A review as old as time.
The new Beauty and the Beast film was one that I was unsure of to begin with. Disney has recently been making lots of live versions of its classical films, such as; Cinderella, Maleficent and the Jungle book. Whilst all these were done extremely well, I had my concerns whether CGI would stretch to bring a talking candelabra, a clock and a singing wardrobe realistically to life. I needn’t have feared though, because it was done brilliantly, and if anything the intricate detail on the characters made them look right at home in the beasts castle.
The songs were all really catchy and my sister and I came out singing them, especially tale as old as time- I cried at that part, actually I cried at several parts. We’re all familiar with the story of Beauty and the Beast, but no matter how many times you watch it, you can always pick a new meaning out of it. The story is about a selfish prince who will not welcome an old woman- or who he thinks is an old woman- into his palace, nor will he accept the rose she offers him. Of course she turns out to be a beautiful enchantress and curses him and his household. He has until the rose looses its last petal to find true love, otherwise he will remain a beast forever…
There are things that I don’t like about this story and I admit I’m being a bit pernickety but it really is just a tale as old as time. From when fairy tales were first around to modern ady ones, the story is usually the same one about a misfit girl in some way or another and an arrogant man who needs to learn to find himself. I get the messages in the story, “looks can be deceiving, it’s not what’s on the outside that matters, just be yourself”, but why? Why does the enchantress have to turn into a beautiful enchantress? Why does the character of Belle need to a misfit in her community, the only one who reads books? And finally why does the beast have to change into a prince at the very end. Belle fell in love with the beast.
Which makes you think about the hidden meanings in the story. With Belle leading the way for change for being herself to make others behave differently. Because she lives in the most narrow-minded community ever, that all have the same thought processes and go along with whoever has the most deer antlers in his house, naming no names-Gaston.
The thing is, the audience want to see that person who stands out against the others. But they also want that person to have a happy ending, and this apparently has to be with a prince. So yes whilst all the fairy tales teach that “it’s okay to be different and it’s not what’s on the outside”, do they really mean it, or do they just want you to think that’s what they mean when instead they are actually teaching that you can’t be happy unless you’re different, unless you are beautiful. Because the Beast is beautiful in his own way, yet everyone just sees him as… well a beast, and it’s only when he changes back into a prince that they all welcome him again and want to hold a celebration.
Beauty and the beast gave me a lot to think about, so we’ll just all have to wait to see what Disney do next and what the hidden meaning truly is.
Sarah Atherton, Rosebery School.
