but it was beautiful. It's just the whole time my conscience was bothering me about the Contreversial Topic, so I wasn't able to enjoy it all that much. But I loved all the new songs! They were so lovely!

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    1. Lissa, I totally understand! Everyone's going to have different viewpoints on it and reactions to it. But yes, the music was very pretty! I had "Days in the Sun" in my head the other day. :)

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  4. Dude!!! Someone agrees with meeeee!!!! (Actually we agreed on like everything, which was cool. We are twinsies.) EMMA WATSON DID NOT "LOOK" LIKE BELLE TO ME EITHER AND IT BOTHERED ME SO MUCH!!! I guess I'm getting used to it now??? She is SO gorgeous but I feel that Belle's beauty should be more mild and sweet and unassuming, where Watson is (in my opinion!) very sophisticated and modern looking.

    Also those Gaston quotes though!!!! I adore Luke Evans as Gaston. An example of PERFECT CASTING!!!!

    I love Ewan McGregor's Lumierre!!!!

    WE AGREE COMPLETELY ON THE CONTROVERSIAL TOPIC YAYYYYYY!!

    Hmmm... I still don't like Emma's singing voice and the way they had to adjust songs to accommodate her. I would've LOVED to see Home make it's way into this movie but Watson obviously wouldn't have been Abiee to pull off such a difficult song, so that unfortunate...

    I was weirded out by the Wardrobe...

    The little boy who played Chip has SUCH a beautiful voice.

    Ewwwww having a cockney Mrs Potts = I'm not pleased with this, sir.

    I also love the back story with the Enchantress!!!!

    And Evermore BREAKS. MY. SOUL. Ack, it is just SO saaaaaaaddd!!! *messy sobbing*

    Also I haved not seen the movie. *ducks head in shame* YET...!!!!!

    But obviously I loved this post anyway! :)

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    1. (Indeed we are. We have but one mind and one manner of thinking, my dear.)

      Ahh, that's a great way of putting it -- Emma Watson's more "sophisticated and modern looking," and you expect Belle to be . . . I guess milder? For lack of a better word. I initially thought Alexis Bledel might have been a good choice, looks-wise. But yes, I'm getting used to Emma, now, and she acts her wonderfully. :)

      RIGHT?! Gaston was basically flawless <3 (I mean, as much as Gaston can be flawless. You know.) Naomi and I were agreeing that his was probably the character that stood out the most to us, in terms of one single performance.

      Yes, he was great!! His sarcasm and quips to everyone were great. :D

      YAYSIES!!!!! I'm so glad someone shares my thoughts *hugs*

      Interesting! I didn't really notice any accommodations (certainly doesn't mean they weren't there, though). Yeah, like I mentioned, I got really excited there for a sec, but I guess technically it was a remake of the Disney movie, not the musical version. Ah, well. But yes, I personally thought her voice was lovely. :)

      . . . Same. (I mean, she was okay. She was nice. Just a bit too "much," I think.)

      Dawww, yes, he's adorable <3

      Haha really? I always thought of Mrs. Potts' voice in the animated one as sort of cockney, but perhaps I should re-watch it, heh. ;-P

      YAAAAAAAAASSSS.

      It's super emotional! It didn't do quiiiiiiite as much for me as for some others, I don't think, but I'm definitely warming up to it. Bless his heart <3 *tears*

      Hahaha, no judgment here, hehe. ;) Awww, thank you so much! Your comment made me happy. :)

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    2. Exactly! Belle is supposed to be very unassuming and simple, I guess. Another weird thing about having Watson play her is that Watson looks verrrrrry young to me and Belle strikes me as a bit older? Somewhere between twenty and twenty-four?? Where I HONESTLY think that Watson looks like a teenager still.

      I have a creeping suspicion that when I DO see the movie, Emma will win me over and for some reason I DON'T want that to happen?? I guess I'm just stubborn. And I don't particularly like Watson as a person...

      Exactly! I didn't love his voice (he sounded so old! It was quite a shock!) but he looked the part so perfectly and that gif of him slicking his hair back is just so... GASTON, you know??

      I don't know a lot about music, so I am probably going to explain this horrendously, but it seemed to me that the songs were made LOWER so that she could reach the notes?? She doesn't have a very high voice and traditionally, Belle is verrrrrry soprano!! :) Her voice is quite nice, though! Again, I find myself liking it/her but I don't WANT to. Erg. ;)

      Right. I'm not very familiar with the animated classic (I've never seen it) but on Broadway Madame is SUPPOSED to be extremely melodramatic and diva-ish and it works because it's... Broadway. But I don't think that translated quite as nicely in this version. Mostly, though, it was the animation I found frightening??? I don't know... her mouth was so gigantic??? And she had no eyes???

      Again, I'm not familiar with the animated film... but the Cockney grated a bit on my nerves.

      Eeeep, yes! That and Days In The Sun!!!

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    3. E. W. looks really young to me, too! But I'm getting used to it. :)

      Hahaha, I totally know what you mean with that, about feeling that you'll be won over by an actor in a role but you don't WANT to be for some reason -- that's happened to me before, too. :D (Like with Kevin Costner in Prince of Thieves.)

