hopefulromantist - Tumblr blog

hopefulromantist · 8 years ago

Photo

103 notes · View notes

hopefulromantist · 8 years ago

Text

Beauty and the Beast is the Hobbit

really though. it’s kind of bizarre

We begin with a prologue. A male narrator tells us the story of a secluded kingdom/palace that fell into decay..

The narrator then tells us how his kingdom/palace fell into ruin. The ruler of the kingdom/palace became selfish and heartless, obsessed with one of the “seven deadly sins”: (vanity or greed).

Their selfishness drew a powerful evil magic (an enchantress or a dragon.)

It also drew a curse. The enchantress caused the Prince to turn into a beast. There’s a similar concept in the Hobbit. The gold in Erebor causes the people who obsess over it to get “dragon sickness”– a sort of curse which turns them into gold-obsessed “dragons” (beasts on the inside )….

After this dark prologue, we transition to a beautiful sunny provincial town. It’s a lovely place, but every day is the same as the day before. These hobbits/ townspeople are fussy and simpleminded. They care a lot about tradition and being “respectable.” They deeply mistrust anything new, exciting, or unfamiliar…..

We meet our second hero- a naiive and very bookish person whose name starts with a B. They can have a snarky sense of humor. They “don’t take anyone’s shit” and are far stronger than they look. They can be proud, even a little arrogant at times, but they’re very soft-hearted. They are a “pure cinammon roll.”

This person’s greatest, defining strength is their compassion. They can see the good in everyone, even in creatures who look like monsters (Belle falls in love with the Beast; Bilbo takes pity even on Gollum) They also have a parent known for being crazy/unconventional– Belle has her father Maurice, Bilbo has his mother Belladonna Took.

Both the protagonists are different from the other simple farmer-villagers because they want more than just a simple life.

They long for adventure….

And they’re eventually dragged into an adventure, against their will.

Our protagonist is forced to meet the The Dwarf-King/the Beast-Prince. This person is brooding, intimidating, and glowering. He rarely smiles. He has a dramatic cloak and an uncontrollable temper. He has a Tragic Past, a bizarre troop of followers, and (secretly) a good heart.

Deep in this King/Prince’s castle is his special glowing Secret Artifact you really shouldn’t touch (Seriously don’t he will FREAK OUT). The reason why the King/Prince needs the protagonist has something to do with this enchanted artifact….

The protagonist makes an agreement to stay with the King/Prince (Belle makes a promise, Bilbo signs a contract.) They get to know the Prince/King and his more approachable but still very weird group of followers. When the King/Prince isn’t there, these followers sing an upbeat song to the protagonist as they expertly prepare/clean up after dinner (Be our Guest and That’s What Bilbo Baggins Hates.) Their song is so upbeat you forget they’re singing it to a captive audience.

Meanwhile, the relationship between the Prince/Dwarf-king and the protagonist gets off to a very rocky start. The Prince/King secretly cares about the protagonist (later risking his life multiple times for them) but refuses to show it. Instead he acts cold, dismissive, and controlling. The protagonist, meanwhile, doesn’t know that beneath his cold facade the Prince/King really does have a heart.

Their relationship reaches a breaking point when the protagonist makes an innocent mistake, and The Prince/King lashes out at them….

The protagonist decides that, even though they promised to stay/signed a contract, they can’t do this any longer. They try to leave….

But a wolf attack changes everything.

The Prince/King defends the protagonist from wolves (or guys riding on wolves).He’s gravely injured by one of these wolves.

The protagonist then saves his life in return.

This near-death experience brings them closer together.

The Prince realizes he was wrong about the protagonist, and about himself… ”Bittersweet and strange, finding you can change, learning you were wrong!” Versus “I have never been so wrong in all my life.”

There’s a lot of bonding between the Prince/King and the protagonist. The Prince/King becomes kinder, gentler. Their affection for the protagonist, and the protagonist’s kindness to them, makes the Prince/King more openly compassionate. Things are really looking up. It looks like the curse will be overcome (the Beast will become human, and Thorin won’t get the “dragon sickness” that drove his grandfather mad.)

But there’s another force to be reckoned with– a handsome, vain antagonist who loathes the Beast/the Dwarf….

(“I use antlers in all of my decorating!”)

This antagonist convinces everyone the Beast/Dwarf is evil and subhuman. (He’s very against the film’s Beast/human or dwarf/elf relationship). He rallies a massive force to kill the Prince/King.

The protagonist, armed only with one of the Prince//King’s prized sparkly artifacts (the Mirror/the Arkenstone), tries to convince them to stop. But this only makes things worse.

