Beauty and the Beast: lovely fairytale to be with

Cast: Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Kevin Kline, Josh Gad, Ewan McGregor, Emma Thompson

Rated: 7/10

It’s a much feted fairytale the whole world knows about, has read many times as a child and an adult, sat through plays, enacted in schools and seen in films too. So, you would say, it would not work yet again, especially not so soon after Disney brought the stunning Broadway type stage musical with the same title to town just the other year.

Nothing of that sort in this carefully curated CGI wonder. The beast, the castle, the ice and doom, the cute human-turned-curios, the megalomaniacal villain, the landscape and the heroine — all of them stitch up an arresting tale seen best from behind 3D blinkers.

More human than their 1991 animated masterpiece, Disney this time plays on Emma Watson’s histrionics as the ultimate Belle and the good looks of the beast who finally transforms into the groovy looking Dan Stevens. But it is the dressing up of this musical that takes the cake. The stunning castle, the Asterix-like landscape, the lovely village and the star line-up that plays pots, pans, kettle, cup, clock and candle-stand are all simply amazing.

Director Bill Codon has worked hard and succeeded in delivering a good looking, dulcet film high on music and dream story, thanks to  the seasoning he gathered in mega projects like Dreamgirls and the Twilight series. His visual artistry is enervating, his emotional content moving, his romance slow but indulgent and his villain (Luke Evans) comes with the right mix of pomposity, meanness and hollowness that fits into the fairytale.

A little glitch are the songs and the lyrics which sit uncomfortably on lips and situations mainly because they are easily forgettable. Other than that, it is a dream you will love to sit through, despite the familiarity, despite the twist, despite the inherent slowness and despite the fact that you may be a grown adult.

Source: Sunday Pioneer, 19 March, 2017