Kevin Kline & Emma Watson (r) star in Beauty and the Beast |
Too Much?
Rotten Tomatoes Plot: Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" is a live-action re-telling of the studio's animated classic which refashions the classic characters from the tale as old as time for a contemporary audience, staying true to the original music while updating the score with several new songs. "Beauty and the Beast" is the fantastic journey of Belle, a bright, beautiful and independent young woman who is taken prisoner by a beast in his castle. Despite her fears, she befriends the castle's enchanted staff and learns to look beyond the Beast's hideous exterior and realize the kind heart and soul of the true Prince within. The film stars Emma Watson as Belle; Dan Stevens as the Beast; Luke Evans as Gaston, the handsome, but shallow villager who woos Belle; Oscar winner Kevin Kline as Maurice, Belle's eccentric, but lovable father; Josh Gad as Lefou, Gaston's long-suffering aide-de-camp; Golden Globe nominee Ewan McGregor as Lumiere, the candelabra; Oscar nominee Stanley Tucci as Maestro Cadenza, the harpsichord; Oscar nominee Ian McKellen as Cogsworth, the mantel clock; and two-time Academy Award winner Emma Thompson as the teapot, Mrs. Potts. Directed by Oscar winner Bill Condon based on the 1991 animated film, "Beauty and the Beast" is produced by Mandeville Films' David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman, with eight-time Oscar-winning composer Alan Menken, who won two Academy Awards (Best Original Score and Best Song) for the 1991 animated film, providing the score, which will include new recordings of the original songs written by Menken and Howard Ashman, as well as several new songs written by Menken and three-time Oscar winner Tim Rice.
They say "beauty is in the eye of the beholder," but after 90 minutes of Disney's Beauty and the Beast, I'd had enough (cue exit, stage left.) I suppose that's what happens when you convert a classic animated tale into a live-action bore/sing-a-thon. The soundtrack features 44 tracks; and it seems like every one of 'em was in the movie. Sorry, but I don't consider Kevin Kline singing as entertainment. Watson's OK, and some of the servants (Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts) are cute/funny; but a $170 million opening weekend should take your breath away, not put you to sleep.
Grade: D