Beauty and the Beast Live Blog

We’re back to the live blog for Beauty and the Beast.  I’ve seen the stage version of this movie more recently than the movie itself (a community theatre at home did it this summer), so I’m curious to compare the two.  Fun fact: the music for this movie was also done by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, like The Little Mermaid.

The Beast is another member of the “Princes without Actual Names Club”.

Why does this fairy go around disguised as a beggar woman in the first place?  Have other local nobility also been cursed?  Or do they know better than to turn away random creepy strangers because they know they will cause problems?

It’s also really unfair of her to curse all of his servants?  What could they have done about this?  It’s not their fault their master picked a fight with an enchantress.

Where did the magic mirror come from?  Did he have it from before he was cursed, or did the enchantress or someone give it to him?

“Belle” is favorite song in this movie.  

Shout-out to this guy for being the only person in this town not judging Belle and for encouraging her love of reading.

Why is no one talking about Belle being able to jump rope while reading a book?

Also:

Foreshadowing: this movie does it well.  

“Here’s where she meets Prince Charming.  But she won’t discover that it’s him till Chapter 3."

I like how the whole town feels the need to come together to talk about how weird Belle is.  And how she doesn’t notice the massive musical number happening behind her.  

Gaston is a horrible person.  Kudos for Belle for not only insulting him, but insulting him with a word he doesn’t understand.

“Gaston, you are positively primeval.”  “Why, thank you, Belle.”

Belle and her dad are really cute together.

His invention went from exploding to working perfectly almost impossibly quickly.

Does that say Anaheim?

If Maurice had listened to his horse, this entire movie’s plot could have been avoided.  Philippe wanted to go in the opposite direction.

How does no one in the area know about this castle?  You’d think people would question the sudden disappearance of a PRINCE.  

My favorite character in this movie:

How does this work?  I don’t understand.

I must say this was satisfying to watch.

This is really pretty:

“Irresponsible, devil-may-care, waxy-eared…” Was that a pun, Cogsworth?

How long has this carriage been sitting there?  There were plants growing around it.  Why hasn’t it walked around recently?

I nominate Lefou for Evil Henchman of the Year.  He started a whole song just to cheer up Gason.

I’m surprised Mr. “I don’t read books without pictures” Gaston knows the word “expectorating”.

“Lefou I’m afraid I’ve been thinking.”  “A dangerous pastime.”  “I know.”  Good line.

I really like this screenshot:

Why do only half of the enchanted objects have faces?

Mrs. Potts: “Straighten up!”  Beast: sits like a dog.

Quite the charmer:

I feel like Lumiere has been waiting all day for a chance to start a musical number.

“If it’s not Baroque, don’t fix it.”

You had one job, Belle.  One job. Don't go in the West Wing.

I like how he feels the need to roar in the wolf’s face before throwing it off.

Puppy!

Cogsworth is secretly the funniest character in this movie.

Goals.

Did the Beast never learn to use silverware as a child?

“Something There” is my other favorite song from this movie.

The Beast can’t read either?  Who was in charge of this child’s education?

Stylish.

Why do we bring an angry mob for this purpose?

“We don’t like what we don’t understand, in fact it scares us, and this monster is mysterious at least.”  Increasingly relevant line in nowadays.

One of the most entertaining fight scenes I’ve seen.  

Is this supposed to be a Little Mermaid reference?

I like how Belle literally watches him transform into a human but is still skeptical when he says, “it’s me.”

I love how all their human selves look so much like their random household object selves.

Chip is most certainly not 10.  At what point was he born during this whole ordeal? Or did none of them age while the castle was cursed?

Overall, another good movie.  I think I like the stage version a bit better because there are more songs, and more detail is added to parts of the story.   Still, the animated version is really good.  I’m curious how the live-action version this March will compare.

The Little Mermaid Post Outtakes

Now that I’ve done the formal film response, I have a few additional thoughts/questions/potential plot holes about the movie that I didn't include in my original post.

Ariel has a twin.  Purple seashells and everything:

This is right before the concert, when she is supposedly out collecting stuff at the shipwreck.

What’s up with Flotsam and Jetsam’s eyes?  They function as a crystal ball for Ursula.  How did that happen/what did Ursula do to them to make it happen?

Flounder is a shapeshifter:

Speaking of Flounder, how did Flounder move the statue into Ariel’s grotto?  He’s not that big, and odds are that very few people in the kingdom would be very keen on helping him do something that King Triton most certainly would not approve of.

Also, why did Grimsby commission a giant statue of Eric for his birthday? It doesn't seem like something he would be that into (especially based on his reaction to it).

In “Part of Your World,” Ariel names a whole bunch of human objects/words.  These are also words that are not used in the mermaid world (since she tends to say things like “What do you call it?” when using them).  Her only source of info about the human world is Scuttle, who actually knows nothing.  So where did she get the correct information?

