March 17, 2022, marks the 5th Anniversary of the live-action movie Beauty & The Beast. I remember seeing it in theatres, and it was a memorable experience. It was also nostalgic as I remembered watching the cartoon version in the 90s.
Soundtrack
The music is remarkable throughout the record. Alan Menken’s compositions are memorable and timeless, with rich musical sounds. There are three versions of songs from the movie that were not in the musical numbers: Beauty and The Beast (performed by Ariana Grande and John Legend), How Does a Moment Last Forever (performed by Celine Dion) and Evermore (performed by Josh Groban). The record starts with those three pieces, a lovely introduction to the soundtrack and a touching homage to Beauty and The Beast. Then it transitions to hearing the songs heard in the movie, after pieces by Alan Menken, including two with a narrator telling the story of the prince’s past and how he became “The Beast.”
The rest of the soundtrack is musical numbers performed by the cast. It follows the timeline of the movie perfectly. What’s fun with the soundtrack is when hearing the songs, one visualizes musical performances seen in the film.
Movie & Musical numbers
Watching Beauty & The Beast – the live-action version was so much fun. As previously mentioned, it brought back memories from when I was a kid. There are incredible musical numbers, sometimes with excellent visual effects like in the sequence of Be Our Guest. The actors’ voices are unforgettable. The ensemble is also impressive.
Emma Watson developed a strong and bold take on the character Belle. This version is more dynamic and has an incredible depth and a unique trait that differs slightly from the cartoon version. Her voice was fantastic and full of passion and edginess. She performed each musical number with heart and soul.
One of my favourite performances was the musical number of Belle was fantastic – the same for the reprise. Another one I also enjoyed was the performance of the piece Gaston that includes Luke Evans and Josh Gad.
Emma Thompson’s performance of Beauty and The Beast has a modern touch.
Dan Stevens (The Beast) has a bold operatic voice, whose performance was impressive. His rendition of the Beast was three-dimensional and showed the human side beautifully.
Kevin Kline was sweet as Belle’s father, especially with his version of How Does a Moment Last Forever.
The live-action version of the characters is more engaged and extensively developed.
I loved the movie’s details, including Belle’s famous yellow/golden dress and the rose losing its petals. The visual effects were impressive and well-designed. The costumes were all beautifully well-made, with impeccable detailing.
The film was fantastic with this live-action rendition of a children’s classic fairytale.