      His voice kind of surprised me, too, but I loved it. :D And YES, that gif though! So, SO Gaston.

      Ahhhhh, interesting! I couldn't really tell you with an degree of authority, either, but I do seem to remember that when I was watching it, sometimes I would be cringing a bit inside because I remembered a certain part in a song being higher than I thought she'd be able to reach, but then when those parts came it didn't seem like she was struggling to hit them at all? So maybe they WERE altered to a lower pitch, and that's why? It didn't seem that way to me, but I really don't know. :-P

      Good point. I'm only really familiar with the B. musical through the two songs I mentioned, so I don't really know that much about the original Madame, but what you said makes sense. (Haha, yes, she was a little creepy! Eyeless, and all that . . . )

      Gotcha. :)

      Yes!!! I actually bought "Days in the Sun" and am considering buying "Evermore"/some of the other new music. We'll see. :) (Also, I want to get the DVD for my birthday because I MUST HAVE IT. Haha. :D)



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    4. Me, too. :)

      Right??? It's a bit frustrating. :)

      Indeed!

      I know nothing!!! So I could be wrong. But I feel like Watson is not a soprano and those songs are DEFINITELY written for a soprano... I auditioned for Belle in a play of Beauty and the Beast right around the same time this movie was coming out in theatres and I didn't get the part because I'm not a soprano, so... I just thought that was important??? But maybe such things can be changed if you have experience...

      I haven't seen much of the Disney animated version... I watched a few clips on YouTube... she's kind of scary in that version too, to be honest...

      Yayayayayayyyyy!!! I love those songs!!

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  5. Happy birthday, Jessica!

    And Olivia, that's cool that this film brought you such joy :-) I did enjoy it, but didn't love it -- but I'm okay with that! I do reeeeeeeeeeeeally love the song "Evermore," though -- no lie, I put it on repeat when Cowboy took the kid to a playground after supper yesterday, and I listened to that song for almost 40 minutes straight. While gardening. Anyway, nice review!

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    1. Hamlette -- yes, isn't it great how different films and books appeal to different people different ways? "Evermore" is certainly growing on me; the lyrics are super good! Haha, that's an amusing story. I like that story. ;D

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  6. I SAW THIS YESTERDAY AND MAAAAAAANNNN IT WAS SO GOOOD I LOVED IT SO MUCH.

    Like you, I didn't think I was going to love this - BUT THEN I ENJOYED IT SO SO MUCH. LIKE WOW.

    Emma Watson sort of annoys me as an actress - but her singing was exQUISITE and she did win me over as Belle. I agree she doesn't quite look like Belle, but she did a good job. THE BEAST WE EXCELLENT. AND MRS POTTS. AND CHIPS. AND GASTON. Oh my goodness, GASTON. He was SO wicked and SO good. My favourite character, casting-and-acting-wise, I think.

    MAAAAN THE GROWL AT THE WEDDING DANCE WAS SO SO SO CUTE. SHUT UP. :'-)

    I want to review this, too, but I doubt it'll be half as good as yours. :-)

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    1. NAOMI YOUR COMMENT MADE ME SO SO SO HAPPY YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW. THANKS. :)

      I KNOW RIGHT. Exactly my reaction -- it was so cool to read that you had the same one! :D

      Aw, that's a shame! What in particular bugs you? (I get that, though. There are some actors that do that to me, too.) SAME ABOUT GASTON <3 <3 (Which sounds really weird but whatever it's the truth.)

      GAHHHHHHHHHHH YAAAAAAASSSSSSS <3

      Hush your mouth, your review would be ah-mah-zing. Write it! ;)

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  7. I went ahead and read this whole thing because I don't know when I'll get around to watching the movie for myself and I just couldn't wait to hear what you had to say about it. (Hope you don't mind. *sheepish grin*)

    From your description it sounds like a really fun film. And I'm so glad it made you happy. :)

    Belle's wedding dress, though! That is sooo pretty (at least as far as I can tell from the picture ;)), and I love how she has her hair done up, too. Beautiful. :)

    This was just an all around great review, Olivia. Thanks for a delightful post. And oh, I just had to tell you, this part made me chuckle to myself: "But I thought she sang really, really well, and serves my arrogance right!" Haha. It made me laugh because I relate to that so much! My arrogance needing to be put in it's place quite often itself. Heehee. ;)

    ~Miss March

    P.S. Oh, and I guess I'm a day late to this, but HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JESSICA!! You are indeed a special part of the blogging world and it wouldn't be the same without you! Hope you had a wonderful birthday! :D

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    1. Awwwwwwwwww, thanks, Miss March!!! <3 I DID have a wonderful birthday--not the least of which is having wonderful friends like you guys :-)

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    2. Haha, nope, I don't mind a bit, actually. I'm not sure how accurate that little request was to my real wishes, heh. :-P

      Thanks! It was -- for me, at least. :)