Ursula’s cave looks like a creepy sea dragon:

Also, she enslaved a whole lot of merpeople:  Why does Ariel think it’s a remotely good idea to walk in there?  Or does the rest of the kingdom not know that Ursula has been systematically kidnapping people?  If so, do they just have a list of mystery disappearances?

Does Ariel not have a last name?  Also, she obviously knows how to write (and read) English. The contract wasn't in a different mermaid language.  Why didn’t she write Eric a letter explaining her whole predicament?  A lot of issues could have been avoided.

King Triton’s description of humans as “spineless, savage, harpooning, fish-eaters” reminds me a lot of the response Chief Powhatan has to the English in Pocahontas.  Now that I think about it, in both movies, the teenage daughter saves the life of and falls in love with someone from the group her father fears.  Interesting.  

It also bugged me when Triton tells the little seahorse servant to “[l]et no one in this kingdom rest until she’s safe at home!”, and then goes and sits on his throne.  If he’s so distraught, he should go help look, not just sit and do nothing.

That's about it for my thoughts on this movie. It's still a good movie, but it does leave a few questions unanswered.

In honor of Valentine's Day, I am posting this article from a Disney blog on my Disney blog.

https://ohmy.disney.com/movies/2017/02/14/25-pieces-of-gorgeous-disney-movie-couples-concept-art/

The Little Mermaid Film Response

Tonight’s movie is The Little Mermaid.  Some of my thoughts before watching.  I watched this movie quite a bit as a kid.  I have memories of watching the singalongs of the songs in the bonus features of the DVD (particularly “Under the Sea” because that song is great).  Also I thought it would be fun to be a mermaid for a bit (maybe I still do).  Time to see if it’s as good as I remember.  Also, shout-out to Alan Menken for being the composer of most of my childhood (and also a lot of the music I enjoy now).

Now for some thoughts after finishing the movie:

First of all, Sebastian puts up with a whole lot during this movie.  

His actual title is “court composer”.  The poor guy never signed up for any of this.  As he says himself, he “should be writing symphonies, not tagging along after some headstrong teenager” (which, if you think about it, explains why his first response to a problem is to perform a song. See also "Under the Sea" and "Kiss the Girl").  I think he and Zazu from The Lion King would get along well.  They could vent to each other after the annoying royal children they are forced to (attempt to) supervise.

Also, he and Grimsby have basically the same job but for two different people.  And it goes equally well for both of them.  For reference:

“You really delight in these sadistic strains on my blood pressure, don’t you?” - Grimsby, to Eric

and

“My nerves are shot! This is a catastrophe!”- Sebastian, about Ariel.

I want to know more about Ursula’s backstory.  Near the start of the movie, she informs the audience that “[i[n my day, we had fantastical feasts, when I lived in the palace.”  This obviously implies a pretty interesting scenario where Ursula did something pretty bad to get kicked out by Triton.  I also know that the Broadway musical makes her Triton’s sister, which was a concept that was going to be in the movie, but got cut from the final product.

I would also like to say a few words in defense of this story.  I know a lot of people talk about Ariel as being a bad female role model because she completely changes who she to get the man.  But the other thing that has to be considered is the fact that she wanted to be human long before Eric.  This is the whole focus of “Part of Your World,” a song which happens before she has even laid eyes on Eric.  Eric is kind of the straw that broke the camel’s back.  Does he play a major role in her decision to talk to Ursula? Yes.  But is he the only factor? No.  Still, Ariel does (literally) change her tune a bit after meeting him:

“What would I pay to spend a day warm on the sand?” (“Part of Your World”- pre-Eric)

vs.

“What would I do to see you smiling at me?” (“Part of Your World- Reprise”- post-Eric)

So, yeah, it’s fair to say he very much pushed her to go from simply imagining life as a human to deciding to seek out a way to live on land, with him specifically.  But I don’t think it’s fair to say Ariel just suddenly decided she change everything about herself after meeting him.  

Now, examining the idea of gender roles from another angle, let’s look at Ursula.  If any character represents society’s objectification of women, it’s her.  She takes full advantage of societal standards, particularly regarding physical appearance, in order to manipulate people.

Furthermore, she is the one to take away Ariel’s voice and her free will with her sketchy contract.  She also informs Ariel that “[o]n land it’s much preferred for ladies not to say a word,” and “[i]t’s she who holds her tongue who gets her man!”  She derives her power from taking it away from others, specifically those who don’t fit where society wants them.

Overall, I’d say it was a fun movie.  The music is great, and there were a lot of moments that made me laugh.  But it also deals with some bigger issues, like the way society judges people, specifically women, and how people change in order to fit society’s mold.