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Tuesday 15 November 2016

Beauty and the Beast – Comparing the Trailers

Yesterday, the first full trailer for Disney’s live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast premiered on Good Morning America. It gave us a preview of how the Belle, the Beast, Lumiere, Cogsworth, Gaston and all the other classic characters from the 1991 animated film will be depicted in the new movie. Judging by this trailer, the live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast looks like it will retain many of the best aspects of the iconic original, whilst adding enough interesting new elements to stand out on its own terms.  

It is interesting to compare the trailer to the live-action remake with a trailer for the original animated film. The similarities and differences between both trailers illustrate how two films telling the same basic story are promoted in different ways.  

The Original Trailer


“Walt Disney Pictures Presents…Its All-New 30th Full-Length Animated Motion Picture”

Like most trailers from the early 1990’s, this trailer for the original version of Beauty and the Beast uses a voice-over to explain the plot and highlight the movie’s unique features. This device has fallen out of fashion, but it makes it easier for people to understand what the movie is about and why they should see it. Linking Beauty and the Beast to all of the past Disney movies implies that the film is going to retain the sense of magic which allowed its predecessors (or most of them, anyway) to appeal to so many families. 

This trailer seems to place a lot of emphasis on the comedic aspects of the film. For example, we are shown clips of the Beast’s attempts to change his behaviour in order to please Belle, as he tries to make himself look smarter and control his messy eating habits. These amusing scenes imply that the relationship between the Beast and Belle will be an appealing “Opposites Attract” romance. They also allow viewers to connect with the Beast, as he has to try and control his beastly instincts in order to win over the beautiful girl who has arrived at his castle. The Enchanted Objects are also very prominent in the trailer, with a scene from the climax of the film where they fight Gaston’s henchmen being shown in some detail. This scene showcases many of the unique things that the Enchanted Objects are able to do, as they unite to defeat and humiliate the antagonists. The decision to highlight the movie’s funnier moments allows the trailer to appeal primarily to children, but the quality of the humour ensures that adult viewers are still interested in the movie.

The trailer also emphasises one of the best things about Beauty and the Beast – the soundtrack. The voice-over mentions the six new songs written for the film by “the Academy-Award winning composer and lyricist of The Little Mermaid”. As the songs provided by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman were among the highlights of The Little Mermaid, the decision to mention their presence suggests that Beauty and the Beast will continue with the approach that made The Little Mermaid so popular. Two of the six songs written by Menken and Ashman for Beauty and the Beast, “Something There” and “Be Our Guest”, are played during the trailer. These are both upbeat numbers, likely to stick in the head of anyone watching, and the decision to include them further emphasises the musical nature of the film. 

Overall, the trailer for the original, animated version of Beauty and the Beast focuses on the comedy and music, as these are the elements most likely to appeal to younger viewers, but it suggests that the movie will be good enough to appeal to adults as well. This marketing strategy for the animated movie paid off, as it attracted a wide range of viewers, and helped contribute to the film’s success. 


The Live-Action Trailer


In contrast to the trailer for the original animated film, the trailer for the live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast does not contain any voice-overs, suggesting that anyone who is watching it will be familiar with the story. As the original film is familiar to almost everyone watching the trailer (even children) and the simple plotline can be understood through the character’s dialogue and actions, a voice-over is now seen as an unnecessary distraction. This is an indicator that the trailer for the live-action remake is aimed at a more mature audience than the trailer for the animated film.

Whilst the trailer for the animated film emphasised the comedy and music, this one is focused on the relationship between Belle and the Beast.  A number of powerful moments from the original movie, such as Belle seeing the Beast’s face for the first time, and the Beast saving Belle from a pack of wolves, are reproduced in this trailer.  The trailer for the live-action remake suggests that the movie is aimed primarily at fans of the original, and that these people loved the animated film because they were moved by the relationship at its centre. By showing many key scenes being depicted in live-action, the trailer suggests that they will be just as important in this new form. Even when she’s being played by Emma Watson, hearing Belle say “come into the light” when the Beast arrives provides a comforting degree of familiarity which highlights the fact that this remake will be faithful to the original film.

Another appealing feature of this trailer is seeing how the characters will be translated into live-action. In addition to the scenes featuring Belle and the Beast, we see how the Enchanted Objects will look and sound in live-action. They get far less scenes than they did in the trailer for the animated movie, but this trailer is still able to show how they have been brought to life, demonstrating that they are still the same characters that were so appealing in the original film (It’s interesting to see that Ewan McGregor, who voices Lumiere, and Emma Thompson, who voices Mrs. Potts, are both trying to replicate their characters’ signature accents). We also get confirmation that Mrs. Pott’s son, Chip, will be featured in the movie. Although he was a reasonably prominent character in the animated film, this is the first time that Chip has appeared in promotional material for the remake (This is possibly because he’s not voiced by a celebrity). The Enchanted Objects are some of the most memorable characters from the original film, so the fact that they are being depicted faithfully demonstrates that the people behind the live action remake respect the most important aspects of the original movie, and will leave these intact.

However, the trailer also suggests that there will be some modifications to the storyline. For example, the scene at the beginning of the story where the Beast captures and imprisons Belle’s father Maurice, has been altered. In the animated film, Maurice got lost and ended up in the Beast’s castle by accident. In contrast, in the trailer for the live-action version, we see the Maurice trying to steal a rose from the Beast’s garden when he gets captured. This new addition comes from the original 17th century fairy tale which inspired the animated movie. Regardless of whether those viewing the trailer are familiar with the source material or not, they will be intrigued by this change, and will wonder how it affects the rest of the story. Highlighting some of the key changes to the story demonstrates that the live-action film will have its own identity,  whilst remaining faithful to the classic fairy tale which has endured for centuries.

It is worth noting that the trailer for the live-action remake does not feature any of the songs (although the title track seems to be incorporated into the score) with just one comedic moment being shown (“You can talk!” “Well of course he can talk!”). However, this does not suggest that the music and comedy which defined the trailer for the animated film will be absent. Four new songs will be included in the film, in addition to the original six, and most of the comedy will apparently still be present. In a promotional interview after the trailer was unveiled, Emma Watson talked about how the Beast will be given a “dry English sense of humour” meaning that he will probably get a number of comedic moments, like the ones which were shown in the trailer for the animated movie.  Just as the trailer for the animated movie generally left out the more serious scenes in order to emphasise the comedy and music, the first full trailer for the live-action remake aims to provide a sense of drama and mystery, and leaves out the comedic moments in order to achieve this. However, I get the feeling that subsequent promotional material for the film will devote a bit more time to these aspects, without detracting from the epic romance at the centre of the story or spoiling too many of the finished film’s secrets.

Conclusion

Although both movies feature the same characters and story, the trailers for the original animated version of Beauty and the Beast and the live-action remake are very different. The trailer for the animated version is aimed primarily at kids, as it emphasises the music, and focuses on the comedic moments instead of the more serious ones. In contrast, the trailer for the remake is aimed at older audiences, as it pays a greater amount of attention to the romance, fantasy and action. However, both trailers succeed in making Beauty and the Beast appeal to a wide audience, as they convey a sense of mystery and wonder. This quality has made the original animated film so iconic, and it seems like the live-action remake will follow in its footsteps. 

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