The live action remake of Beauty and the Beast is taking the world by storm. A tale as old as time. Not since Frozen has a Disneymovie been so popular, but Star Wars: the Force Awakens was probably anticipated on a same level. Whether the new movie is better, worse or about the same as the 1991 original is up for debate, but that the original had some glaring plot holes is a fact. The remake actually fixed some of those. Let’s take a closer look at it.
We’ll discuss three things that have always struck us as odd about the original animated movie. Two of these are definitely plot holes, the third one… Go on, read for yourself.
1 The age of Prince Adam
Yes, his name is Adam. Although it was never mentioned in the 1991-version of Beauty and the Beast, it does appear in the credits. In the song Be our guest Lumière sings: “Ten years we have been rusting…” If we do some math, the age of Beast was 10 when the enchantress cursus him, because he has to love someone and be loved in return ‘before his 21st year’. A tall order, considering the fact he has to spent puberty as a hairy-ass monster shacked up in a castle. That’s beside the point. In the remake Lumière, voiced by Ewan McGregor, sings: “Too long we have been rusting…” He doesn’t mention a timeframe anymore, so that is somewhat fixed.
2 The villagers
The castle of the Beast is less than a day’s ride away from the village, yet no villagers seem to recall there was a prince. He would have been their prince, their ruler, right? We’ll not even ask who or where his parents are. The animation glosses over this weird plot hole, but in the intro of the remake they actually address it. The curse made the villagers forget about the castle and its inhabitants. Problem solved.
3 LeFou’s obsession with Gaston
This is not a plot hole, of course, just an oddity. LeFou is Gaston’s henchman, his lackey of sorts. In the animated version the short, weird guy fawns over Gaston and everything he does. That felt off, didn’t it. To be thát devoted to someone who is just your friend? Well, guess what. LeFou is gay. In the live action version of Beauty and the Beast LeFou is absolutely, positively 100% gay ánd in love with Gaston. There are hints of that all around, even if it’s not addressed. His mannerism, the close embrace in the Gaston-song, during which LeFou even asks: “Too much?”, and in the dance at the end his partnering with the other gay character in the movie. Well done.
These are three things the remake fixed, but there are loads more changes. 26 years is a long time and things have gotten more fast paced and autontunish. Nevertheless, Beauty and the Beast will remain a phenomenon.
Kevin Kline as Maurice.
Josh Gad, also known as Olaf from Frozen, as LeFou. Brilliantly flamboyant and funny AF.
Sir Ian McKellen as Cogsworth. A little less manic than the animated version of this clock.
Ewan McGregor as Lumière, including French accent. Convincing? You be the judge.
Emma Thompson as Mrs. Potts. They even added a Mr. Potts, who has forgotten his wife and son.
Luke Evans as Gaston, known for his role as Bard in the Hobbit trilogy.
Unleash all the CGI!
Emma Watson as Belle, featuring autotune. Lots of autotune.
Dan Stevens as the Beast, a.k.a. prince Adam.
Multiple interracial couples. Way to go, Disney. That’s what we call progress.