It really made me laugh when Emma Watson said that they gave Belle pockets to make her more modern and independent. Little did she know that all eighteenth century women wore pockets, sometimes even aristocrats. I know she's not supposed to have these notions, but why didn't anybody tell her? Why didn't anybody stop her, instead of giving her all that influence in the dress-making department?
@ThePinkLady Apple I hate it not only because as others mentioned it's inaccuracy, but because they took GASTON'S line and applied it to the villagers. As a result they are more cartoony than the animated version and Gaston ends up looking well-meaning. How do you mess up that badly?
From what I remember reading, in fancy attire pocket or easily hidden in the Ruffles. And more common clothing the pocket was more of an additional pouch worn at the waist
Part of me really believes Disney supported the casual design because it would be easier to sell merchandise, though I have nothing to back that up with.
@@AnywayJenniferSim I'd go so far to say the dress is probably designed how it is so it's easier to make halloween costumes. It's way easier to replicate a yellow fit-and-flare dress with a tiered chiffon skirt and some lil bullshit gold decals than then gold silk/brocade Rococco gown it could have been. The art shouldn't come first and it used to be even kids' movies had that angle instead of insulting their audience.
Taffeta, which is also shiny, was very popular during the Rococo period. So was Silk. they could have gone with either of those and made a very beautiful rich gown with all the ribbons and bows.
What frustrates me the most about Emma Watson's reinterpretation of Belle is that the original Belle, to me, was already a pretty feminist character. She's intelligent, she's brave, she speaks her mind even when it makes her unpopular, she refuses to abandon her dreams because of social pressure, she doesn't put up with any of Gaston's chauvanistic bullshit, she stands up to the Beast when he gets angry with her. Somehow that's not enough. Why? Because as well as being strong-willed and smart she's also sensitive and kind? Because she falls in love? Because she cries? Because she doesn't physically fight? Being a feminist character isn't just about fighting or not wearing corsets or being a Girlboss(tm). It's about well-written women with agency and personality.
It wasn’t even the beast. It was an insensitive jerk who never showed regret for his actions, never apologized. He didn’t change. He judged Belle for what she liked, didn’t show any emotion. It was a mockery of our lovable, insecure, shy, kind, willing to change, lonely beast.
I really dislike Emma Watson's complete ignorance when it comes to corsets/stays in historical fashion. They weren't there to oppress and make the waist tiny. They were SUPPORTING your back because of all the heavy layers of clothing (the women of that time must've had the best postures ever!) as well as creating a smooth line and shape for the gowns that went over it. And that's exactly what bothered me for the whole movie. All the wrinkles and uneven lines in her clothing (not just the ball gown) which really took you out of the scene sometimes. Urgh. I'm gonna stop ranting now. Anyway you should really watch the French/German production of "Beauty and the Beast" with Lea Seydoux, because - my God! The costumes in this are stunning! (Kinda fantasy but stunning!)
Exactly, I cosplay as a hobby and I made a post civil war gown and just the light weight layers and hoop skirt I made are murder on my hips unless I wear one of my corsets under them to support it all and the overall silhouette is completely different it took the whole dress from homemade halloween dress to a lady of the period(silhouette wise)
@@silverfox1492 Y E S if you don't wear the right undergarments for the time, the whole outfit falls apart! You can't have a stable house without a foundation!
There were many people (in continental Europe) who didn't wear stays or corsets under their dresses, namely village people. However... They still needed the support for their assets and their backs, arguably more so than their city counterparts. So they worked around it. Bodices boned just enough to provide the support needed while still keeping the mobility, unboned bodices that were form fitting but also adjustable to keep the support and the flexibility of the dress, linen wraps under your shirt keeping your ladies in place... There were ways to stay active in your dresses, look appropriate and not become the subject of the next Csangó folk song. So Watson has literally no excuse.
I agree with this, as someone who is studying to become a theatrical actress (I have currently taken many lessons on singing in different styles to accomplish this) this movie was very disappointing for me. Not only was I already against the idea of the live-action remakes when the idea first came around, but for me personally the yellow dress appears more like a dress a woman would get for prom instead of a ballgown based in the Rococo era in France.
Jacqueline Durran has done phenomenal work. I really think she was being held hostage. I just can't believe she would design either the ball gown or the wedding dress except under duress.
Emma refused to wear a corset, which a dress like that would require just to keep the structure. He reasoning was based on faulty history of the corset. Honestly, if your going to be an actress and refuse to wear certain period clothing than don't take the part! I think the best thing they could have done was chosen a different actress. Emma did not make a good Belle. She, alone, ruined the live action of Beauty and Beast.
@@sab5076 Watson clearly ruined Belle's costumes, but the movie, no. A movie is (generally) on three (groups of) shoulders: the writer(s), the producer(s), and the director(s). Casting is done by a casting director and is approved by the producer(s). Watson should not have been casted as Belle, and that is on them. The movie fell because: the writing was terrible- fault of the writer(s) and producer(s), the casting was inconsistent- fault of the producer(s) and casting director(s), the takes were bad- fault of the writer(s) and director(s)... Watson ruined four costumes, and that's embarrassing. But dozens of people were working "behind the scenes" to ruin the movie.
@@sab5076 yep. Corsets (especially modern corsets, commonly used in certain styles of wedding dresses many kinds of ballgowns) don't have to be uncomfortable and are an important part of many minds of modern (and most definitely historical!) formal wear for women. A fuller bottom would have made the lack of corset less obvious as well....
Honestly, it’s Disney’s fault for not dropping Emma Watson after she insinuated herself so forcefully into the movie that she demanded her wardrobe to be changed and refusing to wear Stays and appropriate hairstyles. I guess she was really popular at that time and as Belle is somewhat of the feminist poster child of Disney princesses, Disney thought Emma might be perfect for this role. I’m angry for the costume designer, who went all out in trying to make the costumes of the side characters somewhat era fitting and oftentimes drop dead gorgeous, and then probably had to throw all their ideas for Belle’s outfits away because Emma Watson is a Primadonna. It’s just unprofessional. Acting is a job and shouldn’t be used as a platform to send out your own personal messages, unless it’s what the director intended.
@ThePinkLady Apple Nah they could, there's far more beautiful and talented actresses out there. I can think of a few that would fit the role of Belle wonderfully.
