Alright. I have a bone to pick with the world. Lately, it's becoming a bit of a trend to take the classic Disney movies that we all love and cherish and revamp them into these new dramatic spin-offs. There have been two Snow White movies, Alice in Wonderland, the TV show "Once Upon A Time", the list goes on and on. Now don't get me wrong, I am all for the creation of these new and interesting takes on the old classics. However, my problem comes in with the Beauty and the Beast spin-offs.
There was Beastly, now a new show "Beauty and the Beast", and there are rumors of an upcoming Beauty and the Beast movie starring Anne Hathaway. All sounds lovely, right? I mean, who doesn't enjoy watching the brainy but beautiful Belle who feels like an outcast find unexpected love in a castled full of enchanted teapots and cursed princes? WRONG! Neither of the recent takes on the classic movie have done well at all, and I can tell you exactly why. Without fail, they completely mess up the beast!
I realize that in today's world, we're very caught up with appearances, especially in the world of Hollywood. We want to watch movies showcasing flawless faces that we can fantasize about. So, how does Hollywood deal with a story line that calls for the romantic lead to be a beast? They take an extraordinarily handsome actor, cover his flawless face in some rugged tattoos and silvery scars, and call it a day. Newsflash: THIS DOESN'T MAKE THEM UNATTRACTIVE! The best is supposed to be furry and animalistic, with claws and fangs. Making the beast a brooding teenager just makes him seem annoyingly sad...not scary.
A man with weird tattoos and scars could easily assimilate into society, so seeing these so-called "beasts" need to isolate themselves and see themselves as a monstrosity is just plain ridiculous. The animal-like Beast of the Disney version is lovable, and his pain and loneliness are realatable. I have distinct memories from when I was very young of being incredibly disappointed at the end of Beauty and the Beast when the beloved Beast transforms back into the handsome prince. I looked at him and thought: "where's Beast? I don't know this guy."
If Hollywood wants to revamp Disney movies into new action-packed and aesthetically interesting movies, I'm all for it. However, if they want to do it right, they need to get over their phobia of having a creature that is truthfully scary-looking on-screen. The Beast cannot be a man masked with intricate ink and scars, but what he really is: a vicious, misunderstood, hairy, toothy, adorable beast.
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