Beauty & The Beast

I have a problem, a very serious problem. It has come to my attention that Disney is currently in the process of translating a good portion of their beloved animated classics into live-action films. Jungle Book. Dumbo (Seriously?). Mulan. Pinocchio. Winnie the Pooh. Tinkerbell. 

I may be a die-hard Disney nerd, but my beliefs on original, imaginative storytelling are just too strong to be tampered down. Why try to redo, rework a piece of art you, personally, have already perfected? Why attempt to challenge not one, but several films that are considered definitive standards? It doesn’t make sense. I don’t understand it. Under no circumstances is greed an acceptable answer. No! This current fascination Disney has with remaking their own films WILL NOT STAND.

And yet…

There is no denying that this particular venture has the potential to be utterly enchanting.

Not only will Beauty & The Beast follow Disney’s revered 1991 feature more closely than most, it will also be a musical; using songs from both the animated feature AND Broadway production!

And if that wasn’t enough, just look at this cast list.

Luke Evans as Gaston

Josh Gad as Lefou

Kevin Kline as Maurice

Ewan McGregor as Lumiere

Ian McKellen as Cogsworth

Dan Stevens as Beast

Emma Thompson as Mrs. Potts

Emma Watson as Belle

I’m sorry, is my FanGirl showing?

I just can’t help it! It’s the film I remember loving most as a child. It’s the film that, to this day, makes me smile in astonishment and wonder.

I still remember the frequent visits to my local dollar-theatre, attempting to sing along before the crowd behind would shush me into submission.

In fact, I can even remember the first time I met her. Belle. I was only five years old at the time, at Disney World, of course. It had been raining, so we had decided to take shelter at a nearby establishment. She had descended from a hidden staircase as if she had stepped right off the film-strip. I couldn’t believe my eyes. She was perfect and real.

Unfortunately, Beauty & The Beast won’t premiere until 2017. I guess we’ll just wait in agony until then.

Tomorrowland

For months previous to the release of Tomorrowland, until the opening credits started to roll, I had been under the impression that this film would be about Tomorrowland. That’s what the filmmakers had teased repeatedly, had they not? A film inspired by its namesake? A film motivated by Walt Disney’s own, original plans for an experimental prototype community of tomorrow? That’s what any relatively sane person would expect, right? That’s what was promised?

The name alone – Tomorrowland – brings up so many images, ideas, memories. Just think of all the possibilities, of all the places you could go. If you’ve ever been to the Disney parks, you know exactly what I mean. There are certain requirements you’d expect from a film with that name. The potential this film had…it was there. It was all there.

What is Tomorrowland then, if not about people movers and a steel slated city? Even after an exhaustive two hours of film, I still can not tell you. What it should have been about – well-known concepts that include phrases like “Keep moving forward” and “Never stop dreaming” come to mind – were only ideas that simmered on the surface of the feature. The problematic plot was riddled with mixed and muddled messages, themes that were never fully realized. It was clichéd and preachy. It was a film that chose to dedicate itself to lackluster, one-dimensional characters, rather than developing a worthwhile story.

Not even the hasty glimpses of Space Mountain and It’s a Small World, or the two welcomed choruses of There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow could help.

Tomorrowland was entirely underwhelming.

The Muppets

I LOVE The Muppets, always have, always will. I’ve been looking forward to their television return for years, and now, finally, it’s here. Yayyyyyy! *Kermit Flail*

Are you excited to see Disney’s new live-action Beauty & The Beast? What do you think of the cast list? Have you seen Tomorrowland? What did you think of the film? Will you watch The Muppets? Tell me in the comments!

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