Beauty and the Beast has always been my favorite Disney movie. Belle was my favorite Disney Princess while growing up (and still is). I think I really connected to her because I was a total bookworm. I would literally read a minimum of 4 or 5 books a week when I was younger. I remember during one of my first trips to Disney, I turned 11. That day I got to meet Belle (in her white and blue outfit) and she wrote “Happy Birthday Tessa!” in my book. I thought it was the coolest thing. So much so that I ripped it out and hung it on my wall. I really wish I hadn’t done that because now that page is lost – but the memories are not. I was so excited for my daughters to meet Belle at Disney World last October and have a picture of them with her framed on my desk.
So naturally I was ecstatic to hear that Disney was making a new, live-action version of Beauty and the Beast. And when I heard that Emma Watson would play Belle I was thrilled! I am a huge Harry Potter fan as well and I just love her – I think she will do great playing Belle. Well, the day is finally here – the teaser trailer has been released – the first glimpse of Beauty and the Beast is here! I must admit, I watched this teaser through at least twenty times this morning. I cannot wait for this movie and to hear all of the new songs! It is going to be EPIC – I just know it!
Beauty and the Beast will come to theaters everywhere March 17, 2017!
Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” is a live-action re-telling of the studio’s animated classic which refashions the classic characters from the tale as old as time for a contemporary audience, staying true to the original music while updating the score with several new songs. “Beauty and the Beast” is the fantastic journey of Belle, a bright, beautiful and independent young woman who is taken prisoner by a beast in his castle. Despite her fears, she befriends the castle’s enchanted staff and learns to look beyond the Beast’s hideous exterior and realize the kind heart and soul of the true Prince within. The film stars: Emma Watson as Belle; Dan Stevens as the Beast; Luke Evans as Gaston, the handsome, but shallow villager who woos Belle; Oscar winner Kevin Kline as Maurice, Belle’s eccentric, but lovable father; Josh Gad as Lefou, Gaston’s long-suffering aide-de-camp; Golden Globe nominee Ewan McGregor as Lumiere, the candelabra; Oscar nominee Stanley Tucci as Maestro Cadenza, the harpsichord; Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Plumette, the feather duster; six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald as Madame Garderobe, the wardrobe; Oscar nominee Ian McKellen as Cogsworth, the mantel clock; and two-time Academy Award winner Emma Thompson as the teapot, Mrs. Potts.Directed by Oscar winner Bill Condon from a screenplay by TBD based on the 1991 animated film, the film is produced by Mandeville Films’ David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman with eight-time Oscar-winning composer Alan Menken, who won two Academy Awards (Best Original Score and Best Song) for the 1991 animated film, providing the score, which will include new recordings of the original songs written by Menken and Howard Ashman, as well as several new songs written by Menken and three-time Oscar winner Tim Rice.
