With the release of Beauty and the Beast now imminent, fans' thirst to see new footage from the film is ever increasing. Obviously, Disney doesn't want to give away all the best bits before the movie arrives, but fans did recently get a glimpse of Emma Watson as Belle, singing the movie's opening number, 'Belle.' Wisely, Disney has chosen the commercial break during this year's Academy Awards to showcase some new footage: Ewan McGregor as Lumiere, inviting Belle to be his guest.
Sadly, the TV spot stops short of offering a listen to the actual song, but it's still entertaining and definitely holds hope of good things to come. Featured alongside McGregor's Lumiere, is Ian McKellen as Cogsworth. Take a look, above.
In keeping with Beauty and the Beast's recreation of the animated original, the TV spot shows Lumiere juggling plates and it definitely looks as though 'Be Our Guest' will be an all-singing, all-dancing, extravagant musical number, which the song lends itself to perfectly. Elsewhere, the TV spot contains previously seen footage of classic shots, including the infamous ballroom scene between Belle and the Beast.
The story for Beauty and the Beast is so well known, that even the shot of Belle's desperate 'No!' as the beast falls from the top of the tower isn't a giveaway, so the difficult task this cast has is in making fans believe, and empathize with, the characters a second time around. For Watson, this might not prove too difficult; she looks the part, and is a well-loved actor. For those voicing the servants though, it's an altogether more tricky affair.
So far, the appearance of the enchanted household objects is really the only aspect of the movie that has not been rapturously received. McGregor, along with Ian McKellen, Emma Thompson, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, among others, have the ability to turn this around by their voice work, which will hopefully endear the characters to an audience, who are desperately hoping the live-action Beauty and the Beast will recreate and expand upon the magic captured by the animated movie back in 1998.
We may yet get another song snippet before the release of the movie. Let's be honest, Alan Menken and Howard Ashman's wonderful music is what many are looking forward to the most. In fact, the public's affection for Beauty and the Beast has it on course to score one of the highest March openings ever. If not, though, the soundtrack is released on March 7th, a full week before the movie arrives.
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Source: Disney
