In this telling of the tale as old as time, Belle lives with her salesman father, three troublemaker brothers, and two greedy sisters. Belle prefers to lead a calmer, simpler life than her siblings. As her father’s business goes badly and her brother loses a lot of money gambling, the father becomes indebted to the Beast and so in a trade, Belle agrees to live with the Beast. Once at the castle, she is cared for by a group of tadums, fairy tale animals who look a bit like dogs. She is given all that she could need and more, she however, has to have dinner with the Beast every single night, which does not go well at first. With time and patience, Belle and the Beast become closer and closer.
The story here, by Sandra Vo-Anh and Christophe Gans, differs a bit from the one most of us have grown up on as the Disney version is so popular. Having not read the book yet, this reviewer cannot compare it with the original story but Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont. However, the changes and variations done here fit director Christophe Gans’ style while staying within a mainly family-friendly frame, which explains why some elements from the Madame de Villeneuve’s version are not fully present here, including the sexual meaning to a lot of scene.
This is a very child-friendly version of the story, from Gans who is not particularly known for being for all ages as he usually deals in blood and violence. There is some here but it’s very much only by necessity. This film is still on a large, grandiose scale as Gans’ fans have come to expect of his fantasies. The decors and costumes are grandiose. The costumes will make many princess fans want to cosplay this and have Belle’s closet. The Beast’s castle and its grounds are impressive. This is the setting for past and present scenes that show previous and potential happiness for the Beast. It’s all very beautiful and it brings the viewer in while making them want to see more.
A big part of the décor and even full characters here are created in CGI. As any fan of Gans’ previous film Le Pacte des Loups would expect, they are lush. However, the lack of practical effects is a big letdown. The design of the Beast, while interesting and reminiscent of a few past adaptations, is sadly not done in practical effects and the CGI is distracting in more than a few scenes. The previously mentioned tadums, part dogs, part magical creatures, look out of place most of the time in their CGI renditions. They are adorable but they do not feel right for the story or like they belong in the décor. Thankfully, their number of scenes is low and they can be overlooked while concentrating on other characters. The Beast is another matter as he is integral to the story.
The acting here is good and overshadows most of these effects. Lea Seydoux as Belle is not only beautiful but also captivating. She is a soft presence against the Beast’s powerful standing. She is definitely a Belle the audience can care about. Under the CGI Beast, and also as its human form of The Prince is Vincent Cassel who demonstrates his usual talent for complex characters. Cassel brings humanity to the Beast mainly through his voice, helping make the love story more believable and poignant, even though it is a bit rushed. Also worth nothing is Andre Dussolier as Belle’s father. Dussolier is one of those actors who are always fantastic and he brings a range to his short part which makes him shiner in the crowd of secondary characters, none of which were badly portrayed, just not as memorable as Seydoux, Cassel, and Dussolier.
This version of La Belle et La Bête is entertaining even though its effects have issues. It’s family friendly enough but not entirely safe for all it must be noted. It’s a very visual film; its scenery is stunning, the costumes making it worth a few watches along. It’s worth seeing but may cause some issues to those looking for a deeper story or a more logical, developed way for Belle to fall for the Beast as a lot of the courtship is removed in favor of background characters and back story for the Beast.