Beauty and the Beast: Live action film vs original animation

Emma Watson and Dan Stevens are 'completely magical' as new posters reveal more about the Disney remake

Disney has released the posters of its remake of Beauty and the Beast – and they've had a rapturous reception.

They feature character portraits of the film's stars, Emma Watson and Dan Stevens, and "it goes without saying that they're completely magical", says Digital Spy.

Watson, who plays Belle, appears in a yellow dress similar to the one worn by her cartoon counterpart in the animated version. Other posters show a moody Stevens as the Beast plus his servants, who are turned into living furniture as a result of a curse, in their human form.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Rocking the 19th-century look are Ian McKellen as Cogsworth the clock, Emma Thompson as Mrs Potts and Ewan McGregor as Lumiere the candlestick, sporting a particularly magnificent moustache.

"The images make it look as if the animated flick has sprung to life," says the Daily Mail , and "the cast looks whimsical as ever dressed in 19th century finery complete with wigs and corsets."

Elle writer R Eric Thomas is also keen on the finery, saying Audra McDonald as Madame Garderobe the wardrobe was "the single greatest thing I have seen all week".

"Listen, if Audra McDonald was my closet I would never have come out," he writes.

"Seriously, though, how is she even managing expressions under all of that hair? It's like the opposite of Resting B**** Face. She has Exuberant Wig Face."

However, not everyone was impressed by the lavish costumes on display.

"The film's aesthetic, one that might make Marie Antoinette go, 'Wow, that's maybe a little much', was evident in the trailers, and it's even more prominently on display in this series of character posters," says AV Club, which argues the furniture characters in particular have been "rendered largely unrecognisable thanks to some bold wig choices".

Beauty and the Beast comes out in the UK on 17 March.

See the gallery above for pictures of the live action film compared with the original animation.

To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us