      Isn't it, though?! I know, I really loved it, especially her hair. It has little flowers in it <3 :)

      Awww, thank you so much, Miss March! I really appreciate it! Hahaha, yes, the struggle. Glad you can relate! ;)

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  8. D'awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww . . . STAHP. *blushes* I'm smiling and smiling to myself after reading your birthday message--I want you to know it made me REALLY happy :-) You always make me happy, though, old sport <3

    So . . . THIS MOVIE. I suppose I should be used to this by now--but I have to tell you, you described my feelings about it down to the last detail. You know how you said it brought you joy and made your soul happy? THAT WAS ME AFTER WATCHING IT. That was exactly what I said to Rosie in the car on the way home, I think--"this movie brought me JOY." And I truly meant that. It just filled me with this warm, deep glow of happiness and contentment and satisfaction that I only get with very, very few films . . . but this is definitely one of 'em. It was like an explosion of sunshine. And I loved every minute of it.

    I loved Emma Watson as Belle! What I really enjoyed about her character was the way she was so unabashedly unique; she was like "I am going to be MYSELF and I literally do not care what the rest of y'all think." She was . . . fearless. She really was. *wipes tear b/c of what her father said about her mother in That Scene*

    Ahem. Moving on.

    So I didn't actually cry DURING this movie; but you want to know the moment I came closest to crying? It was when the last petal fell, and all the servants lost their voices and turned back into "things"--I was NOT expecting that, and I will freely admit it hit me pretty hard. When Cogsworth managed to stammer out, "It was an honor to serve with you," and Lumiere answered, "The honor . . . was all mine," I was just staring at the screen like "nOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

    Please tell me I'm not the only person who momentarily forgot that the curse was about to be broken :-P

    Such a special movie. I feel so blessed I got to see it.

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    1. You're so welcome, girl! I'm glad it made you happy :) <3 <3 (AAAAWWWW GOSH. You always make me happy, too!)

      "I suppose I should be used to this by now" -- haha ;) "Like an explosion of sunshine." YES. All the yes to all you've said.

      Dawww, yes <3

      That was sooooo sweet! Oh my gosh, Lumiere and Cogsworth, just, ALL THE HEARTS <333333333

      Haha, well, I'll tell you this: I reminded myself of it a few times, heh.

      SAME *hugs*

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  9. I'm so undecided and I-don't-know-what-to-think-exactly about this movie. I really did like it, but there were a couple things that left me a leetle disappointed. I had high expectations - I wanted it to be AMAZING and up to a similar standard that Cinderella achieved, but it didn't quite get there for me. Also, my experience in the cinema really ruined the whole magical feel a lot, for numerous reasons, but one of those was I had little girls sitting behind my seat, and they were literally kicking my chair as hard as they could the whole way through the movie, so my head was jerked, and the mother didn't stop them and it was arrggh so aggravating. >:/ Which meant I couldn't enjoy it like I wanted to! However, focusing in on the movie, I really did like it very much.

    My favourite was Gaston also, acting and casting wise. LUKE EVANS IS JUST AMAZING GAHHH.

    I liked Belle, although she wasn't perfect. I thought Dan Stevens did his part marvellously. Ewan McGregor is always a soft spot for me, although I found his French accent lacking a little bit (a few times in "Be Our Guest" I felt he was struggling) but I still loved it and Ian McKellen rocks any roll he is in. ;D Emma Thompson was great, Hattie Morahan was pretty good too... and also, I loved the scenery, the costumes, and the singing.

    I know, I was so excited when they began playing 'Home' - I was like OH YES PLEASE PLEASE SING ITTTTT!!!! But they didn't. :( Haha, that was okay - I was delighted when they at least played it instrumentally.

    Oh AND YES IT REALLY ANNOYED ME WHEN BELLE'S SKIRT WAS TUCKED UP TOO. :P Like, REALLY.

    Also, I'd disagree slightly - I felt like some of the things they added weren't really helping the story in any way... not that I hated it, but it didn't flow as nicely as I thought it may have.

    OH AND EVERMORE WAS MY FAVOURITE SONG. The end.

    In short... excellent review, old girl. :D

    ~Miss Meg

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    1. Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAYYY JESSICA!!! <3 <3 <3

      ~Miss Meg

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    2. Miss Meg, I so get that. I think if my expectations had been that high, they may have been let down, too. That's part of why I tried to keep my expectations down, heh. :-P Oh my word! Wow, that would have DEFINITELY affected my experience, too! I'm so sowwy. :( That actually does sound pretty terrible.

      SAME SAME SAME.

      Yes, me too -- I was like, "Oh, please play it!" But I got over it and was glad that little bit made it into the film. ;)

      YERSH. STOP. (Thankfully, they did.)

      Interesting perspective! That's what the friend I went to see it with said about the book-travel part. I guess I can see how it might not "fit" with the story or make it flow as smoothly, but it didn't bother me, personally.

      Thanks ever so much, m'dear!! Thanks for your comment! :)

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  10. Replies
    1. Thank you so much, MovieCritic! I'm glad you enjoyed it!!

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