Per the fairytale's moral, do *not* judge this narrative as simply being an English dub of a revered Russian creation. The new characterizations & romance it provides are what elevate this version well-beyond its predecessor (which I had only rated a 5/10).
Anastasia is our dutiful & true-hearted Beauty, voiced by Amy Irving. Given the overflow of adaptations, it would've been all too easy for her to come out looking like a basic carbon copy. And while I will say Anastasia isn't the most complex Beauty, she *is* at least given more depth than her Russian counterpart. A scene is looped over so that she may request her father Stephen's safety *before* the crimson flower, showing where her true priorities lie. This is further shown when her father's ship leaves port, where he calls out his promise to find her flower and she counters it by saying "Promise me only that you will return." When she arrives on the Beast's estate, she comments with pleasant surprise on the island's surrounding natural beauty, which she then follows up by politely rejecting the artificial beauty of his material wealth. Most notably, though, is the inclusion of "Who Could Wish for More?" a short but sweet original number sung by Irving herself. Through it, we get a better understanding of Anastasia's internal conflict. She knows that most would consider her lucky, living a life of pure decadence with such a caring male partner, but it can't cover up the fact that she's been taken away from a life she considered safe & familiar. Personally, I like to think this song was meant as a reference to the fairytale's more historical roots, when it served as a metaphor to guide women through the uncertainty of arranged marriages. Consider the fact that Anastasia has no brothers in this version, leaving her father as the only male figure she's ever known. As such, it would make sense for her to feel a similar uncertainty, because by the time she sings, it is no longer the Beast himself that frightens her; it is the idea of accepting and enjoying a new life with him, as she still remains plagued by homesickness and longing. And Amy Irving does a fabulous job portraying all of this. She gives me "classic Disney princess" vibes with her performance, and I mean that in the best way. There are of course the more obvious clues to this comparison, such as in the way her singing has the uncanny ability to attract animals & true love to her like a magnet, but it's more than that. Amy's voice acting is soft-spoken yet mature, gentle but hinting at hidden inner strength, which is very much in line with Mary Costa as Aurora or Ilene Woods as Cinderella. :)
Tim Curry voices Sad Yeti Boy...I mean the Beast...in one of his considerably more serious & straightforward character portrayals. Trust me, this ain't the hammy, off-the-rails Tim Curry that most are familiar with. But don't let that deter you, because what he brings to this role is completely worth the watch! Because in my review for the 1952 Russian original, I admitted to being quite put-off by their Beast, and though his design is nothing to write home about either, the real issues lay in character-writing & voice performance. But by using what was provided and taking advantage where they could, Mikhail Baryshnikov & Tim Curry managed to create an *entirely* new character, which, believe me, is *not* an exaggeration. The end result is a combining of the best Beast character traits from Cocteau & Disney.
In the 1946 Cocteau classic, you get a Beast that is kind and generous from the start, but is so desperate for love that he persistently proposes to Belle each night in spite of her preference for friendship. In the iconic 1991 Disney production, you get the inverse: a Beast that knows Belle's love is something he has to earn over time, but his a-hole tendencies are what keep it from developing, a situation made worse by those midquels. So as a long time BATB fan, I was left to wonder why adaptations would always steer towards one depiction or the other. Why couldn't the Beast be kind *and* let the relationship happen naturally for once? Well low & behold, it *did* happen; I just never knew about it! Not until YouTube was kind enough to work its algorithm magic and recommend it to me. And to learn that Tim Curry was the one bringing such fantasy to life only made it that much more special. I kid you not when I say that he doesn't just *play* the Beast, he *becomes* it; something that is especially admirable considering how much his voice *really* doesn't correlate with the character design. Feelings & emotions that the casual viewer would consider melodramatic & silly on the surface are made real by the believability that Tim brings to the role. When he angrily accuses Stephen of stealing (what I assume to be) the simultaneous source of both his power & curse, the titular crimson flower, & demands compensation, I fully felt like a crime had been committed, helped by the momentary appearance of his signature raspy villain growl. But once satisfied that he's solidified the "you-or-one-of-your-daughters" deal, he closes out the scene by saying "I can live in loneliness no longer," the first of many beautifully-interwoven lines that did not exist for Mikhail Astangov back in the 50's but were written for Tim Curry in the 90's. And although Stephen ignores it, I think it's more so meant for the audience, as an insightful & somber first look into his tortured soul. A soul that does not seek pity but evokes it anyway. A soul that hopes to be loved but never asks, making it grow all the more. Through Anastasia's eyes, one learns to love the man behind the monster in a way that is equal parts beautiful & heart-wrenching. I wanted to hug him, comfort him, & free him from torment just much as she did. And then there's this quote: "Your kind heart & beauty already put to shame the riches of my palace." Not only does he express how much her presence alone has brought him more joy than his wealth ever did, but it is her heart he values most about her, not her beauty. (And he says with so much vulnerability to boot). Goodness Tim, you'll encourage women to develop unrealistic expectations of men by doing that! XD And let me remind you all: this is conveyed by *Tim Curry.