Check Out the New ‘Beauty and the Beast’ TV Spots, Go Ahead, Be Our Guest
Despite volumes of scholarship from feminist theorists on its undertones of spousal abuse and insidious romanticizing of male brutality, Disney‘s Beauty and the Beast has remained a cherished childhood favorite worldwide. Kids love talking furniture, go figure. The live-action remake starring Emma Watson and an unrecognizable Dan Stevens is hot on the way to its March 17 release, and Disney has now released two new TV spots to further amp up the anticipation. In the first, embedded above, the Beast implores lovely Belle to “think of the one thing you’ve always wanted, and feel it in your heart.” We get a glimpse of the timeless ballroom-waltz scene, some barroom carousing from Gaston, and yet another look at the deeply unsettling character designs for Lumiere and Cogsworth.
In the second, Belle enters the castle for the first time and utters that time-honored phrase, the one that all Disney princesses must necessarily speak at one point or another during their film — “You can talk?” In this magic castle, however, not everything talks. Belle embarrasses herself a touch when she learns this the hard way, asking an inanimate hairbrush its name. There’s a glance at a hooded snowball fight in an idyllic clearing, rustic French glamour, chatter of spells and being “the one,” all pretty standard for a Disney rework.
And yet the special effects continue to give early observers pause. The designs for the mansion’s enchanted residents have drawn strong reactions in some comment sections, but it may just be a matter of getting used to them over the course of the film. Go ahead and watch the new clips above — be our guest.