Yep. There’s a difference between “I refuse to tightlace bc it’s damaging to the body and I refuse to injury myself for vanity in that way and I refuse as a role model to young women to promote damaging body ideals” and “I refuse to wear a historically accurate, useful, basically required item of clothing for the costume as the LEAD in the MOVIE bc it doesn’t mesh with my ideals because I’m mis-informed and can’t spend 10 minutes using the entirety of human knowledge I can access from my phone to fact check my opinions”.
Yes! I don't even enjoy the French language (no offense to French folks, I know English, especially American English, must sound ugly to others... heck, I don't find American English pretty sounding... I just don't enjoy how French sounds either.) Anyway, the French Beauty and the Beast (both the one 2014 one AND the 1940's one) are beautiful!
The 2014 movie was so visually beautiful, so it was such a disappointment that the two main characters had no romance. The love story is treated almost more like a battle between two strong personalities; something that would've worked had there been romance that would've convincingly give the impression that there's love developing between them. It's just nothing but sexual tension, from which we're given a few breathtakingly sensual scenes (That kiss on the ice, amiright?). When the Beast is given more tender and romantic scenes with his former wife, who he unintentionally murdered and thus got cursed for (I hate that movie plot point so much), than with Belle, then you know something's gone seriously wrong. The lack of proper romance just gives the film a pervasive sense of masculine entitlement, with it's toxic romance tropes, but it’s nice to imagine them fitting somewhere into a better story.
I’m a little upset that Emma didn’t wear a corset because of some feminist thing...but corsets were literally used to support the dress, not to make the waist tiny.
@@cinnaqwene9488 lol bras were boycotted in the late 60’s. The beauty of today you have a choice to wear a bra or not no one cares anymore so Emma going braless in a period film just makes her boobs look out of place instead is a statement.
It’s been 4 years and I’m still mad that Emma Watson refused to wear a corset because it’s “restrictive”. Nooooooo!!!!! She would have probably worn stays and they are just the 18th century of a sports bra.
@@blinkity2758 Corests are actually not uncomfortable or harmful at all unless they've been tight laced. Working women in history wore stays and corsets as part of their standard undergarments. A good example from the Victorian era is the Pretty Housemaid corset, which we have extant examples of. The person above is ignorant as to what they're saying.
@Christophe Michael Clarence Everything about your comment is sadly plain wrong. Firstly, Emma Watson wouldn’t have worn a corset but stays, a pre-corset undergarment that wouldn’t even had been possible to lace tightly, because it had no boning and no metal hooks. Secondly, tight lacing in general was NOT the normal way to wear a corset at any point in history, not even by the rich woman. Corsets were just used for breast support and, most importantly, to shift the weight of the clothing onto the corset instead of the body. Men wore corsets too for back support. The idea that corsets were torture devices for women was actually proclaimed by men who wanted to ridicule the clothing industry, because that was the only industry run by woman at the time. It was an anti-suffragette propaganda move that somehow the society of today has eaten up. Woman were working in corsets, doing sports in corsets and just... living in corsets without having major health issues most of the time. The only reason why actresses often proclaim corsets to be uncomfortable is because theirs often doesn’t fit properly, is put on the wrong way and because they often don’t wear anything underneath. It’s ridiculous, no historical woman would ever wear them that way. Hollywood just wants to push the narrative that corsets are bad and the historical fashion community is getting tired.
I do like her peasant dress in this film, even accounting for the fact that it doesn't fit in with most of the other costumes - her little jacket she wears with it is definitely historically inspired and I just think it looks cute - but I just can't stand that ball gown. It's not even historically inspired, it's not a pretty design even for a modern dress (which i at least think the wedding dress is, even though i hate it lmao), and that color yellow is too cool and pastel-y on Emma Watson, making her look pink and splotchy in it. When the film was coming out someone criticized the way the glitter trim on the gown was glued on in stripes and you could see that the fabric wasn't the right kind of fabric for glue - it was too lightweight and it was puckering. From that they came to the conclusion that this dress was probably in redesign for a while and they ended up rushing it to production, which I completely agree with. From the way Durran emphasized in her interviews how much control Watson had I think she might have been trying to signal that Watson should take the heat for it, and not herself, and it makes me wonder if there was some back and forth over how the dress should look before they rushed an ugly and cheaply-made dress into production, because otherwise it makes zero sense that the hem would have glitter glued on it. It bothers me that Watson insisted on wearing a dress she could ride a horse in. In the animated film, when Belle runs out of the castle after the ball, she's changed her dress. WHY. Would you need a ballgown. You could ride a horse in. They're made to dance! Not to ride horses in! JUST CHANGE BACK INTO ANOTHER OUTFIT. It doesn't make any sense - from a story perspective, Belle's not like, going to that ball they have planned thinking she's going to ride a horse afterward??? Emma Watson gets more done up for premiers than she did as Belle in that ballgown... it's just an atrocity.
I feel like I could have written this, you’re absolutely right. I liked her little jacket in the village! I’ve gotten the impression too that Durran is passing blame to Emma lol because she knows she could have done better on her own. And it’s seriously stupid how they designed the dress specifically to be able to ride a horse in, for all the reasons you said!
@@AnywayJenniferSim It seriously does not look like a Durran design at all! I do think the peasant costumes look like her style but the ballgown doesn't look like any single outfit in either Durran's oeuvre or the rest of the film specifically. One thing i love about Jacqueline Durran in particular is her feel for mixing textures and always picking superb colors for her actors and actresses, and the fact that the dress is, as you say, so bland and one-toned and of only one texture, as well as a color that isn't flattering on Watson, makes me feel like she didn't have a lot of input on this dress.
Belle riding the horse in the ballgown feels like a consequence of them rushing to the climax. In the animated version Belle had to leave to take care of her father because he was sick, as it winter she needed warmer clothes for the journey back. The Live Action film rushed it so now Belle has to save her father from being committed, so no time to change. (and apparently only the castle is experiencing winter, which throws the timeline into a loop.) Now the question is did they do this because they thought it was more dramatic or because Watson wanted to ride the horse wearing a gown? Either way is ridiculous.
@@CoolG97 I'd forgotten about the change to why she has to save her dad, that's true. Though I think "he's sick, he may be dying" made it equally imperative that animated Belle get to her father in a hurry? (I do remember, also, that when the film came out people pointed out that Belle doesn't, like, use the magic travel book to get back to her father in this version and that that actually feels like a plot hole in this case particularly - why doesn't she have time to change if she has that means of travel...) The timeline changes - trying to stretch out the amount of time Belle appears to spend in the castle - pervade the script so i would genuinely be willing to believe that wasn't as petty as Watson wanting to wear the gown on the horse, but she took at least a couple of potshots as the costuming in the Cinderella remake (for which Watson was offered the role but turned it down because she thought it was regressive; as i understand it being able to change Belle's characterization to suit her ideas was a condition of her taking the role in the first place) so I genuinely would not be surprised - Ella wears a dress that's obviously worn with a corset or shapewear and ballet flats (another fashion item Watson was snarky about) to ride a horse in that film.
