Aries

The long week ended with my High School kiddos doing the actual Disney Broadway production of Beauty and the Beast for their spring, so I’ve been obsessed and very proud ever since and decided that this tea was the “Movie Pairing” I want for my long winded diatribe I’m aching to write. Watching it was a reminder to me of where I think the Emma Watson live adaptation missed major marks. The stage direction was scene my scene, moment by moment, even costume by costume a recreation of the Broadway play with a high schools budget. One of my students played the Beast, and he hammered those deep notes in the harder hitting songs of the play, and the Belle actually performed “Home” and delivered it in an amazing alto range the way it’s supposed to be sang.The students also did the full mug clasp dance choreagraphy for “Me” (Gaston). Now, it’s the most problematic and Stockholmiest version of the Disney story since the Beast actually hits her, and there’s some layers to it in their songs framing the Beast as someone who is losing control of himself. It’s also the horniest-pun intended- and the students went with it for the Lumiere and Plumette lines (Plumette hit on Maurice for some context).

My coworkers wanted more of the Live Action songs like Evermore and less problematic characterization, which I agreed and slightly disagreed with-but hey, I’m biased! Beauty and the Beast was my first ever Broadway show in New York City, so I’ve got some misunderstood nostalgia and rose tinted glasses around it. My girlfriend had not seen that version, we watched both it and the original today.

Now, I like certain fixes of plot in the Live Action version, such as adding the French Revolution in the back drop and addressing the Beast as well read nobility, explaining the curse a bit more, and aging up the Beast a bit to validate its harsh punishment and so on. We both really liked it, and she admired that Belle was actually an inventor, and that the Beast surrounded himself with beautiful people=hence the curse on his appearance. The artistic direction is also incredible by both drawing directly from the original, and using time period motifs and themes intentionally. Then, there’s Emma Watson as Belle. Is she ideal for the character’s personality and a good actress? Hell to the yes. Is she a good singer…..no. There’s also a superficiality that bugged me about it despite me deeply enjoying it. Autotune distracted me way to much, and it doesn’t have the musical resonance the original nor the Broadway did. Evermore sounded kinda monotone to me, and hopeful, but not sad enough.

Now, looking at the lyrics for the Beasts songs-Evermore and and If I Can’t Love Her, the songs are extremely similar in that they’re both about the Beast fearing the curse won’t be broken. My coworkers thought If Can’t Love Her was forced and musically was not as resonant…even though it and home are musically more consistent with the central opening theme and it’s refrains are clearly heard towards the ending in both animated film and play versions. It’s also clearly more about the Beast’s deep residing depression and it basically edges on suicidal ideation, which the Beast does linger towards to in the animated and Broadway version. The Beast WANTS Gaston to kill him, and man does that make the G rating waaaaayyyyyy off. And then there’s Belle’s home song, which is her version of a “F you” you’re gonna lock me up song to the Beast-and it’s ballsy and gut punching. I’m going to go on in and on, and so back to the tea and the version that neither can exceed for me: the animated original.

This tea is extremely rosey and raw, and the Earl grey captures some french perfumes using bergamot and the blackberry flavor captures the feeling of wild berries in the meadowy forrest around Beasts castle. Beasts cannonical name is Adam, and the Aries tea is themed around the Garden of Eden, so it fit for me. Now, for the animated movie, the emotions it captures in the smallest of details and in the music is unrivaled. Belle’s hair falling into her eyes, her rolling her eyes and sneering at Gaston in disgust, the way the Beast fumbles with the spoon because his hands are tooo big, and the way the Beast and Belle stroke each other’s hair captures an intimacy that the others tend to lack.

I’m tempted to end the rant that the animated Belle is really more a victim of Furryhood than Stockholm syndrome ‘cause look at the way she blushes at Beast in that snow ball fight scene, buuuuuut I won’t. The Broadway version has the deepest and darkest lyrics with the worst problems of the story, the Liveaction has the better plotting and arguable character development for a vainer and snobbier Beast despite having debatable music quality, and the animated version captures a complexity of emotion that the other two don’t because of show don’t tell, and well there was so much work into making the original distinct. And there’s something sweet, and almost kind to this tea. Other rose teas can be mean, and course and unrefined. But this tea’s dear, and so unsure. I wonder why I didn’t see it there before.