Film

‘Beauty And The Beast’ Is Actually Way More Entertaining Without The CGI

It's amazing that Emma Watson wasn't laughing the entire time.

by Elizabeth Flux  26 May 2017
beast

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It’s a tale as old as time. Girl wants more than this provincial life. Girl’s father gets kidnapped. Girl offers herself up for prisoner exchange program. Girl befriends household appliances. Girl falls in love with man in a puffy grey padded suit.

It me, your beloved.

In previous interviews for the Disney re-make, former Downton Abbey star Dan Stevens talked about the fusion of technologies that went into creating the physical character of the Beast. He was sprayed with UV dots and sat in a “Tron Cage” for facial capture; he wore steel stilts for the waltz scene (to Emma Watson’s concern); and perhaps most intriguingly, a “40 pound suit” with only the face exposed. It was too wide to allow him to fit in normal bathroom stalls.

Before now, we were mostly left to try and imagine this monstrosity (sorry). But now, there are videos. And gifs. And they’re even better than we could have hoped for.

Look, we know that Beauty and the Beast is a story about looking beyond the surface at someone’s deeper worth and that beauty is only skin-deep etc. — but this is some truly next-level commitment to theme and story. Emma Watson looks past the grey puffiness of Dan Stevens and sees the prince she is supposed to pretend to be in love with.

It’s easy to fall in love with Dan Stevens when he looks like this.

But if you ever had any doubt about Watson’s or Stevens’ acting ability, you just need to look at this next gif. The seriousness. The look of love in her eye. It’s breathtaking.

Also, side point: is it weird that in the suit he has much more of a Gaston-from-the-animation vibe? Anyway.

Thank you to everyone who had a hand in giving this precious gift to the world.