@@rosereddened Oh I didn't mean to say Belle wasn't in a hurry in the animated one, she was but needed to change in order to safely travel in winter. (And yes they did introduce the magic book, but it mostly serve to show Belle's mom dying, because the film makers clearly don't trust the audience and have to explain everything so they replace "plot holes" with plot canyons) For whatever reason the live action film had it so the castle was in permanent winter, that's what I meant about the timeline being mess with because the original portrayed the passing of time with the seasons, so Belle could've spent LESS time at the castle than in the animated version for all we know. Now that I think of it Watson Belle travel from the castle to the village in the same amount of time it took for the villagers to arrest her father and almost throw him into the wagon...what are they feeding these horses that makes them travel great distances in the time it takes to walk a man 20 ft? (Heck her father should've been in the wagon before she'd reach the stables) Time and space are broken. (I heard about the Watson Cinderella story, the controversy surrounding the waist on James's Cinderella is probably the reason Watson was allowed to object to wearing a corset and have design control.) Edit-I check the scene again Animated Belle saw her father lost in the woods in the dead of winter, yeah she had change before leaving or they both would've been in trouble.
Why did they even hire a costume designer? They could have sat Emma down and made her browse through WISH and she could have selected a costume for the ball.
They probably picked her becasue the casting directors only knew Belle as being a bookworm and Emma Watson is known for portraying another famous bookworm. This is negating that even though Belle and Hermione have similarities, they are still two completely different characters.
Terrible casting. Anna Kendrick would have fit the bill heaps better. It's fine to portray one's own type of feminism - but this is a movie remake of a character that is loved for its own sake. Love the original - this one I could barely watch to the end. No inclination to watch any futute remakes. And Belle's dress being a showstopper was a must requirement 😑 (typos edited 😁)
Her fanbase... Having her portray another childhood classic, something that most of her fanbase grew up with. But to me she put too much of her opinion into the movie, something that the storie didnt really need
Emma's dress (not Belle's dress) is really an insult to historical costuming, Belle's feminine qualities, and the romanticism of the rococo period. the beast is royalty and would dress in the best, but the dress looks like the fabric was purchased in a bargain bin and sewn by a home economics student.
I feel u. I've hated this dress the day I saw it moving around in the film. The dress was one of the main parts of the film I was looking forward to n it was a total failure. The whole movie was, really. I honestly believe that they had cast the wrong actress for belle, Emma Watson doesn't seem to have the range required for this role. She cant sing nor act at the level that was expected for Belle. Emmy Rossum is more suited to the role as she had a similar role in phantom of the Opera n pulled it off beautifully. Heres an excerpt from a ranking list I made a while ago on my favorite Disney Princess Dresses, enjoy; A grand entrance for a grand dress, we were in awe as soon as Belle stepped out onto the grand staircase to greet the Beast in this luscious, golden number. Glowing magnificently against the beauty's chocolatey tresses and rosy complexion, this deliciously ostentatious gown hangs delicately off the shoulders with profound textures and accents, twisting and turning like fine butter that melts into the soul with every graceful whim of movement. It is always a shame whenever this gown is portrayed in unflattering shades of lame yellows instead of gorgeous tones of warm golds which is why the Emma Watson Belle dress was such a disappointment. Yes, all that is gold is not always glittering but in regards to the original animated version, it is both. +_0
While Emmy would have done better (such a low bar), she didn’t do well in PotO. No one did. They had to change the melody since Emmy couldn’t sing the range needed, and Gerard was just physically painful to listen to.
@@Author.Noelle.Alexandria To be fair, Webber literally wrote those roles and their intended vocal ranges for the original cast. Ain't nobody hitting _that_ soprano like Sarah Brightman, and Michael Crawford is a _tenor,_ while Gerard Butler is a baritone, and a deep one at that, verging into the sort of bass-baritone you'd need more for a role like Sweeney Todd. Plus, he has diminished hearing and permanent tinnitus in one ear, which probably made for an even harder time. The only one of the cast that had any training as a singer was Patrick Wilson, who played Raoul, and he suffers for the fact that he's more a tenor, and the part of Raoul was originally written for a baritone, in a weird sort of role-reversal (usually, in musical theatre, the baritone or bass parts go to the villains, while tenors are the young lover or the hero of the piece). So, all of the actors were already working at major deficits, both because the vocal parts weren't really in their range, and because only one of them had anything resembling vocal training, while one of them had an even greater deficit in that he additionally is working around damaged hearing. Honestly, I felt like Phantom of the Opera was better off than Sweeney Todd, wherein they cut huge chunks of songs out because they cast for looks and not voice (particularly in the case of Timothy Spall as Beadle Bamford, who's supposed to be a pompous dandy tenor who spends most of his time trilling falsetto), and slowed almost all the songs down in order to make it easier on their cast.
What annoyed me most is that they felt the need to take a movie that already had feminist messages with Belle's independence and levelheadedness and the juxtaposition of what the village (aka Ganston) wants from her and what her own thoughts are... and they decided, that is too subtle, now she needs to invent the washing machine and be banned from teaching girls how to read. That isnt modern "feminism", that is just assuming that your audience is too dumb to recognize the messages of the original. The original already made its points without having to paint everthing in stark black and white. And emma watson's take just exasperates me. Belle as a more "active" character is a statement I simply dont understand, because, as you said,shes a bookworm. And her outfits in the original were already practical enough for shopping and snow fights. so whats her point? To me it kind of felt like in order to make belle "feminist", she had to adopt an ultra-practical approach to her close and a hate for her era's fashion (since she so obviously doesnt wear her era's clothes at all). And that is just... well... simplistic and such a boring stereotype. Why exactly cant Belle be independent and practical, and wear her normal blue dress in town... AND wear the bombastic golden dress to the ball? Girls can be active AND love pretty things. And there's also the issue of appropriate dress. If she is more active, fine. But a ball is a huge formal occasion, and the bombastic romantic evening in the film. Theres nothing practical about it. If I go to the theater with my boyfriend, I dont turn up in my practical hikinh pants. I will pick the nicest dress I can find, and that makes me feel badass, put on those heels I never wear, and have the best night. I will arrive by taxi anyway. You can be feminist and like heels and hiking pants. But I guess that thought is too nuanced for Disney.
