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Post by Nalkarj on Sept 24, 2018 1:23:38 GMT
It’s such an extraordinary movie; I’ve been rediscovering the music, which was brilliantly written by Ashman and Mencken. But it’s just… I don’t know, it touches a strange kind of vein, this one, of all the Disney movies—not my favorite (probably Pinocchio or Snow White), I’m not even sure where it would fall in my rankings of Disneys. But there’s something especially moving and powerful about this one.
(I haven’t seen the remake, and to be honest I don’t really want to.)
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Post by politicidal on Sept 24, 2018 16:15:19 GMT
I agree, the artistry on display is impressive. The remake's okay. I preferred the ones they did for Cinderella and The Jungle Book more.
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Post by Nalkarj on Sept 26, 2018 3:17:17 GMT
Now I feel I just should have turned this into the “Howard Ashman Appreciation Thread,” but, really, that guy was amazing. I was just listening to “Under the Sea,” and I was reading a Sondheim comment about how with Irving Berlin all the jokes hit perfectly—and, with Ashman, not only are the lyrics inventive, but the jokes hit perfectly. I don’t think I ever realized how good these movies are—I mean, I always liked them, but there’s just so much talent here.
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Post by James on Sept 28, 2018 2:25:06 GMT
Just pure Disney classic magic. What makes it so good is that the Beast is this loving person inside that hideous monstrous appearance and just wants to be loved by. Belle is also the greatest princess of the official lineup, in which she admires the Beast for not how he looks, but what’s inside. Oh and the musical numbers just freaking rock (odd term to use since they’re anything but Rock music)! Possibly my favourite traditional Disney animated film, let alone from the Renaissance.
The remake was good, but felt a bit derivative and I could’ve done better than Emma Watson as Belle. I love Luke Evans and Josh Gad though as Gaston and Lefou. They may not have been as good as their animated counterparts, but man what a duo!
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Post by Nalkarj on Sept 28, 2018 2:29:08 GMT
Just pure Disney classic magic. What makes it so good is that the Beast is this loving person inside that hideous monstrous appearance and just wants to be loved by. Belle is also the greatest princess of the official lineup, in which she admires the Beast for not how he looks, but what’s inside. Oh and the musical numbers just freaking rock (odd term to use since they’re anything but Rock music)! Possibly my favourite traditional Disney animated film, let alone from the Renaissance. The remake was good, but felt a bit derivative and I could’ve done better than Emma Watson as Belle. I love Luke Evans and Josh Gad though as Gaston and Lefou. They may not have been as good as their animated counterparts, but man what a duo! I’ve been listening to the music a lot recently—rediscovering Mencken and Ashman, I guess. The New York Times theatre critic wrote that Beauty and the Beast (the movie) had a better score than anything on Broadway at the time! “Beauty and the Beast,” the song, is just remarkable—simple as anything, but not simplistic, and beautiful. It’s rather Sondheim-esque, actually, though romantic rather than cynical. It is pure magic. The film is so beautiful, and makes me feel so good inside. Just remarkable. |
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Post by President Ackbar™ on Sept 28, 2018 3:01:50 GMT
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Post by Nalkarj on Jan 14, 2019 20:17:12 GMT
Apropos of my comments above about Sondheim and Ashman, I don’t think I ever before realized exactly how indebted Ashman was to Sondheim. Someone here noted how Menken’s score is pseudo-Sondheim (and I mentioned it myself above), and it is, but look at those lyrics: “Bring Me My Bride” and “Gaston” are so close that one can fairly call the latter a (lyrical, not musical, in this case) pastiche of the former.
As for the movie, it was recently on TV again, and I watched a bit, and—it holds up so well.
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