April 5, 2017
Sofie Brutseart and Lucy Falso
Staff Writers
Disney’s newest installment in their live-action remake series, “Beauty and the Beast,” premiered on March 16. Jamesville-DeWitt High School students went to theaters to see Emma Watson star as Belle in the classic Disney movie.
Most students were impressed by how good the remake was. “It was magical,” said sophomore Sawyer Parker. In fact, some students say that the remake is better than the original. Sophomore Shannon Beaudry said the CGI was impressive; “They really brought it to life.” Sophomore Grace McGuire prefered the use of real actors over animated characters because “it felt like you were more into the movie.”
Most who saw the movie had very little criticism to offer. “They auto-tuned a lot of the songs and I didn’t think it was really necessary,” said freshman Emma DeForest. “The voices just sounded a little fake,” said junior Elijah Theus. Beaudry wanted a little extra epilogue. “Did they get married? Did they have kids?” said Beaudry. “Otherwise I was satisfied.”
Students were eager to share their favorite parts from the film. “I liked the library scene the best because it was so cute,” said sophomore Piper Markowski. Many were also impressed by the opening scene and musical number “Belle.” It introduces the audience to the show, and students thought it was very well done. In addition to the songs that are well known from the original film, and the Broadway adaptation, the film added two new songs to the “Beauty and the Beast soundtrack.” One song in particular stood out to students: “Evermore,” sang by Dan Stevens who played the Beast.
Many students enjoyed seeing Emma Watson and thought that she did the best job of portraying her character. “Emma Watson did really well as Belle,” said freshman Katie Sizing. “I love Emma Watson,” said Constantino, “She has a beautiful singing voice.” Freshman Teddy Mulvihill also liked Emma Watson but “was disappointed with the actor who played the Beast.”
While “Beauty and the Beast” received great reviews, some people are skeptical about the next remake in the live-action series, “The Little Mermaid,” which will not be produced by Disney. “I saw the trailer, it’s nothing like the story,” said Beaudry, “I’m not excited for it.” “Two thumbs down,” said Parker. Although “Little Mermaid” remake is not being met with high expectations, many are hoping for other classic Disney films to get a remake. Both DeForest and freshmen Sophie Pro and Alex Yoo would like to see a “Mulan” remake.