Not to mention, the Beast has a temper in the original but Belle absolutely does not let it stand. In this version he straight up insults her and she doesn't get a word in. Presenting the library goes from a nice gesture because he knows she loves books to basically assigning her homework because he hates her taste in literature, and as I recall she just stands there awestruck that he is rich and educated. How is that a feminist improvement?
YES. At the time this movie came out, there was a huge push toward moving girls away from pink and frilly things since “strong” girls were supposed to eschew those things. But isn’t it just as limiting to girls to tell them they MUST like other things as it is to tell them they MUST like those things? People can be strong whether they like feminine or masculine things, yet Emma has been on an anti-feminine-things bender sending the message that strength means liking masculine things.
Airica Starwall ditto. Still wear it, until I can get a reduction. I have a pain syndrome and every bra makes me have tension in my neck that becomes a tension headache and then migraine. But they’re so ridiculously huge (specially on my frame) that I can’t go braless. A good corset supports me enough to take the pressure OFF of my shoulders and at least buy me a few hours of being out and going to a doctor’s appointment or a movie before I start having pain, vs immediate pain and maybe an hour before I’m heading into a migraine. They can be SO helpful. And if they’re HURTING, it’s from tight lacing or a corset that doesn’t fit correctly! Part of my pain thing is my brain misinterpreting discomfort for pain, so even just uncomfortable stuff is translated as pain to me. But corsets don’t have to be even uncomfortable! It’s just a matter of knowing your stuff and getting the right thing. The corset hate is so weird to me. 🤦🏻♀️
Yeah, I remember after seeing Cinderella's remake gown that I just couldn't wait to see Belle in hers...and...it....was......that? You did point out something I haven't seen a lot of, and that was they could have done amaaaaaaaaazing if they'd just stuck with Rococo and went with gold. It would have set her off from everyone else, yet still keep her in the setting. I mean...there are tons of Belle cosplayers who have done amazing gowns...and this...isn't. It's made even more tragic when you see Emma Watson in Little Women...wearing a corset and hoops for her gown and she looks freaking GORGEOUS. Such a waste.
I was against them casting Emma Watson as Belle since the beginning smh As others have said when you look at her you don't see Belle you just see Emma. Belle also always came off as an older woman maybe mid 20s because of her maturity and Emma eternally looks 18
I do think that Belle is a very feminist character and I didn't mind her being inventive and more active in the story. However, what bugs me is that the anti-corset thing seems like a really superficial way of "performing" feminism.
Belle's a romantic at heart, she likes romance and fantasy novels because she is tired of her usual boring unimaginative life given to her. She wears a simple dress at the beginning because she helps out at home and has to take care of her old father. However, I feel like if given an opportunity, she would absolutely love to dress in a lavish ball gown which she did later. Its not even a question of dignity because by the time we reach the ball dance scene, her relationship with Beast has developed so much that she is willingly staying with him. Even if Emma didn't want to wear a corset, she could have worn gloves with the dress. The dress could have tiny intricate detail on it and a lot of layers as you said. I love how she supports Feminism but performing femininity is not oppressing, some women love doing it and although Belle defies social norms, she is very feminine. It's not really sexist to want to dress up once in a while and wear "impractical" dresses. I hope she realises that because I love her work for feminism.
The costume design hit the mark with every other character except for Belle, and I highly doubt she would have decided to go completely contemporary with Belle's ballgown when it honestly would have been the most fun to give Belle a rococo styled update for the new movie. I genuinely believe Emma Watson and the director were to blame for most of what went wrong with Belle, costuming and otherwise. Emma Watson demanded so much of a say in how Belle was written, designed, and portrayed which really ended up being the biggest hinderance. I still don't understand why she felt the need to take the inventor's trait from her father but it aggravates me so much. She said she wanted to make Belle more of a feminist icon but it was really an excuse to take every interesting and likable trait from people outside the castle. Belle didn't need a feminist update because she's already considered to be a princess who was progressive and ahead of her time. I actually felt bad for Gaston when Belle turned down his proposal, which I think is everything you need to know about her performance and "take" on the character. This really ended up being a self insert fanfiction starring Emma Watson as herself, and I do not exaggerate when I say she was the worst thing to happen to Beauty and the Beast.
They made Gaston sympathetic and he was pretty polite to her and had genuine reason to be concerned about her staying single. Single women in villages were basically cast out.
I just don’t understand why Emma didn’t want to wear stays for this dress, but apparently she had no problem at all with it in Little Women? I love her but I didn’t like her Belle. The acting and autotune was awkward as well.
8:02 the ear cuff one is an eye-opener. i dont watch a lot emma watson movies but it.finally made sense to me when people comment "emma watson plays emma warson in every movie" and the quote in the end 👄*chef's kiss*👌
Nicholas Cage plays Nicholas Cage in every movie, only he leans into it and makes it humorous. Emma wants us to see her as this insightful, great actress.
I have a huge issue with the fact that Miss Watson refused to wear corset. (If you want a bit more info on this, watch Karolina Zebrowska (sorry if I'm misspelling her last name), Abby Cox, or Bernadette Banner, lol) P.S.: I'm so glad that you brought up this issue in this video, especially because I wear a corset daily, lol
I love all three of those ladies! Bernadette has so much insight to wearing corsets because of her health. And I love Abby’s video of how she wore stays for 5 years. And Karolina has a hilarious video mocking Emma for not wearing a corset.
I completely get what you're saying, and I definitely dislike corset "they were torture devices" ignorance. (also I LOVE Abby Cox, Bernadette Banner and Karolina Zebrowska!!! Do you watch SnappyDragon? Her videos are great too!) But I think it's worth mentionning that most corsets produced for films aren't nearly as good as historical corsets. The reason so many actresses talk about how uncomfortable wearing a corset was for them is because the corsets weren't designed the way they were in the past, to be comfy and support you, but are poorly designed in a hurry and the actresses don't have the time to break them in. So even if she wasn't ignorant about corsets and historical fashion in general, the corset she'd have worn for the film might still have been uncomfortable since film costume corsets are generally lousy.
The worst part is that I've seen cosplayers have make more stunning Belle gowns with a budget of a few hundred dollars (if that), and this multimillion dollar movie made... That.