* A man I've seen referred to as "Hollywood's Favorite Rent-A-Villain" at one point. Which forced me to re-evaluate my familiarity with him and realize that I had, in fact, been type-casting him. Anyway, it was surreal when I realized that the perfect Beast I'd quietly hoped for had been done by the last person I would've thought of to do it. Just as Anastasia sees past the appearance of the Beast to appreciate his good heart, I saw past my type-casting of Tim Curry and appreciate the truth of his acting range, making his casting in this role, when you think about it, a decision of pure genius. In other words, life truly does imitate art. :D
To conclude, this is everything that Beauty and the Beast can & should be. An artistic, thought-provoking, heartstring-pulling tale about two people who find love in spite of a seemingly hopeless circumstance. A tale well-woven through the tender plausibility of the characters' development from strangers to friends to lovers. A development, mind you, that only lasts for seven minutes in this film before Anastasia's sent home to trigger the climax & realize her true feelings towards the Beast, but *believe* me when I say it's the best seven-minute relationship you'll ever witness. Especially when you break it down line-by-line and hear all the tremendously bewitching emotion that Amy Irving & Tim Curry display within their line-reads. Which, upon learning about each actor's extensive range of stage work, is rather unsurprising to say the least. I'll admit that I didn't mean for this review to become a short essay, nor did I mean to cry while writing it (true story), but I was determined to make Crimson Flower's first user review be the best it could possibly be, so as to hopefully encourage others to see this wonderfully acted & tributing iteration of the tale as old as time. An iteration that I believe deserves just as much praise and attention as Cocteau's & Disney's do, because as the final (classically-told) Beauty and the Beast to come out before 21st century, I like to think it was meant as a tribute to those versions as well as its Russian roots.
And this really has nothing to do with anything, but the funny thing is, I originally meant this to be sent out on 9/21, Stephen King's birthday, in honor of Amy & Tim both being in adaptations of his, but instead I'm getting it done on 9/25, the 46th anniversary for the release of Rocky Horror, so that works out too. Not only that, but it'll be made out in time for *my* birthday, which is 9/28. Timing rocks. :D.
Anastasia is our dutiful & true-hearted Beauty, voiced by Amy Irving. Given the overflow of adaptations, it would've been all too easy for her to come out looking like a basic carbon copy. And while I will say Anastasia isn't the most complex Beauty, she *is* at least given more depth than her Russian counterpart. A scene is looped over so that she may request her father Stephen's safety *before* the crimson flower, showing where her true priorities lie. This is further shown when her father's ship leaves port, where he calls out his promise to find her flower and she counters it by saying "Promise me only that you will return." When she arrives on the Beast's estate, she comments with pleasant surprise on the island's surrounding natural beauty, which she then follows up by politely rejecting the artificial beauty of his material wealth. Most notably, though, is the inclusion of "Who Could Wish for More?" a short but sweet original number sung by Irving herself. Through it, we get a better understanding of Anastasia's internal conflict. She knows that most would consider her lucky, living a life of pure decadence with such a caring male partner, but it can't cover up the fact that she's been taken away from a life she considered safe & familiar. Personally, I like to think this song was meant as a reference to the fairytale's more historical roots, when it served as a metaphor to guide women through the uncertainty of arranged marriages. Consider the fact that Anastasia has no brothers in this version, leaving her father as the only male figure she's ever known. As such, it would make sense for her to feel a similar uncertainty, because by the time she sings, it is no longer the Beast himself that frightens her; it is the idea of accepting and enjoying a new life with him, as she still remains plagued by homesickness and longing. And Amy Irving does a fabulous job portraying all of this. She gives me "classic Disney princess" vibes with her performance, and I mean that in the best way. There are of course the more obvious clues to this comparison, such as in the way her singing has the uncanny ability to attract animals & true love to her like a magnet, but it's more than that. Amy's voice acting is soft-spoken yet mature, gentle but hinting at hidden inner strength, which is very much in line with Mary Costa as Aurora or Ilene Woods as Cinderella. :)
Tim Curry voices Sad Yeti Boy...I mean the Beast...in one of his considerably more serious & straightforward character portrayals. Trust me, this ain't the hammy, off-the-rails Tim Curry that most are familiar with. But don't let that deter you, because what he brings to this role is completely worth the watch! Because in my review for the 1952 Russian original, I admitted to being quite put-off by their Beast, and though his design is nothing to write home about either, the real issues lay in character-writing & voice performance. But by using what was provided and taking advantage where they could, Mikhail Baryshnikov & Tim Curry managed to create an *entirely* new character, which, believe me, is *not* an exaggeration. The end result is a combining of the best Beast character traits from Cocteau & Disney.
