Disney Movie Challenge Bonus: Beauty and the Beast (2017)

 Disney Movie Challenge Bonus

Beauty and the Beast (2017)

I always say it’s a little unfair to review a remake when you watch it close in time to the original.  With that in mind I don’t want to do a full review of the live action Beauty and the Beast.  The movie wasn't bad but and under different circumstances I think I might have enjoyed it more.  But with things as they are I’m just going to point out a few things in the live action version that made me realize how great the animated version really is. 

For me there are two scenes in the live action version that just feel like poor imitations of the same scenes in the animated version.  The two scenes are the Be Our Guest scene and the fight scene at the end where the objects are fighting the townsfolk. In the animated film the Be Our Guest scene is fun, bright, and a bit trippy.  The live action version just feels dull in comparison.  Some of that could be because Ewan McGregor has an awful French accent and his singing isn’t that great.  But I think the special effects just didn’t capture the fun and mesmerizing quality that the animated version had.  See for yourself here https://youtu.be/Fub_t22bK1w . Another problem is that trying to make a singing candlestick look realistic just doesn’t work.  Which is the major problem with the battle scene at the end. Trying to have a realistic looking objects fight in unrealistic ways really confuses the brain. While there are some funny bits in the fight scenes most of the time you are just looking like WTF? How can a clock throw books? How can a harpsichord shoot out his keys? How can a tea pot hang on a chandelier? Having the film fully animated helps with the suspension of disbelief.  And some of the objects just look awful.  For me the most worst looking object is the wardrobe.  Not sure what they were going for but it just comes off as kind of disturbing.  

A few quick things that also didn’t work well in the live action version.  

-Lumière and Cogsworth have a better friendship in animation. The banter in the animated version just works better. 

-Not sure why Disney feels everyone needs a backstory in the live action remake but some of it feels unnecessary and makes the film feel bloated.  Also the backstory about Belle’s mother dying  of the plague gave my kid nightmares. 

-New songs are fine but didn’t add much. 

For an interesting look at remakes check out this video from Cracked https://fb.watch/3a7maY_qix/

Overall:

I don’t want to bash the film.  Besides for Ewan McGregor the acting was fine.  Josh Gad as LeFou is probably the best casting in the film.  Also, the movie does give LeFou a bit more depth and an arc which is kind of cool.  I would like to revisit the film after more time has passed since I watched the animated version.  

Disney Movie Challenge Bonus: Dumbo (2019)

Originally this project was only going to focus on the Disney Animated films, but after watching Dumbo (1941) I decided to watch the new live action remake from 2019.  I figured since I watched it I might as well do a short review.

The movie starts off very similarly to the original Dumbo. An elephant gives birth to a baby with big ears.  Dumbo goes on to star in a circus routine that ends up getting ruined because he trips over his big ears.  Because he gets big laughs he is sent to be part of the clown routine.  It is during the clown routine that he shows he can fly.  The biggest difference is that the updated film also introduces us to a host of human characters that were mostly absent in the original film.  Colin Farrell plays a veteran who lost an arm in the war. He returns to the circus and finds that his cowboy act has been eliminated from the show. Danny Devito plays the ringmaster who is trying to keep the circus alive and thriving during difficult times.  He tells Farrell’s character that the only position he has available is as the elephant handler.  Farrell’s kids take a liking to Dumbo and are the ones that teach Dumbo to fly.  Similar to the first movie they convince him that to fly he needs to have a feather.  This is where the original movie ends but this one takes the story further.  Once news gets out that the circus has a flying elephant a big city promoter (Michael Keaton) takes a keen eye on Dumbo and wants to make him the centerpiece to his show.  

Since the original movie was so short it is easy to see where a lot can be done to expand the film.  I think they took the idea of the main parts of the original and built an interesting story around it. Since I was kind of expecting a more direct adaptation it was a bit shocking when the film moved to the city.  I usually love Michael Keaton but just didn’t think he worked for the character he was playing.  On the flip side Danny Devito was awesome and loved every minute he was on screen.  I think Colin Farrell did fine but I think his character could have been written better.  

It was great to see a lot of nods to the original film in the adaptation. There are storks flying away after Dumbo is born, and while the train doesn’t sing we get Danny Devito humming the tune. While Timothy the mouse was a big part of the original film there is a mouse character in this film but it doesn’t play a very big role.  They did eliminate all of the outdated racist stereotypes that were in the original which was a good decision.  

OVERALL: Takes the original story and expands it in a way I didn’t expect but once I got over the initial shock I was able to go with it.  It also keeps the same themes about bullying and believing in yourself that the original had, but also added an anti animal cruelty theme to it.  

A fun adaptation of the original, nothing earth shattering but great to see Danny Devito having a fun time.

Listomania Sunday: Best Remakes

This past week in my Best Picture Quest I saw The Departed which was a remake of the Japanese movie Infernal Affairs so I decided this weeks list would be the Best Remakes. After spending all of October doing horror movie lists I decided that I will not include any horror movies on this list so that leaves off The Thing (1982), The Fly(1986), and Dawn of the Dead (2004).

1.  The Departed (2006)- A remake of Infernal Affairs a Japanese cop drama.  It is the best remake. It improves on almost every aspect of the original. 
2.  Oceans 11 (2001)  -Although the original wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be the remake had a star studded cast and a much happier ending.    
3.  The Italian Job (2003)- A major upgrade from the original with lots of action and some awesome car chases.
4.  The Magnificent Seven (1960) - Another remake of a Japanese film. This one a remake of The Seven Samurai by Akira Kurosawa. One his best and most love movies seemed blasphemous to remake it into a Western but it worked and shows that a good story works in different settings.
5.  The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)- The only one that should be allowed to remake a Hitchcock film is Hitchcock.  12 years after The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) he decided to remake it with much more money, talent, and locations.  The addition of James Stewart and Doris where major upgrades but the loss of Peter Lorre as the villain was a downgrade.