Belle suffers from bad case lead character costume and it doesn't have to. Just giving her a bum roll for correct silhouette would go a long way. The ball gown looks like they had $50 and 3 days to make it. If you're short on time and chose fabric too lightweight for heavy embellishments, glitter paint is your friend. Why they didn't make it a polonaise is beyond me. Perfectly period, simple yet visually interesting and fun style without being overly trimmed and fussy. Makes sense for Belle as character and make her stand out in the same time.
You know, she was 100% correct not to wear a corset in that film and had I been the costume designer I would’ve wholeheartedly agreed and not even considered it the proper option. They should’ve put her in stays.
Stays and effigy bodices are comfortable...to me. But maybe that's because I have a bad back, and it helps my posture. Geez, the straps are even adjustable in a similar way to a modern bra.
@Jennifer Sim I agree that Emma Watson played her as a hard core feminist but that makes Belle come across as rude some of the time and ruins some really good scenes. 1) in the original movie before belle agrees to take her father’s place she asks to “come into the light” and we get the dramatic full effect of the beasts appearance. whereas in this remake Belle barely asks him to come into the light before SHOVING the candle toward his face to illuminate his features. 2) after the song “Belle” Gaston gives Belle flowers for her dinner table and ask if he can join her that evening her response is “sorry not this evening” and when he asks if she is busy, instead of lying to spare his feelings she says “no...” before walking away with a discusted look. Now I understand her saying no because everyone knows that he is the villain of the story but AT THIS POINT he’s just doing what any guy would do when asking a girl out
Completely agree, and those examples you gave bug me so much too! And it’s through the whole film. Emma tried to go for a strong/feisty character but it just comes off as bratty in my opinion.
emma watson's particular brand of feminism makes it really obvious that she never grew out of her 'not like other girls' phase, and it's so clear in her behaviour in this movie
The only thing I liked about the dress was how light and flowy the materiel for dress was (good for twirling), but apart from that, it was a major disappointment. Honestly, if I was a peasant woman living historically (regardless of time period), and was given a chance to wear clothing fit for being in the presence of royalty, I'd be going all out on the design.
I would say that one of the only benefits of Live Action over animated is the costumes. I have issues with the 2015 Cinderella but their costumes are on point. With BatB however it's clear that Belle stands out and not in a good way. Watson gives Belle this aura of pretentiousness, her costumes feel less tomboy and more hipster and her "gown" looks cheap. Another reason I heard for it's design is "practically" because these idiots rushed the climax so Belle now rushes back on horse back wearing her dress and later throws it in the mud... which is where it kinda belongs actually. (This film was just bad, the village was more cartoony than the animated one, Gaston of all people is the only likable character, and don't get me started on the Beast.)
2015 Cinderella was hilarious to me. Bellatrix as a fairy godmother? Cool...I guess. But they went too on the nose with the Slytherin references when she turned the lizards into Cinderella's footmen. The Prince and the other nobles dressed like they raided Michael Jackson's closet...or Captain Crunch, I can't tell, they dressed alike. But Cate Blanchette was a perfect Lady Tremaine I have to admit.
@@rhaenyralikesyoutube6289 I actually didn't care for the fairy godmother in that film, they traded Cinderella getting comforted with a test of character and it felt wrong. Helena played the character more ditzy when she's meant to be this grandmother figure. (It'd be like if Mrs. Potts had Chip's personality in their remake.)
@@Author.Noelle.Alexandria Seriously if they had switched Gaston and the Beast's personalities this film would've been more bearable. (And source material accurate because the original Beast was a well mannered if a little dumb gentleman.)
It's amazing how much you said the things I want thinking but couldn't express in words. And the statement about Emma Watson being Emma Watson in the movie instead of Belle is so accurate! Now I want to watch the original again (PS one of the highlights for me are the voices of Jerry Orbach and Angela Lansbury, which are obviously absent from the remake, it's like a non-Robin Williams Genie in the new Aladdin).
YES! Exactly. It would have been much better. Someone no one really knew, who could ACTUALLY SING, and wouldn't have been an ignorant, "woke", brat about proper costuming.
Just had a thought about "inventor" Belle, if they wanted to give Belle more independence why not make her the schoolmistress or a tutor, that would help get across the maturity and sophistication for the character. (The whole "woe is me I was just trying to teach a...well fairly well off girl going by the outfit how to read but this time period is sexist." is really annoying when you realize that if this film takes place during the Rococo era (1730-1759) that means it takes place around the time the original fairy tale was written (1740) by a woman for young girls. That could've been a cute tie-in)
The costumes were so spot-on that this movie is easily dated to 1740-1742, exactly. Durran did that good of a job. Then Emma ruined it. And Emma invented a washing machine that took over the entire town’s entire water supply just for herself. She gave them reason to hate her by doing just that.
@@Author.Noelle.Alexandria Emma stands out, but not in a good way. They were going for tomboy and got amateur Disneybounder instead. Another thing about the washing machine scene is A. Earlier she almost stepped on people's clean laundry during her "quirky" strut through town and B. The book she had was in English (Even the animated version had everything in French), Townspeople had plenty of reason to be mad and the flimakers went with female literacy.
I think what really sold the live action Cinderella was Lily James herself. She was such an emotive character and her pain on screen was tangible. Costuming and aesthetic wise, it was a very stylized movie, but it was also consistent throughout, and her ball gown had the appropriate level of gravitas. The signature princess dresses should be larger than life, and hers definitely was. It was absolutely stunning. Emma Watson not only fell flat as an actress, but her gown was stupidly underwhelming and utterly lacked magic. It was jarring to see it on-screen when almost every other costume was luxurious and over the top. Her dress should have been the most over-the-top garment in the entire movie. It should have stolen the whole show. She should have put Marie Antoinette to shame. But no. Because Emma Watson wanted to make a fucking unrelated point.
I really disliked what they did with Belle in the remake. I think the worst part is that, no matter how active a women was in the 18th century (the 1700's people) no proper woman would run around town with her skirt tucked into her apron string to show her pantaloons. Not even "Feminists Belle".
Literally the worst way they shot themselves in the foot with the dresses was putting them alongside actual attempts to recreate rococo fashion. The reason why Belle's dress in the animated movie can get away with being out of time is that it's the only ballgown in the whole movie (aside from just being an amazing dress design in general).
Micarah Tewers made her dream Belle dress after seeing how ugly the live action one turned out. She made it with like 30 dollars? You should check out her video, it's INCREDIBLE
Micarah Tewers is one of my favorite humans. If ever I’m feeling down I go watch one of her videos. And I’m seriously impressed she made that Belle dress for only $30, it looks so good.
