Giant screen enhances beauty in "Beauty and the Beast"
© M. Fernandez Locklin
On January 1 of this year, Walt Disney Pictures re-released its timeless classic “Beauty and the Beast” exclusively to IMAX and other giant screen theaters worldwide in celebration of the film’s 10-year anniversary.
I wondered what effect a large screen would have on my viewing of this film I know by heart. It’s amazing. It was as if I were watching a painting in motion. The richness of the colors and the texture of the scenery were things I hadn’t noticed with its original movie release and the countless times I’ve watched the video from the comfort of my living room couch.
Normally, I’m more impressed with the sound of a musical. The vocal and instrumental variations and the words attached to them are what impress me most. This time, however, I couldn’t ignore the richness reaching out from the screen.
The funny scenes were funnier, the scary scenes were scarier, and the romantic scenes were so much more romantic when so much of your senses were engulfed in this experience.
Keep that in mind if you’re planning on taking young ones – the scary scenes are scarier. There’s something about a furrowed brow and powerful arms on a revengeful Gaston, in combination with an ominous surround-sound, that could scare an unprepared child.
Also impressive was the musical sequence “Human Again”, which was not in the original film. This number comes immediately before the romantic dinner scene where Belle, in her yellow ball gown, and a well-dressed and bathed beast waltz to the sounds of Angela Lansbury singing the title song. The servants are preparing for the event and dreaming of the day Belle, they hope, breaks the spell, allowing them to become human once more. When I first heard of this add-on, I was wary; sometimes there is a reason a number is left on the cutting-room floor.
“Human Again”, however, felt like it fit in. It was not a weak attempt at adding more voices to the soundtrack but a legitimate step in the progression of the story. As a matter of fact, now I wonder how I could not have noticed that the original story needed more of a transition between the two halves in order to set up the supporting characters and their influence on the story’s outcome.
“Beauty and the Beast”, the only animated film ever nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award, wins again with this re-release to giant-screen theaters. It’s now no longer just an experience for the heart; it’s an affair for the soul.
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