Beauty and the Beast - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[aaron]

In the Belle reprise, the scene in which Belle sang some of its reprise in a green meadow hills scenery bears a similarity from the opening scene in The Sound of Music (1965), which pays homage to it.

[miriam]

Emma Watson posted a video for Indian fans wishing happy Holi as this movie was released on the occasion of the festival.

[leo]

Ewan McGregor had admitted during an interview he had never watched Beauty and the Beast (1991).

[kristen]

"Evermore", the second of the newly written songs, is actually a semi-replacement for Beast's Broadway number "If I Can't Love Her". According to Alan Menken, the replacement came in when it was decided that once the Beast feels love for Belle, he should voluntarily let her leave the castle to save her father.

[ken]

In this version, the Beast turns out to be quite educated (makes sense for a Prince) and absolutely does read, unlike in Beauty and the Beast (1991). There would be very little else for him to do, given his limited ability to be outside the castle, and makes his vast library much more plausible. Plus, the fact that audiences nowadays expect things like that to be shown to them, rather than thinking for themselves.

[chris]

Alan Menken, who scored Beauty and the Beast (1991), returned to score this live-action adaptation, which includes new recordings of the original songs, in addition to new songs written by Menken and Tim Rice.

[charlie]

The song "Gaston" has new lyrics that were written by the late Howard Ashman, but never made the final cut of the 1991 movie. As a result, the song is slightly longer, and is more mature themed, but minus the reprise.

[nora]

This movie is a live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast (1991), but draws elements from other versions of the tale. The concept of the household objects slowly losing their mobility, comes from the stage musical. As in the original fairy tale, Belle's father is caught by the Beast when he attempts to take a rose for his daughter, instead of Beast accusing him of trespassing. This, in turn, leads to Belle's offer to trade places with her father, as it was she who asked him to bring her a rose. The Beast's look, and much of the Castle's decorations, resemble those in Beauty and the Beast (1946).

[carl]

According to some sources, Danny DeVito was considered for the role of Maurice.

[bessie]

Laura Linney, who collaborates frequently with director Bill Condon on his movies, was considered to play Mrs. Potts. By coincidence, Dame Emma Thompson (Mrs. Potts) starred with Linney in Love Actually (2003).

[gabriel]

Belle's bedroom ceiling has a painted sky with clouds, which was the ballroom ceiling from Beauty and the Beast (1991).

[ella]

When Gaston is describing what he likes about Belle to LeFou, he says he can't think of the exact word or trait. LeFou offers that Belle has a certain "je ne sais quoi", to which Gaston replies, "I don't know what that means", which is almost the literal translation of the phrase: "I don't know what." A second facet to this joke is that the characters are French, so Gaston should in fact know what "je ne sais quoi" means.

[jeffrey]

Emma Watson (Belle) and Luke Evans (Gaston) share the same Birthday on April 15th.

[frederick]

Jean Dujardin was strongly considered, and was the filmmakers' choice, for the role of Lumière.

[veronica]

It was Josh Gad's idea for LeFou to slowly question Gaston's actions, and ultimately reform, after Gaston's obsession with Belle turns into recklessness.

[amber]

The opening scene, where the servants prepare the Prince for the ball, contains quite a bit of clever foreshadowing: -Plumette, who becomes a feather duster, applies make-up to the Prince's cheek with a feather pouf. -Chapeau, who becomes a hat rack, sets the Prince's wig upon his head. -Lumière, who becomes a candelabra, holds one up to the Prince when he requests more light. -Cogsworth, who becomes a clock, holds a pocket watch and informs the Prince that it's "time". Additionally, all of the servants are in shadows, as if it to remind us that they are about to become shadows of their former selves.