Belle was my favorite princess growing up so the 2017 movie was a pretty big letdown, and thinking of what the gold dress could have been is a tad painful. Cinderella was far superior thanks to Lily James' charming portrayal and the beautiful costuming.
My grandmother sewed me a beautiful lemon yellow dress made of satin when I was younger. It has a square neckline, layered butterfly sleeves and full circle skirt. No corset, but a sturdy petticoat makes the skirt look fuller when standing. When I spin around, its weight and sheen almost resembles the OG Belle dress or the Anastasia one. I don't understand why they couldn't do something like this for the remake dress. What is the point of adding all those expensive crystals when you can't even see them while she's dancing? Edit: Grandma also bought me a cheap necklace with green and gold rose-shaped beads to match the dress. I personally think it looks better than the twig in the remake version. 😅
I admire Emma Watson for a lot of things. However, her stubborn refusal to listen to a professional costume designer who clearly knows what she’s doing is very frustrating. She doesn’t understand how historical dress worked, and she carried that ignorance into this project. Women wore stays, which were frequently formed to fit the body (not restrict it) and support the chest and back, and layers of clothing. The boning was not steel (mid-19th century), but whalebone, reeds, or even feathers, so it was quite flexible. That goes for the vast majority of women, even those who worked very hard. In fact, if anything, stays allowed women more freedom of movement and independence. Emma Watson’s attitude in this area is not progressive, it’s insulting to the women who lived through these time periods.
Anne Hathaway or Anna Kendrick would've made much better Belle(s) and they can both sing!!! Both are far more beautiful and not wooden like Emma Watson.
An actors job is to bring to life a character - their thoughts and feelings - and be true to that character’s environment, which means wearing historically appropriate clothing and/or make-up/accessories if the role calls for it. It is not your job to shoehorn in your own personal views/beliefs. She cared more about herself and her feminism than the character and so did a disservice to the role, which explains why her portrayal of Belle was subpar.
the flat yellow dress being a poor imitation of the resplendent golden gown perfectly exemplifies how the live-action remake is a cheap knockoff of the original animated film also if emma watson had as much say on the dress’s design as she reportedly did, it also exemplifies how she portrayed belle as what she thinks she, herself, is: a modern, progressive and speshul princess who gets her way when belle is a gentle, sensitive and considerate lady whereas watson is selfish, conceited and misguided in how she views feminism. and has terrible posture.
Disney is at fault for hiring someone that would rather focus on writing the character, costume design and superficial feminism than singing YES SINGING and acting.
As a feminist who also enjoys wearing corsets and being pretty and feminine, Emma Watson's behavior surrounding this movie annoyed me too. Some women actually enjoy being outwardly feminine and choose to wear makeup and corsets and pretty dresses. Because feminism is the freedom of having that choice. But we really could have made that point without the subtle sneer when you talked about feminism. Feminism has its place in society and it benefits all genders.
Even if Emma didn't want to wear a corset (I don't agree with that ill-informed decision, but hey, it's her choice), they still could have done amazing things with a hoop skirt, petticoats, padding, with well-placed embellishments. This dress was just plain. Every single supporting character in this movie was better dressed than Belle, which is just sad. I had such high hopes after the amazing gowns from the first scene, but unfortunately they chose to repurpose my mom's favourite garden tablecloth for Belle's dress.
Emma had a problem with wearing corset? Pff, Lily James in "Cinderella" had bigger problem with her beautiful dress, specially dancing in it, but she learned to. Imagine if she would complain on it too and we wouldn't get that beautiful dress...Belle dress is boring as f*ck
I also luv the concept behind the colors they picked for Cinderella's live action gown. They decided to do a switcheroo on her dress (Blue) with the fairy godmother's dress (White/Silver), as in the animated Cinderella film, her dress was silver while her godmother was clad a blue robe :D
I would not be mad if Disney made another live-action Beauty and The Beast to redeem Belle's character. Personally, I would love a different actress who focused more towards animated Belle, or even the princesses at Disneyland, who can portray good chemistry with the beast for a better love story, and (if you keep the songs) someone who can sing better, or at least better voice lessons. She wouldn't have to sing as well as animated Belle, but at least better than what they settled on. AND PLEASE a historically accurate and beautiful gown to top what they settled on. Anyone have any ideas on who could do it better? Or do it like animated Belle?
What I hate the most about emma watson's take on feminist is that she thinks that a feminist women must be this active/girlboss/no nonsense. She refuse to believe that belle's softness and kindness, and he habit of daydreaming is also a trait that a feminist women can have. I think I saw her interview somewhere, where she mocks cinderella because "wait their prince to saved them" but if we take a closer look to the stories, we can see that cinderella never wishes to meet the prince, she just wants to go to the party, the prince just happens to fall in love with her.
Belle's live-action dress was so ugly. It was super plain. She didn't look like a princess at all. So disappointing. I would have liked it to be bigger, not as much as the cinderella remake but in that general direction.
Preach. I'll die mad about the corset thing. It's not like Emma has never and will never wear a corset, either. She's done it before. Now it's for FEMINISM though I'm a feminist, too, Emma. Corsets aren't torture devices, get our cause out of your mouth as your excuse for ignorance, Emma. Also, stays are SUPER comfortable, I switch into mine when I have back pain or have to write my thesis or something
In original animation movie belle's dress was fancy and her headpiece which hold her hairs in a bun was simple but here in live action it's opposite. And I hate it
That dress was ugly. She deserved all the hate this time. There's more actresses that can play Belle much better than her. That's why you're an actress. You play a character or a role, not the other way around, that the character will adjust based on your own preference.
I thought one of the biggest insults was listening to the auto tuned songs. This movie (1991) was legitimately up for best picture and was a treat visually and aurally. In my opinion, WD moving forward with this when there were so many marks against it, shows their true goal is $$ not quality.
I’ve stated this before in other videos, but it is worth repeating, because that dress is so hideous. I have never, ever hated a dress before, let alone a Disney dress. The dress looks very cheap, as if it’s a Halloween costume off the rack.The top and the bottom do not complement each other, at all. It’s like they were pieced together from two different dresses. The top looks like a rag, with shredded detailing that is applied on. The design almost looks like armor. And the metallic thread throughout looks cheap. The sleeves are awful, and almost look ill-fitting . The skirt looks like yellow tissue paper. The embroidered detailing is nice, but who can tell. And I have never seen such square edged scalloped layers on a skirt before. The effect is not pretty. It looks so off. And the whole thing together was a giant fail. Great job Emma. And her peasant dress was lousy too. I thought the white dress with the floral appliqués was pretty at first, but the more I looked I realized, no, a dress shouldn’t be in 3D. Maybe she was trying to say too much with each look, whatever that could have been, and they had too much going on and looked like cluttered messes. I hope Emma never designs for an iconic role ever again.
