Phantasy
17 April 2017
As an adult you walk into Beauty and the Beast not expecting suspense how the story will end. Of course the beast will get the beauty in the end! The open questions are about their journey. What challenges will the couple face before their happy ending?
For me the best part of the movie had very little do with the two story itself. The makers of the film use the plot and the characters as an excuse to show off mesmerizing feats of imagination and creativity. The most stunning scene happens as the beauty (Emma Watson) takes her first dinner in the castle of the beast. She is alone. Only with the staff, who have been years transformed by curse some years ago from human beings into clocks, candle holders and walking closets. The beast is mad with fury in his quarters. We already have learned that the staff has a very strong incentive to ensure the beauty falls in love with the beast: If this happens before a rose dies the staff (and the prince who is trapped in the body of a beast) will be transformed again into their human form. But the rose has not much longer to live. I can assure you have never seen a staff figuratively and literally pulling out all the stops as in this scene. My gut feeling tells me that people behind Pixar movies had their hands in ‘cooking this scene”. In any case, go watch Beauty and the Beast have your iPhone ready and when this scene starts, record it on your phone. And next time when you get poor service at a restaurant, instead of complaining, ask the waiter or waitress to quickly watch this scene with you. This will give them clear ideas how you would like them to lift their service game.
