After months of bated breath anticipation, several posters and exclusive photos, and a teaser trailer that broke the Internet, Disney has finally debuted the first full-length trailer for the upcoming live action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast.
Judging from the clips included, it looks like this adaptation is going to hew pretty close to the original 1991 animated classic. And why would they want to deviate, when the Disney film was a nigh-perfect fairy tale story that almost won a Best Picture Oscar (in the days before animated films were relegated to their own category)?
We’ve finally gotten a good look at Emma Watson’s Belle in action, facing down wolves and standing up to the Beast to save her father. There’s no question that she’s dazzling in that iconic gold dress.
Kevin Kline’s Maurice and Sir Ian McKellen’s Cogsworth both look and sound great, and it’s hard to imagine a better-cast LeFou than Josh Gad. The designs for the enchanted castle and its transmogrified inhabitants are certainly different.
I’m still not entirely sold on Ewan McGregor’s Lumiere, though – fingers crossed that that ridiculous French accent isn’t so over-the-top for the whole film – and something feels slightly off with Dan Stevens’ Beast.
Perhaps I’m being unfair, comparing him to the superbly imaginative – and somewhat frightening – design used in 2014’s La Belle et La Bête, but the face looks a little too flat and unreal compared to the rest of the vibrant CGI and costumes.
We’ve still got several months before Beauty and the Beast hits theaters on March 17th, and early trailers aren’t always the most accurate in terms of the final product. It’ll be interesting to see what future teasers reveal.