I hate when people put feminism where it has nothing to do with the context. Corsets where not made to oppress women, they were used to support the skirt, to support your chest (since bras didn't exist how we know them today) and to make your posture better. Emma should have studied the history of fashion better, her "feminism" ruined a dress that could have been better than cindarella's. Belle's dress is awfully simple and plain up ugly.
No disrespect to the actress but I truly am disapointed that she treated this role like this it really wasn't professional at all she said herself that she could relate to Belle they were both born in Paris like to read... I think she got sucked in the idea of how similar they are that she wanted to make her just like she is and got lost in the process resulting by playing herself or wanting to play herself and not Belle whatever the reason was no matter how much she can relate its not HER it's Belle and its her job to be a Belle not Emma
I'm so late but I have always wondered since I saw the film why Emma's Yellow gown looked too plain especially with the era-appropriate co-stars' costumes. I'm all for artistic liberties but Watson as Belle looked plain. Imagine an artistic take on Belle's Robe a la Francais ball gown. Kirsten Dunst in Coppola's Antoinette film is proof of taking liberties on a costume that still managed to appear era-appropriate.
Honestly, you are 100% correct. Belle's dress in this film should have been more elegant, dramatic, and beautiful. I mean she is in a cursed castle after all, but she just looks like Emma Watson, which is kind of annoying.
Deborah Kerr’s “the King and I “banquet dress is closer to The original “Beauty and the Beast” dress than the live action remake. I think they should have repurposed THAT dress with gold instead of the pink and Voila!
Arguing against corsets is like arguing against wearing a bra. Should it be a choice? Absolutely, should it be demonized? Absolutely not. I have a lot of back problems and I have a nice selection of corsets that really help me function when I know I'll need to be mobile for long periods.
Emma Watson not wanting to wear a corset is the same as not wanting to wear a bra. She's totally one of those "feminists" who think bras are "evil devices of men controlling women and women only wear bras to look attractive to men so bras should be burned" whereas bras are actually worn to give support to women, minimise backpain and bad posture, and prevent pain and discomfort because we have something called breasts (especially for big chested women... I'm one, and I'd be in constant pain and discomfort without bras, and I really understand the importance of corsets to women of the past.) I'm guessing Emma isn't bright enough to have realised that basic thing and I'm pretty sure she wears bras all the time herself. I hate the brand of toxic "feminism" that Emma parades around like some sort of a medal that uses misinformation and bad "advice" to use as an excuse for "fighting for women". She's no feminist, she's a stupid and vapid celebrity out of touch with reality using the name of feminism to make a personal image for herself in the media. She doesn't have the first clue about what feminism is really about. While Hermione was a know-it-all who *actually* knew it all, Emma is an idiot who thinks she knows everything. Also, wearing or not wearing a corset shouldn't be the concern for an actor in the first place, unless there's some physical or medical problem involved. The actor is there to ACT, not to use the movie as a vehicle for her own agenda. That's just incredibly unprofessional and hypocritical. If it's a period movie, YOU WEAR PERIOD PIECES, YOU DONKEY. She just used her star power and celebrity influence to use the movie as excuse (like she uses everything else) to advertise herself as some messiah of feminism. So disgusting. I can't wrap my head around why so many worship her like she's some sort of an angel sent to earth to save all women. She's not here to save anyone, she's just using the name of feminism, an actual real movement by people trying to do actual good for the world, to gain clout and fame while she can, especially since she can neither act nor sing to save her life (I wonder how long she can keep up the charade before people finally start seeing through her bs)
It's also so sad because the 2015 Cinderella gown makes for such a good interpretation of Belle's original dress, except in blue. The round skirt, the shape or the bodice and the huge bertha are all there in the original design, just sadly missing from the Emma Watson version.
Not to mention that the dress doesn’t even look that good from a contemporary standpoint. Like, what is with the layers?? They confuse me so much. I once read a comment calling them “kraft cheese slices” and I think that’s all that needs to be said lol
Excellent analysis! I refuse to watch the live-action remake (despite its $1B+ box office). Emma Watson as Belle made one critical, and unforgivable, change: she removed the "fairy tale" aspect of the story. Her influence clearly made it a feminist morality play of sorts, which was completely unnecessary.
They wanted her to stand out from the other characters, and she did, in a bad way. I think Emma Watson particularly added to its lackluster nature with her misinformation about corsetry. I think they really did a disservice to the costuming by allowing everything to look so period typical but then gave someone who hadn't put in the historical research make changes to the dress. I really liked this analysis from you, you're well spoken and the topic was interesting!
If they embraced the French style at the time in her dress, it could have looked so awesome, like how Cinderella’s dress isn’t exactly the same as the animated version but it can stand on its own and it’s sooooo gorgeous. They should have made Belle’s dress inspired by both the movie and the French era. That would’ve been so cool but…alas, they dropped the ball :/
Emma Watson was the worst pick for this movie. Forced, bad singing, no chemistry, not that beautiful where Gaston should love her... so disjointed and disappointing
In my opinion one of the Biggest issues with Emma Watson as Belle and its especially noticeable when you compare her to Emilie De Ravin portrayal of Belle in Once Upon a Time is that I found that Emma Watsons lacked Belle's compassion. Belle is a very compassionate character and Emilie De Ravin is brimming with compassion in her Portrayal. Emma Watson on the other hand i find has a slight air of Snobbery to her ,which works well for a character like Hermione who is slightly snobby but not for someone like Belle who's meant to be someone kind and compassion who see past the surface level
Cinderella did it perfect and then this movie did garbage. I remember being highly dissapointed in the movie teather after I saw her looking like that.
No, they didn’t. That rumor is based on different dresses that were made. There were more than one. The ones that look different weren’t digitally altered. They were earlier versions, and they did include different lengths.
I just realized that maybe the success of Disney movies lay in great characters and not in celebrity. Robin Williams knew this. With animation it was easier to separate the two.
It really made me laugh when Emma Watson said that they gave Belle pockets to make her more modern and independent. Little did she know that all eighteenth century women wore pockets, sometimes even aristocrats.
