Beauty and the Beast (2017)

Beauty and the Beast is a 2017 American musical romantic fantasy film based on the French fairy tale of the same name created by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve. It is directed by Bill Condon from the screenplay by Stephen Chbosky and Evan Spiliotopoulos. This film is a live-action remake of Disney’s 1991 animated feature film of the same name, and features the ensemble cast that includes Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Kevin Kline, Josh Gad, Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci, Audra McDonald, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Hattie Morahan, Nathan Mack, Ian McKellen, and Emma Thompson. The musical live-action remake of this animated feature film Beauty and the Beast was announced in April 2014. As with estimated budget on $255 million, making it the most expensive film in adjusted for inflation of all time. It was released on March 17, 2017 in the United States by Walt Disney Pictures. It broke box office records and grossed $1.264 billion worldwide, making it the tenth highest-grossing film of all time, a box office success, and the second highest grossing film of 2017. As of 2022, this film was became the tenth highest grossing Disney film worldwide. It also received positive reviews from film critics. Though the sequel was not development in Disney project, the spinoff series titled Little Town was in development for Disney+.
== Plot ==
A selfish and unkind prince hosting a ball is visited in a castle by a beautiful enchantress disguised as an old beggar woman, who offers him a rose in return for shelter from a storm. When he refuses, she reveals her identity. To punish the prince for his lack of compassion, the enchantress transforms him into a beast and his servants into household objects, then erases the castle, the prince and his servants from the memories of their loved ones. She casts a spell on the rose and warns the prince that the curse will only be broken if he learns to love another, and earn their love in return, before the last petal falls, or he will remain a beast forever.
Some years later, in the small town of Villeneuve, Belle, the book-loving daughter of Maurice, dreams of adventure and brushes off advances from Gaston, an arrogant former soldier. On his way to a convention and lost in the forest, Maurice seeks refuge in the Beast’s castle, but the Beast imprisons him for stealing a rose from his garden as a gift to Belle. When Maurice's horse returns without him, Belle ventures out in search for him, and finds him locked in the castle dungeon. Beast agrees to let her take Maurice's place, over Maurice's protests.
Belle befriends the castle's servants, including Cogsworth, a majordomo/grandfather clock; Lumiere, a footman/candelabra; Mrs. Potts, a housekeeper/teapot; her son Chip, boy/teacup; Plumette, a maid/featherduster; Madame De Garderobe, the lady-in-waiting/wardrobe; her husband, Maestro Cadenza; a musician/harpsichord; and Frou Frou, a dog/footstool. After the servants invited her to a spectacular lunch, she wanders into the forbidden west wing and finds the rose, causing the Beast to scare her into the woods. She is ambushed by a pack of wolves, but the Beast rescues her, but he is injured in the process. As Belle nurses his wounds, a friendship develops between them. The Beast shows Belle a gift from the enchantress, a book that transports readers wherever they want. Belle uses the book to visit her childhood home in Paris, where she discovers a plague doctor mask and realizes that she and her father were forced to leave when her mother succumbed to the plague.
In Villeneuve, Maurice fails to convince the other villagers of Belle’s imprisonment. Gaston, seeing rescuing Belle as an opportunity to win her hand in marriage, agrees to help Maurice. When Maurice learns of his ulterior motive and rejects him, Gaston abandons him to be eaten by the wolves. Maurice is rescued by the hermit Agathe, but when he tells the townsfolk of Gaston's crime and is unable to provide solid evidence, Gaston convinces them to send Maurice to an insane asylum.
After sharing a romantic dance with the Beast, Belle discovers her father's predicament using a magic mirror. Beast releases her to save Maurice, giving her the mirror to remember him with. At Villeneuve, Belle reveals the Beast in the mirror to the townsfolk, proving her father's sanity. Realizing that Belle loves Beast, a jealous Gaston claims she has been charmed by dark magic, and has her thrown into the asylum carriage with her father. He rallies the villagers to follow him to the castle to slay the Beast before he curses the whole village. Maurice and Belle escape, and Belle heads back to the castle.
During the battle, Gaston abandons his companion LeFou, who then sides with the servants to fend off the villagers. Gaston attacks the Beast in his tower, who is too depressed to fight back, but regains his spirit upon seeing Belle return. He defeats Gaston, but spares his life before reuniting with Belle. Ungrateful and unrepentant, Gaston fatally shoots the Beast from a bridge, but it collapses when the castle crumbles, and he falls to his death. Beast dies as the last petal falls, and the servants become inanimate. As Belle tearfully professes her love to the Beast, Agathe reveals herself as the enchantress and undoes the curse, repairing the crumbling castle, transforming the Beast and his servants back into their human forms, and restore and the villagers' memories. Belle and Adam host a ball for the kingdom, where they dance happily.
== Cast ==
* Emma Watson as Belle
* Dan Stevens as Beast
* Luke Evans as Gaston
* Kevin Kline as Maurice
* Josh Gad as Lefou
* Evan McGregor as Lumiere
* Stanley Tucci as Cadenza
* Audra McDonald as Madame de Garderobe
* Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Plumette
* Hattie Morahan as Agathe
* Nathan Mack as Chip
* Ian McKellen as Cogsworth
* Emma Thompson as Mrs. Potts
Category:Disney films
Category:Live Action films
Category:Walt Disney Pictures films
Category:Films distributed by The Walt Disney Company
Category:Film remakes
Category:Disney film remakes
Category:Films without opening credits
Category:Films with multiple vocal credit songs
Category:Blockbusters
Category:Films with opening only narration
Category:Disney's Beauty and the Beast
Category:Films set in France
Category:Films set in the 1770s
Category:Films set in the 18th Century
Category:2017 films
Category:Films set in Europe
Category:Princess Films
Category:Films about princesses
Category:Disney Princess
Category:IMAX films
Category:Films based on fairy tales
Category:Mandeville Films films
Category:Films starring Tress MacNeille
Category:Films starring Luke Evans
Category:Films starring Kevin Kline
Category:Films starring Josh Gad
Category:Films starring Ewan McGregor
Category:Films starring Stanley Tucci
Category:Films starring Ian McKellen
Category:Films starring Emma Thompson
Category:Rated PG-13
Category:2:35:1 Aspect Ratio Films
Category:Disney Renaissance