In the 1946 Cocteau classic, you get a Beast that is kind and generous from the start, but is so desperate for love that he persistently proposes to Belle each night in spite of her preference for friendship. In the iconic 1991 Disney production, you get the inverse: a Beast that knows Belle's love is something he has to earn over time, but his a-hole tendencies are what keep it from developing, a situation made worse by those midquels. So as a long time BATB fan, I was left to wonder why adaptations would always steer towards one depiction or the other. Why couldn't the Beast be kind *and* let the relationship happen naturally for once? Well low & behold, it *did* happen; I just never knew about it! Not until YouTube was kind enough to work its algorithm magic and recommend it to me. And to learn that Tim Curry was the one bringing such fantasy to life only made it that much more special. I kid you not when I say that he doesn't just *play* the Beast, he *becomes* it; something that is especially admirable considering how much his voice *really* doesn't correlate with the character design. Feelings & emotions that the casual viewer would consider melodramatic & silly on the surface are made real by the believability that Tim brings to the role. When he angrily accuses Stephen of stealing (what I assume to be) the simultaneous source of both his power & curse, the titular crimson flower, & demands compensation, I fully felt like a crime had been committed, helped by the momentary appearance of his signature raspy villain growl. But once satisfied that he's solidified the "you-or-one-of-your-daughters" deal, he closes out the scene by saying "I can live in loneliness no longer," the first of many beautifully-interwoven lines that did not exist for Mikhail Astangov back in the 50's but were written for Tim Curry in the 90's. And although Stephen ignores it, I think it's more so meant for the audience, as an insightful & somber first look into his tortured soul. A soul that does not seek pity but evokes it anyway. A soul that hopes to be loved but never asks, making it grow all the more. Through Anastasia's eyes, one learns to love the man behind the monster in a way that is equal parts beautiful & heart-wrenching. I wanted to hug him, comfort him, & free him from torment just much as she did. And then there's this quote: "Your kind heart & beauty already put to shame the riches of my palace." Not only does he express how much her presence alone has brought him more joy than his wealth ever did, but it is her heart he values most about her, not her beauty. (And he says with so much vulnerability to boot). Goodness Tim, you'll encourage women to develop unrealistic expectations of men by doing that! XD And let me remind you all: this is conveyed by *Tim Curry.* A man I've seen referred to as "Hollywood's Favorite Rent-A-Villain" at one point. Which forced me to re-evaluate my familiarity with him and realize that I had, in fact, been type-casting him. Anyway, it was surreal when I realized that the perfect Beast I'd quietly hoped for had been done by the last person I would've thought of to do it. Just as Anastasia sees past the appearance of the Beast to appreciate his good heart, I saw past my type-casting of Tim Curry and appreciate the truth of his acting range, making his casting in this role, when you think about it, a decision of pure genius. In other words, life truly does imitate art. :D
To conclude, this is everything that Beauty and the Beast can & should be. An artistic, thought-provoking, heartstring-pulling tale about two people who find love in spite of a seemingly hopeless circumstance. A tale well-woven through the tender plausibility of the characters' development from strangers to friends to lovers. A development, mind you, that only lasts for seven minutes in this film before Anastasia's sent home to trigger the climax & realize her true feelings towards the Beast, but *believe* me when I say it's the best seven-minute relationship you'll ever witness. Especially when you break it down line-by-line and hear all the tremendously bewitching emotion that Amy Irving & Tim Curry display within their line-reads. Which, upon learning about each actor's extensive range of stage work, is rather unsurprising to say the least. I'll admit that I didn't mean for this review to become a short essay, nor did I mean to cry while writing it (true story), but I was determined to make Crimson Flower's first user review be the best it could possibly be, so as to hopefully encourage others to see this wonderfully acted & tributing iteration of the tale as old as time. An iteration that I believe deserves just as much praise and attention as Cocteau's & Disney's do, because as the final (classically-told) Beauty and the Beast to come out before 21st century, I like to think it was meant as a tribute to those versions as well as its Russian roots.
And this really has nothing to do with anything, but the funny thing is, I originally meant this to be sent out on 9/21, Stephen King's birthday, in honor of Amy & Tim both being in adaptations of his, but instead I'm getting it done on 9/25, the 46th anniversary for the release of Rocky Horror, so that works out too. Not only that, but it'll be made out in time for *my* birthday, which is 9/28. Timing rocks. :D.
