Beauty and the Beast 2017

Beauty and the Beast ~ This is yet another of Disney's unnecessary live action remakes.  I don't see the point of these honestly, unless of course they are told from a different point of view entirely like Maleficent, or completely different as in the Tim Burton Alice films.  While Cinderella did answer some questions from the animated feature (as does this one), I found it ultimately dismal, and what could have been the best part of The Jungle Book was left on the cutting room floor (Scarlet Johansson's "Trust in Me").

I was very wary of the new Beauty and the Beast.  Not only was the original an Oscar nominated and winning classic of Disney's new animation age, it could have been decidedly difficult to animate.  In fact, the scenes I had seen in previews of the castle objects come to life, like Lumiere and Cogsworth, did not impress me. 

The casting worried me as well.  Hermione Granger? I'm not saying that Emma Watson is typecast but she would have to go a long way to make me believe she is anyone but Hermione, and as hard as she tries here, Emma never comes off as anything but playacting as Belle.  Honestly all of the roles are very solidly in most of our minds from the animated feature, it's hard to envision anyone else in those spots. 

The animated objects in the original are charming cartoons but here the CGI versions come off as a bit creepy, just to the left of Tim Burton.  We love those cartoon characters but the new ones are impressive yet cold and inhuman.  Similarly the music is also impersonal and feels very much like artificial or karaoke covers. 

Don't get me wrong, the live action Beauty and the Beast is a good movie, heck, it might even be a great movie for those who have never seen the classic original, but for me, the best it will ever be is a pale and ill wrought imitation.  Worth seeing only for the curious and the hardcore Disney fan only.

The Make Mine Magic Podcast

For a little over half a year now, The GAR! Podcast family has grown by one. The Make Mine Magic Podcast, unlike its sister production, is focused, planned and rehearsed and features myself and The Bride talking about all things Disney.

This week we’re talking about the Disney animated film Beauty and the Beast, but not in the traditional way. There have been many articles on BuzzFeed about what's wrong with the movie - unanswered questions, illogical plot holes and the like - so we decided to take on those questions ourselves. We even invoke Spider-Man and Sweeney Todd in our discussion. You can hear Episode 30 here, and find out what all the Beauty and the Beast hubbub is about.

Previous episodes include discussions of the Disney Princesses, the NJ DIS Meet Weekend, memories of Pleasure Island, special episodes on Pixar, the Pixar Theory, and even reviews of Muppets Most Wanted and Captain America The Winter Soldier.

You can find The Make Mine Magic Podcast on its own website here, on Facebook, and can also contact me or my co-host Jennifer Walker on Twitter.

The Pineland Players Presents “Beauty and the Beast”

The Pineland Players, based in Medford NJ and established in 1977, are doing Disney’s "Beauty of the Beast" this weekend. The production is quite elaborate for local community theatre, but that’s standard practice for the Pineland Players. This musical based on the Broadway play is first rate and can be seen the rest of the weekend at the Burlington County Institute of Technology Westhampton Campus. Nathan Titus steals the show as Le Fou, Gaston’s toady sidekick, and some woman named Jennifer Walker is elegant charm as Mrs. Potts (no nepotism here, The Bride really is good). Michael Carty is also notable as Gaston, perfectly cast. It’s a wonderful show that definitely should be seen while it’s running.