Beauty and the Beast

Disney has really put their marketing for the upcoming Beauty and the Beast on steroids lately, giving us all-too-short glimpses of some really iconic scenes. First it was Josh Gad and Luke Evans in a few seconds of (the best song) “Gaston” on Good Morning America. Now it’s almost a full minute(!) of the opening number “Belle,” that serves as a great introduction to our heroine and an opportunity for everyone else in the town to air their grievances about her.

There}s one big question surrounding the upcoming live-action take on Disney’s Beauty and the Beast: Why remake something that’s considered by most to be Disney’s most perfect movie? We can write all the Stockholm syndrome thinkpieces that we want, but Beauty and the Beast still holds up as one of the studio’s animation and storytelling high points during the Disney renaissance of the ’90s (which includes The Lion King, Pocahontas, Aladdin, and Mulan). So why bother to even try to come close?

Finally, the moment we’ve all been waiting for ever since Disney announced this live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast: The Gaston song. Listen, this “tale as old as time” is sweet and magical and all that other wonderful stuff, but it’s okay to admit that you’re 100 percent here for Luke Evans as the nefarious, narcissistic master of swagger, performing what is, with apologies to Angela Lansbury, the actual greatest song from Beauty and the Beast (don’t @ me).

As you can probably imagine, animated movies are dubbed into other languages for distribution in other countries. But did you know that for the Chinese version of Beauty and the Beast featured Jackie Chan as the voice of the Beast? And not only did Jackie provide the Beast’s dialogue, he even sung his songs? He did a great job too; that’s just one of the timeless Beauty and the Beast facts featured in the newest episode of You Think You Know Movies!

In the United States, Jackie Chan is known as one of the greatest action stars in film history. But Jackie Chan is a true Renaissance man, with many skills he has rarely had the opportunity to display to American audiences. For example: Did you know he is a classically trained opera singer? Though he’s rarely gotten to sing on the big screen, Chan did show off his vocal chops in the Mandarin-language version of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. And not only did he provide the Beast’s spoken dialogue, he also sang the film’s songs. In the video above, you’ll see him in the music video for the Chinese version of the original “Beauty and the Beast” theme song.

When you were a kid, did you ever spend time with like, an aunt who listened to those adult contemporary radio stations — the ones that were all Michael Bolton and Toni Braxton and Celine Dion? You know, the stations that played “Margaritaville” and the Beauty and the Beast theme song every hour on the hour. If you don’t remember, then maybe Ariana Grande and John Legend’s cover of “Beauty and the Beast” will jog your memory.

About a month and a half separate the viewing public from the much-hyped live-action remake of Disney’s essential fairytale Beauty and the Beast. While regular TV viewers and net-surfers can look forward to an uninterrupted stream of commercials and ads until then, Disney has given one last push of publicity today with the final trailer promoting their handsomely-appointed new film. And as if to sweeten the deal, they included a snippet of the previously announced re-recording of the majestic theme tune, as sung by La La Land jazz-diluter John Legend and travel-size pop starlet Ariana Grande.

The tale as old as time (OK, that’s an exaggeration) is returning to theaters this spring with Disney’s new live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast. With less than two months left to go until the studio’s latest reimagining (and guaranteed box-office hit) arrives, Disney has revealed when we’ll see the new — and final — trailer, and as an added bonus, they’ve thrown in some enchanted motion posters.

If anything, the live-action Beauty and the Beast will give us all the urge to curl up with some nice, cozy nostalgia for a few hours. With its faithful-to-the-cartoon costumes and songs, it’ll be like a leveled-up version of the classic, and today Disney has doubled-down on the nostalgia factor: Celine Dion, who recorded her own version of the title tune “Beauty and the Beast” for the original movie, is returning to the story with a new original song “How Does a Moment Last Forever.”

Emma Watson’s continuing media blitz in promotion of the upcoming Beauty and the Beast remake found her on the cover of the latest issue of Total Film (h/t E! Online), where she spoke about the moral underpinnings of the movie and her character Belle. In one quote in particular Watson declared that the film’s heroine Belle makes for a better role model than fellow Disney princess Cinderella.