Beauty and the Beast Part 2

Okay, I loved this movie. From her first entrance, Emma Watson was absolute perfection as Belle. There have been some changes to her character, namely that she has inherited her father's penchant for inventing things. She's very much not a damsel in distress. Also, they've given Belle an expanded background. In the original version, Belle is fascinated by the rose in the West Wing. In this version, we learn that Belle's mother loved roses. We also learn that Belle was born in Paris and her mother died from bubonic plague. In fact it is Beast who enables her to find this out. The enchantress left Beast a book that could take him anywhere he wanted to go. Belle chose to go to the Paris of her childhood where she discovered a mask in her mother's bedroom that was commonly worn by plague doctors.
Now onto Beast. He's a very wealthy aristocrat who has no capacity to love. His mother also died and his father was very cruel to him. He was never shown how to love. Gaston...He is still as narcissistic as ever. In the animated version, he goes after Belle more directly. In this version, he tries to ingratiate himself with Maurice. After Belle arranges for her father's freedom, he goes to Gaston's tavern and begs for help. Gaston goes to the woods and soon begins to make his move. Maurice refuses to give Belle's hand in marriage so Gaston leaves him to die alone. He is rescued by Agatha, a reclusive village person. It turns out that Agatha is the enchantress and has been guiding all the events throughout. Lefou is...flamboyant, I'll say. You've all heard the rumors I'm sure and yes they are true. There is a moment that could be construed as saying that Lefou is of a homosexual orientation. I'm not telling you what it is. Now, onto what any of this has to do with musical theatre. First off, the fabulous Audra McDonald plays the wardrobe and sings two songs, including the title song in the last scene. She could sing the phone book. Emma Thompson was fabulous as Mrs. Potts and sang the title song beautifully. Mrs. Potts is also married in this version. As a result of the curse, the village people have forgotten the castle and its inhabitants, meaning Mrs. Potts's husband has forgotten her and Chip.

It's time to wrap this up although I could go on. Fans of the stage version will be happy to know that two songs make very brief appearances. We hear the opening notes of "Home" when Belle is first imprisoned. Also, someone says the words "a change in me." So happy obviously. On cloud nine right now...