The film that I feel as if I have been waiting for my entire life for has finally arrived! We attended a Disney fan event for Beauty & The Beast, and I have to say, I am so thrilled I decided to catch the film early instead of waiting until opening day! But my big question is, was there an obvious Easter egg in the film like there was in the cartoon?

Overall Thoughts On Film

As an avid lover and hard-core fan of the 1991 original film, I had the sheer curiosity as to whether or not I should not go into this film with expectations of it being so closely matched; or if it would be a totally different story altogether. Since I promised no spoilers, I will let you decide for yourself, which of those it was.

We do get a backstory as to what happened to Belle’s mother (and a song), as well as one for the Beast (and song) which I loved as well. The musical numbers were very well choreographed and executed wonderfully by the talented cast. I have read where some likened it to being overplayed like “LaLa Land”, but no. All of the songs from the original film were done, and it was done perfectly. “Gaston” was by far my favorite. And just wait until you see “Be Our Guest”.

The cinematography for this film was one of the best I have seen from any film in years (sorry Wheadon bros.). We saw the film in IMAX 3D, and I have seen quite a few films in 3D (the last one being Star Trek Beyond), and none of them looked as amazing as this did. So if you have the chance to experience the IMAX version of this film, please, by all means, do so. You will not regret it.

I absolutely loved the new line added to the “Beauty & the Beast” song ( I won’t spoil it). It was said the Howard Ashman had another version of the song in the Disney Archives and Condon added it to the film. I personally am glad he did, because it was a great addition.

…I hate to tell you

The film was intense, dark and gritty (kind of how Harry Potter progressed starting at Prisoner of Azkaban as being dark). With that alone I can tell you with certainty, this film is definitely not for kids. Sorry to break it to you. Of course feel free to take your kids, as I took my 4-year-old, and my 8 and 12-year-olds want to see it as well. But this was certainly made for us Millennials (rather any adult), who grew up loving the classic or even the original story.

Overall, I loved this and I am excited to see it multiple times.

Violence

I can’t say for certain that everyone will get the same previews before the film like we did. But the preview for the new Pirates of the Caribbean film was a bit much for my daughter, as well as Transformers. So this is just a heads up in case it is shown and you have a younger child with you.

There were a few intense scenes; if you remember the original both wolf scenes were very hard for my daughter to watch (however, the cartoon obviously didn’t bother her), the fight between Gaston and the Beast were a little on the heavy side as well. However, because there were one or two things different, I will not elaborate, I will just caution that it may be a bit much for younger children.

We all know when the furniture defends the castle that it was very light-hearted in the animated version, and while I still feel that it was this time around, there are one or two parts that some parents may want to watch for with younger children.

The Big “G”

Controversy aside, I will say that this shouldn’t stop anyone from seeing the film. See it and be the judge for YOURSELF on whether or not you think this is appropriate for your family. First and foremost I consider myself Christian-NOT evangelical, though. I hate to generalize, but I do feel as if the “moment” was totally blown out of proportion by folks who had not seen the film, and even a few other bloggers who had seen it.

Being the “open-minded” carefree (or liberal if you want to classify, even though I am not) person that I am, I have to say that this talk of the “Hollywood agenda” has been ridiculous. The ONLY  reason as to why anyone would pick up on the subtle things in this film, is because of the massive uproar due to comments made by director Bill Condon back in early March. Are there comments or mannerisms done by a certain character in this film? Yes, it is. However, I think if you watch it for yourself, you will be quite surprised, and realize that wait, that was it?

So, should you see the film?

Yes, you definitely should see the movie. This movie was so much better than “Cinderella”. So if you saw that and didn’t like it, give this one a shot. It makes me super excited for Mulan and Aladdin.

Hidden Easter Egg

Disney is famous for their Easter eggs hinting at what may come next. Although mostly sprinkled across the animated world;  if you are a Marvel fan you know that Easter eggs have a tendency to be strategically placed in the MCU as well.

We all know the fan theory that during the song “Belle”, it is speculated that she could have possibly been hinting at the release of Aladdin which came out a year later. Now Disney has never confirmed this, but Howard Ashman was in the early stages of developing the score for Aladdin the time.

I’m not going to give the egg or scene away. I’m not even sure if that was a hint for what was next…but you know Disney! If you watch and catch it, let me know if you think it was a clue.

If you see the film let me know what you think in the comment section!

Natasha Brown

Love of impromptu dance parties, 80’s cartoons, and horizontal life pauses (aka naps); Natasha Brown is a stay at home mom of 4 kids, and wife to one lucky guy! In her spare time, she is co-editor of Grits & Grace, as well as editor for The Mother Hustler Blog and Creative Director for the Mother Hustler podcast.

www.themotherhustlerblog.com