Much of what we’ve seen from the live-action Beauty and the Beast so far looks and feels like it came straight out of the 1991 animated version, but Disney’s preview of the opening number from the movie gives us a glimpse of where it may start to diverge.
Visually, the beginning of “Belle”—the song where Belle bemoans living in a small town surrounded by people who aren’t too charmed by her quirky and bookish nature—plays out close to the original as we follow Belle on her way to the bookshop to return the latest page-turner she borrowed. There are lots of “Bonjour’s!” and small talk with her neighbors. Emma Watson, of course, sounds as lovely as ever.
But here some of the differences from the animated version start becoming more apparent. The schoolboys and a teacher sneer while girls and women resent her—a long way from the quizzical musings vocalized in the animated version. On the other hand, some small omissions from the song that fans have already noticed—a verbal ”Marie, the baguettes!” is missing, for one—might take some getting used to.
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Beauty and the Beast arrives March 17.
