It’s an evergreen story, is it not? A gorgeous girl falls in love with and ultimately transforms a grotesque bloke – is it ever told the other way around, with a handsome hero and an ugly trollop as the injured party? The Prince (Dan Stevens), as a member of France’s Ancien Régime, is a pampered aristocrat who taxes the peasantry in order to pay for the lavish balls that he hosts in his vast baroque castle. Which is to say, he is not exactly a prime candidate to win our sympathy when an old beggar lady turns him into a hairy beast after he has been cruel to her. Belle (an anaemic Emma Watson) is the unimaginatively named Beauty who takes her father’s place as the Beast’s captive in the tower. Eventually they are going to hit it off etc, but not first without some dastardly input from Gaston (Luke Evans), who is by far the most lively character in the movie. He first appears as a vain and arrogant swashbuckling type, but as the story unfolds he evolves into the stereotypical villain who will do anything to win Belle’s hand in marriage. Gaston and his offsider, Le Fou (Josh Gad), get all the funny scenes and, in a dance routine at a crowded tavern, they are involved in a rambunctious centrepiece that almost steals the show. The talking teapot and pieces of furniture – all transformed servants – are impressive, as are the candlelit sets and thundering horses, but the movie belongs to Jacqueline Durran, the costume designer, for you just can’t take your eyes off all the fab outfits. Like so many modern musicals, there is really only one decent tune in it, the title song, and it is unlikely that the other numbers, which all sound the same, will hold any appeal for the sub-teens. It might be drawn out longer than is necessary – the little ones will start fidgeting well before the end – but it’s a lavish production that is only mildly boring.
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