As I type this, in-between slinging metal and working in the garden, my youngest daughter Finley is wearing a “Belle” dress from BEAUTY AND THE BEAST… one you can see in today’s #SidewalkFashionShow pic on my Instagram. It’s a thematically-appropriate dress for today, as Disney just issued the first teaser for next year’s live-action telling of their classic, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. I showed the little one the teaser, and right away she pointed out how Cinderella’s castle had been replaced by Beast’s… a simple, elegant teaser for a film that won’t be released until March of 2017.
Later today I’ll show this to big sister Addie, who played Belle in a Broadway Beginners production of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST last year.
Me? I played the Knight in “Storytime with Belle” at Disney World last month.
Stay tuned for more…
About BEAUTY AND THE BEAST:
Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” is a live-action re-telling of the studio’s animated classic which refashions the classic characters from the tale as old as time for a contemporary audience, staying true to the original music while updating the score with several new songs. “Beauty and the Beast” is the fantastic journey of Belle, a bright, beautiful and independent young woman who is taken prisoner by a beast in his castle. Despite her fears, she befriends the castle’s enchanted staff and learns to look beyond the Beast’s hideous exterior and realize the kind heart and soul of the true Prince within. The film stars: Emma Watson as Belle; Dan Stevens as the Beast; Luke Evans as Gaston, the handsome, but shallow villager who woos Belle; Oscar® winner Kevin Kline as Maurice, Belle’s eccentric, but lovable father; Josh Gad as Lefou, Gaston’s long-suffering aide-de-camp; Golden Globe® nominee Ewan McGregor as Lumiere, the candelabra; Oscar nominee Stanley Tucci as Maestro Cadenza, the harpsichord; Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Plumette, the feather duster; six-time Tony Award® winner Audra McDonald as Madame Garderobe, the wardrobe; Oscar nominee Ian McKellen as Cogsworth, the mantel clock; and two-time Academy Award® winner Emma Thompson as the teapot, Mrs. Potts.
Directed by Oscar® winner Bill Condon from a screenplay by TBD based on the 1991 animated film, the film is produced by Mandeville Films’ David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman with eight-time Oscar-winning composer Alan Menken, who won two Academy Awards® (Best Original Score and Best Song) for the 1991 animated film, providing the score, which will include new recordings of the original songs written by Menken and Howard Ashman, as well as several new songs written by Menken and three-time Oscar winner Tim Rice. “Beauty and the Beast” will be released in U.S. theaters on March 17, 2017.
