Art, Entertainment & Reviews
Beauty and the Beast: Cartoon v. Live Action
Morgan Stark & Jackie Jones
By: Shalen Tully
“Beauty and the Beast” has been a beloved movie for more than two decades. With new versions of movies being seen by newer generations and newer audiences, Disney has been moving more towards live action movies to recreate old favorites. In recent years, Disney has reimagined classics such as “Pete's Dragon”, “Maleficent” (“Sleeping Beauty”), and “Cinderella”. The retelling of an old favorite like “Beauty and the Beauty” will have the audience engrossed in this everlasting tale. Moving on from the Harry Potter franchise, Emma Watson portrays the young village girl Belle in 18th century France. Throughout the movie, her character continues to be the classic Belle but with expected twists in this updated Disney version.
In 1991, from Walt Disney studios, the cartoon version of “Beauty and the Beast” emerges and Belle is inducted as one of Disney’s original Princesses. One can describe her character as bookish, smart, and caring, and those attributes were represented throughout the entire movie. This timeless tale with help from Belle’s iconic yellow dress is what lead “Beauty and the Beast” to become the first animated movie nominated for Academy Awards Best Picture. This movie has a complicated history because when the story was first thought of in the early 20th century, Walt Disney wanted to adapt his idea but found no writers or animators willing take on the challenge. Hence, this idea was then brought up and suited towards Disney's audience in the late 80s, using CAPS, a computer animation program; “Beauty and Beast” was the first prestigious film to animated from this. Then it was brought to life on the big screen in November 1991.
Singing villagers, dancing household objects, and captivating vocals — these timeless elements were also included in the new “Beauty and the Beast”. On March 17, the live action version was released to theaters everywhere. With the release of the new reimagining of the movie, many people are wondering what to expect. Some wondered if the performances will be as captivating as the cartoon version or if the movie will change many things in the basis of the plot. And the question that was on everyone's mind was, will it live up to their expectations?
Although they carry the same plot, the two movies do pose to be very contrasting in some ways. The orginal songs sung by Belle and Mrs. Potts have been included, but there was an addition of several new ones that did not enhance the plot all that well. There is no argument that Emma Watson is a wonderful actress and did a fantastic job immersing herself into Belle’s character, but when it came to the singing, you can tell an immense amount of autotune was used when she sang each song, which in some ways affected her performance. Despite this, there were huge similarities that kept this time-honored classic intact. One being the characters; in the movie, the audience still saw the same great characters that stole their hearts in the 1991 film: the beast, Belle, Gaston, and all of the personified household objects. Also the admirers of this movie take comfort in knowing that the entirety of the story was still there providing us with the same magic and joy as it did over twenty years ago.
There are many different reactions and emotions to be had when watching the live action version of the Beauty and the Beast. Some of them being awe, wonder, and amazement. With all of the questions around what the movie would be like, there were many who wondered if it would ever compare to the original. With the new castings and the challenges with bringing to life all of the inanimate objects, there are questions on how well the recreation of these characters will be what they remember from the cartoon version. There are critical challenges when facing the idea of creating a classic, but, in this case, Disney was able to undertake this project and, once again, make “Beauty and the Beast” a tale as old as time.
“ I didn't think that it was necessarily better but it's better in the sense that it reflects the changes that are happening in the 21st century, exspecially in accepting homosexualty, which it portrayed in the LeFou character. Also I think Emma Watson was great, her singing was off but the movie was still great.”
Jocelyn, 10
“It was true to the original Disney animation; I liked it a lot and thought it was very engaging. As far as the characters go, Emma Watson made me feel like she was Belle and they did a great job with the Beast and its eyes, making it looked beasty and as a human at the same time.”
Mr. Perez
In 1991, from Walt Disney studios, the cartoon version of “Beauty and the Beast” emerges and Belle is inducted as one of Disney’s original Princesses. One can describe her character as bookish, smart, and caring, and those attributes were represented throughout the entire movie. This timeless tale with help from Belle’s iconic yellow dress is what lead “Beauty and the Beast” to become the first animated movie nominated for Academy Awards Best Picture. This movie has a complicated history because when the story was first thought of in the early 20th century, Walt Disney wanted to adapt his idea but found no writers or animators willing take on the challenge. Hence, this idea was then brought up and suited towards Disney's audience in the late 80s, using CAPS, a computer animation program; “Beauty and Beast” was the first prestigious film to animated from this. Then it was brought to life on the big screen in November 1991.
Singing villagers, dancing household objects, and captivating vocals — these timeless elements were also included in the new “Beauty and the Beast”. On March 17, the live action version was released to theaters everywhere. With the release of the new reimagining of the movie, many people are wondering what to expect. Some wondered if the performances will be as captivating as the cartoon version or if the movie will change many things in the basis of the plot. And the question that was on everyone's mind was, will it live up to their expectations?
Although they carry the same plot, the two movies do pose to be very contrasting in some ways. The orginal songs sung by Belle and Mrs. Potts have been included, but there was an addition of several new ones that did not enhance the plot all that well. There is no argument that Emma Watson is a wonderful actress and did a fantastic job immersing herself into Belle’s character, but when it came to the singing, you can tell an immense amount of autotune was used when she sang each song, which in some ways affected her performance. Despite this, there were huge similarities that kept this time-honored classic intact. One being the characters; in the movie, the audience still saw the same great characters that stole their hearts in the 1991 film: the beast, Belle, Gaston, and all of the personified household objects. Also the admirers of this movie take comfort in knowing that the entirety of the story was still there providing us with the same magic and joy as it did over twenty years ago.
There are many different reactions and emotions to be had when watching the live action version of the Beauty and the Beast. Some of them being awe, wonder, and amazement. With all of the questions around what the movie would be like, there were many who wondered if it would ever compare to the original. With the new castings and the challenges with bringing to life all of the inanimate objects, there are questions on how well the recreation of these characters will be what they remember from the cartoon version. There are critical challenges when facing the idea of creating a classic, but, in this case, Disney was able to undertake this project and, once again, make “Beauty and the Beast” a tale as old as time.
“ I didn't think that it was necessarily better but it's better in the sense that it reflects the changes that are happening in the 21st century, exspecially in accepting homosexualty, which it portrayed in the LeFou character. Also I think Emma Watson was great, her singing was off but the movie was still great.”
Jocelyn, 10
“It was true to the original Disney animation; I liked it a lot and thought it was very engaging. As far as the characters go, Emma Watson made me feel like she was Belle and they did a great job with the Beast and its eyes, making it looked beasty and as a human at the same time.”
Mr. Perez
By: Valerie Mecha
Recital Recap
Corinne Kronschnabel
If you weren’t able to come to the IB Music Higher Level Senior Recitals, here are some recordings of the fantastic performances that this year’s HL IB Music seniors did!
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Suite Bergamasque No. 3
III. Andante Très Expressif “Clair de Lune” — composed by Claude Debussy Performed by Joanna Rogowski (piano) |
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Little Green Monster — composed by Andrew Williamson
Dancing in a Burning Room — composed by John Mayer, arranged by Andrew Williamson Both pieces performed by Andrew Williamson (guitar) |
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Deep River — arranged by Harry T. Burleigh
Performed by Rogelio Balderas (tenor) Accompanied by Amanda Draheim (piano) |
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Strasbourg St. Denis — composed by Roy Hargrove
Performance and improvised solo by Christopher Hawkins (alto saxophone) Featuring Adam Murphy (clarinet), Christopher Mell (drum set), and Amanda Draheim (piano) |
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