At one point the Prince/King tells the protagonist to leave. Then the Prince/King, feeling betrayed and hopeless, becomes “beast-like” again. The enemy is at his doorstep but he refuses to fight, resigned to his fate. One of his servants/followers tries to convince him to join the battle, but fails. Let them come, the Prince King thinks, let them destroy everything– he’ll remain holed up in his castle. He lets his servants/Dain’s troops fight his battle for him.

His servants/Dain’s army does well without him at first, but eventually he’s forced to join the fray. He fights one-on-one against an army/mob’s leader. There’s a moment where he thinks he’s defeated his foe….but then his enemy launches a surprise attack, stabs him, and mortally wounds him. Yet by killing the Prince/King, the evil guy also ends up killing himself.

The protagonist rushes to the dying Prince/King’s side, blaming themselves for causing his death. The Prince/King, meanwhile, has finally redeemed himself. He apologizes for the way he acted in the past (“maybe it’s better this way”) and speaks lovingly about how wonderful the protagonist is, and how glad they are to see them one last time. The protagonist, meanwhile, desperately insists that he will be all right.

But he isn’t. He dies. The protagonist collapses, weeping.

But then he comes back to life because love!!! In one of the films, anyway. In the other he is 50000 percent dead

BONUS:

Both films have animated and live-action adaptations. In the live-action adaptations, Ian McKellan plays one of the Prince’s allies (Cogsworth/Gandalf) while Luke Evans plays one of his adversaries (Gaston/Bard). TL;DR: A Tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme, Bilbo and the Dwarf (or: the Burglar and the Beast?)

4K notes · View notes

hopefulromantist · 8 years ago

Text

Why “Beauty and the Beast” was actually pretty great:

the music is not good, it’s great

production design, costumes (even the freaking yellow dress which is actually quite gorgeous on camera), everything is truly beautiful and quite breathtaking at moments

the acting was surprisingly wonderful. it’s disney, it’ll be cheesy at moments—but for the most part, it was terrific

this is not a childish adaptation

when it gets dark, it gets DARK.

g a s t o n

new songs! new character development!

the cgi is not even that bad. in fact, there are moments when it’s pretty seamless. the practical sets and effects compensated for it, in my mind.

and when it’s wonky? you won’t care because you’ll be too busy smiling

there is some hilarious shit in this movie

the beast’s expressions are actually amazing; you can really see the actor moving beneath them

T H E M U S I C

you get to see little kids and adults all freaking out the whole time

SIR IAN MCKELLEN PLAYS A CLOCK AND IS AWESOME AT IT

emma watson will make your heart stop she is so beautiful

sneaky political/ethical gestures that made me cheer

this movie is so pure and we need that right now

and by the end? i just started laughing and crying—in excess joy. i couldn’t believe it. i’ve never been moved by a movie like that in my life.

it won’t please everybody but if you loved the original and if you are prepared to attempt to enjoy it for what it is—a colorful, painterly, vibrant adaptation of a beloved story—then go watch it.

5K notes · View notes

hopefulromantist · 8 years ago

Text

Evermore is the most gorgeous song that rips your heart out and makes you feel all the FEELS!!

youtube

- Josh Groban’s version is absolutely wonderful

- I literally can’t comprehend how he stole an angels voice and made it even better

- You can really appreciate the depth and strength of his voice like damn

- I get Phantom of the Opera vibes and can totally see the song in both

- Thank you my enchanting siren

BUT HEAR DAN STEVENS VERSION WITNESS OUR BEAST SING

youtube

- This one literally makes me clench my heart in pain

- At the end of the song I’m on the verge of tears

- You can truly feel how much she has affected him and he can never let her go inside his heart

- But he does because he is selfless as fuck and wants her happiness before anyone’s

- It just has so much emotion especially the last lyrics like I’m bawling just writing this

- Forever in love with you my Beauty

- READ THESE DAMN LYRICS AND LISTEN TO THE SONG SO YOU CAN FEEL YOUR HEART BREAK!

I was the one who had it all I was the master of my fate I never needed anybody in my life I learned the truth too late I’ll never shake away the pain I close my eyes but she’s still there I let her steal into my melancholy heart It’s more than I can bear Now I know she’ll never leave me Even as she runs away She will still torment me, calm me, hurt me Move me, come what may Wasting in my lonely tower Waiting by an open door I’ll fool myself she’ll walk right in And be with me for evermore I rage against the trials of love I curse the fading of the light Though she’s already flown so far beyond my reach She’s never out of sight Now I know she’ll never leave me Even as she fades from view She will still inpire me, be a part of Everything I do Wasting in my lonely tower Waiting by an open door I’ll fool myself she’ll walk right in

And as the long, long nights begin I’ll think of all that might have been Waiting here for evermore!