‘Beauty And The Beast’ Live-Action Remake Is ‘Unexpectedly Very Emotional,’ But Original Cast Is Pleased

In less than five months, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast reboot will hit theater screens, and Josh Gad, who plays the cunning Le Fou, is confident that fans will be “awestruck and amazed.” He told Entertainment Tonight that the live action version turned out to be “unexpectedly very emotional.”

“It evolves [from the original], like Jungle Book evolved from the source material, like Cinderella evolved from the source material. But it goes further into the trenches in terms of the mythology and in terms of the characters. And there’s a scope to it and a pathos to it that, having seen it, I can tell you is unexpectedly very emotional. I just think the new music as well as the old music is going to blow everyone away.”

Josh clarified that the new version won’t ever aspire to replace the 1991 version. This strategy is something that the original cast members of Beauty and the Beast are pleased about.

Paige O’Hara, who voiced the original Belle, is happy that producer Don Hahn and the whole team “stayed very close” to the first Beauty and the Beast film’s timeless story. After all, the story stood out because Belle was different from the Disney heroines of her time.

While promoting the DVD and Blu-ray releases of Beauty and the Beast, Paige told MTV News that Paige “was a revolutionary heroine.”

“She was so many firsts for Disney. She was a bookworm with brown eyes and brown hair, and she was smart. She was just a normal girl from a little town who wanted an adventure.”

Beauty and the Beasts’s first Belle thinks that Emma Watson is perfect for the role. She maintains that if she’s the film’s producer, the Harry Potter actress is her first choice because “she’s got the intelligence, she’s got the humor” and she’s basically “going to be really, really special.”

Richard White, who voiced Gaston in the original film, said Belle was relatable and had qualities not seen before — her fascination for reading and her independence.

“She cared about her father, and she cared for her father, but she wasn’t looking to get married. She was doing just fine on her own, thank you very much,” he said.

Nonetheless, it does not mean that the new Beauty and the Beast won’t have some changes. One is the addition of brand new songs to the film’s musical lineup. Composer Alan Menken, who also worked for the 1991 film, revealed last year that he and writing partner Tim Rice composed three new tracks for the live-action film.

One is titled “Days in the Sun,” which is reportedly a lullaby about the enchanted objects residing in the castle. The objects will reminisce on their lives before the curse transformed them. Another track, “Forever More,” is about Beast finally realizing what love truly means. This song will replace Broadway version’s “If I Can’t Love Her” because Menken believes that it does not really fit the new scenes in the upcoming film.

Another change is the subtle makeover of Belle. Instead of flats, she’s now wearing boots. Her hairstyle was also changed. Despite these, the creative team ensured that she’s still relatable.

It will be the third time for Menken to work for Beauty and the Beast – the 1991 film, the Broadway musical, and now, the live-action remake. He describes scoring the new movie as “a lot of work,” but he’s delighted that he’s working with director Bill Condon. Just like Paige, he also believes that Emma will give justice to Belle and that he cannot picture anyone else playing the role.

Beauty and the Beast will come out on March 17, 2017.

[Featured Image by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images]