The still was shared as an exclusive first look with Entertainment Weekly. Now, it feels just like it’s 1991 all over again.
Regardless of how old you were when you first saw Beauty and the Beast, the animated Disney classic surely stuck with you.
How could anyone forget Belle, the plucky, intelligent heroine, or the vast, sprawling castle that held a terrifying beast? Is it even possible to erase the memory of the enchanted servants, turned into walking, talking pieces of furniture and drinkware? At the very least, the now-iconic yellow dress worn by Belle has burned itself into your neural pathways.
Now, Emma Watson (perhaps still best known for playing Hermione in the Harry Potter films) will don a new version of that dress in the upcoming live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast. Right now, it’s on full, glorious display in this new picture released by Disney.
This is me screaming pic.twitter.com/CUtlXnVLp6
— Jarett Wieselman (@JarettSays) November 2, 2016
In it, Belle is dancing with the Beast in what is presumably the castle ballroom. Can we also pause for a moment and applaud the progress in technology on view here? It gives us a Beast that – in this shot, at least – looks really well done. Furthermore, he’s about as far out of the uncanny valley as we could have dared to hope.
In this exclusive with Entertainment Weekly, Disney also released nine additional stills from the film, including another shot of the redesigned yellow dress. Others show Gaston, Belle’s father Maurice, and the new versions of Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, Lumière, and others.
Beauty and the Beast (2017)
Emma Watson as Belle (Image via Disney)
Costume designer Jacqueline Durran (who’s also created gorgeous costumes for Anna Karenina, Pride and Prejudice, and Atonement) took on the daunting task of recreating the animated yellow dress. Bill Condon (Dreamgirls, Mr. Holmes) directs.
Beauty and the Beast (2017)
The mantel clock Cogsworth, the teapot Mrs. Potts, Lumiere the candelabra and the feather duster Plumette (Image via Disney)
Watson and company have to fill some pretty big shoes. The original animated series premiered almost twenty-five years ago, on November 13, 1991. It quickly became a massive hit. Beauty and the Beast was the third-highest grossing film of 1991. Alan Menken, Tim Rice, and others even turned it into a successful Broadway musical. The Beauty and the Beast musical ran for thirteen years and continues to be a popular traveling show.
Beauty and the Beast (2017)
L-R: Josh Gad as Le Fou and Luke Evans as Gaston. (Image via Disney)
Indeed, it was the first animated film to gain a nomination for the best picture Oscar (though it lost to Silence of the Lambs). However, it did snag the Academy Awards for best score and best song, thanks to the talents of composer Alan Menken. Menken and songwriter Tim Rice will return to write new material for the live action remake.
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Beauty and the Beast will be released on March 17. Watson will co-star with Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey) as the Beast. Ewan McGregor plays Lumière and Sir Ian McKellen takes on the role of Cogsworth. In what sounds like especially perfect casting, Luke Evans (The Hobbit) will play the egomaniacal Gaston, with Josh Gad (Frozen) starring as his sidekick, Le Fou. Kevin Kline portrays Maurice, Belle’s eccentric inventor father.