Twice Upon A Time

Making a tale as old as time feel fresh is no easy task. how disney's live-action beauty and the beast re-animated a much-loved classic.

- Ian Freer

Welcome to your childhood,” says Josh Gad, greeting Empire on the beautifully realised village set of Beauty And The Beast at Shepperton Studios. Following on from Maleficent, Cinderella and The Jungle Book, this is Disney’s latest flesh-and-blood reimagining of a legendary title from its animated back catalogue. The watchword here is realism, both aesthetically and psychologically. Set in 18th century France, rather than an airy-fairy once upon a time, the period has informed all the artistic choices. “We wanted to give it as much depth and detail as possible,” says Emma Watson, who plays Belle. “It’s our job to fill in the gaps, to give it more layers and detail than you could ever get in an animation.”

This project is a challenge, even by Disney-reboot standards. In 1991, Beauty And The Beast was nominated for Best Picture — the first animated feature to get the big nod — and created instant icons out of Belle, Beast, Gaston and a singing teapot. Here, the cast and director Bill Condon explain how they turned classic moments into live action.

BELLE’S SONG

As with the animated version, our introduction to Belle sees her dreamily walk through the village (named Villeneuve after Gabrielle Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, writer of the original 1740 story), lamenting humdrum small-town life via song. The sequence not only sets the tone — “You help the audience relax into the fact that you are going to express things musically,” says Condon — but sets up the key elements of the story. The ultimate Disney ‘I want’ number, it clearly lays out the character’s hopes and dreams.