I know she's not supposed to have these notions, but why didn't anybody tell her? Why didn't anybody stop her, instead of giving her all that influence in the dress-making department?
Lmaoooo she should've seen the embroidered pockets...those pockets are usually separate and under the dress - and it's all historically accurate
Well apparently no one told that during this time women knowing and teaching children to read wasn't scandalous but an actual profession.
@@CoolG97 And, like, the author herself was a woman writing, for women, in the era. I still can't they completely missed that! 🤦🏻♀️
@ThePinkLady Apple I hate it not only because as others mentioned it's inaccuracy, but because they took GASTON'S line and applied it to the villagers. As a result they are more cartoony than the animated version and Gaston ends up looking well-meaning. How do you mess up that badly?
From what I remember reading, in fancy attire pocket or easily hidden in the Ruffles. And more common clothing the pocket was more of an additional pouch worn at the waist
Designing the necklace like, "Let's design something we can sell at Hot Topic for $24"
Part of me really believes Disney supported the casual design because it would be easier to sell merchandise, though I have nothing to back that up with.
$22.99.
@@AnywayJenniferSim I'd go so far to say the dress is probably designed how it is so it's easier to make halloween costumes. It's way easier to replicate a yellow fit-and-flare dress with a tiered chiffon skirt and some lil bullshit gold decals than then gold silk/brocade Rococco gown it could have been.
The art shouldn't come first and it used to be even kids' movies had that angle instead of insulting their audience.
Nooo, keep that shit out 😔
Rip old hot topic
And now it's in the clearance bin at Big Lot's or something, I bet.
Couldn't they at least use shiny satin?
They should have! And the tragedy is if you look at the early promotional images the fabric was sparkly. Why did they make it boring?
The perfect fabric for the 1991 dress would be gold organza.
I expected a shiny satin with some chiffon sleeves and the gathered fabric that hangs in the front should be chiffon
I was more on a velvety train of thought, or a rich/thick silk
Taffeta, which is also shiny, was very popular during the Rococo period. So was Silk. they could have gone with either of those and made a very beautiful rich gown with all the ribbons and bows.
What frustrates me the most about Emma Watson's reinterpretation of Belle is that the original Belle, to me, was already a pretty feminist character. She's intelligent, she's brave, she speaks her mind even when it makes her unpopular, she refuses to abandon her dreams because of social pressure, she doesn't put up with any of Gaston's chauvanistic bullshit, she stands up to the Beast when he gets angry with her. Somehow that's not enough. Why? Because as well as being strong-willed and smart she's also sensitive and kind? Because she falls in love? Because she cries? Because she doesn't physically fight? Being a feminist character isn't just about fighting or not wearing corsets or being a Girlboss(tm). It's about well-written women with agency and personality.
Emma Watson is clearly very radical to see it.
I thought that Emma Watson was a drab Belle. Just bland. Bad casting.
Emma watson wanted Belle to be an extreme feminist 😂 like crazy level extreme.
This
This one isn't Beauty and the Beast, it's Emma Watson and the Beast...
💯% accurate!
No Beast in it at all. And no Prince for that matter.
Maybe "Emma Watson and the Petulant Brat."
harry potter's friend and the side character
It wasn’t even the beast. It was an insensitive jerk who never showed regret for his actions, never apologized. He didn’t change. He judged Belle for what she liked, didn’t show any emotion. It was a mockery of our lovable, insecure, shy, kind, willing to change, lonely beast.
@@trinitysuarez8596 "Emma Watson and the Arrogant, Judgemental Jerk" ?
I really dislike Emma Watson's complete ignorance when it comes to corsets/stays in historical fashion. They weren't there to oppress and make the waist tiny. They were SUPPORTING your back because of all the heavy layers of clothing (the women of that time must've had the best postures ever!) as well as creating a smooth line and shape for the gowns that went over it. And that's exactly what bothered me for the whole movie. All the wrinkles and uneven lines in her clothing (not just the ball gown) which really took you out of the scene sometimes. Urgh. I'm gonna stop ranting now.
Anyway you should really watch the French/German production of "Beauty and the Beast" with Lea Seydoux, because - my God! The costumes in this are stunning! (Kinda fantasy but stunning!)
Exactly, I cosplay as a hobby and I made a post civil war gown and just the light weight layers and hoop skirt I made are murder on my hips unless I wear one of my corsets under them to support it all and the overall silhouette is completely different it took the whole dress from homemade halloween dress to a lady of the period(silhouette wise)
@@silverfox1492
Y E S if you don't wear the right undergarments for the time, the whole outfit falls apart! You can't have a stable house without a foundation!
@ThePinkLady Apple I don't think so if it was so she would have mentioned it
Not to mention corsets where basically the bras at the time
There were many people (in continental Europe) who didn't wear stays or corsets under their dresses, namely village people. However... They still needed the support for their assets and their backs, arguably more so than their city counterparts. So they worked around it. Bodices boned just enough to provide the support needed while still keeping the mobility, unboned bodices that were form fitting but also adjustable to keep the support and the flexibility of the dress, linen wraps under your shirt keeping your ladies in place... There were ways to stay active in your dresses, look appropriate and not become the subject of the next Csangó folk song. So Watson has literally no excuse.
I hated the live-action movie so much, with the dress, the bad singing on Watson's part, the bland shoehorn feminism, it was all bad!
You hit my 3 biggest problems! So disappointing.
Don’t forget Emma Watson’s terrible wooden acting as per usual!
I agree with this, as someone who is studying to become a theatrical actress (I have currently taken many lessons on singing in different styles to accomplish this) this movie was very disappointing for me. Not only was I already against the idea of the live-action remakes when the idea first came around, but for me personally the yellow dress appears more like a dress a woman would get for prom instead of a ballgown based in the Rococo era in France.
Agreed on all points. Emma Watson was sooooo miscast here. It screwed up even what could have been salvaged of this movie.
I don't think we should blame Emma Watson for the singing tho. It was pretty frankensteined by the nature of the production and very heavily edited.
Jacqueline Durran has done phenomenal work. I really think she was being held hostage. I just can't believe she would design either the ball gown or the wedding dress except under duress.
I think you’re right, I get the feeling she did not have final say in Emma’s dresses.
Emma refused to wear a corset, which a dress like that would require just to keep the structure. He reasoning was based on faulty history of the corset. Honestly, if your going to be an actress and refuse to wear certain period clothing than don't take the part! I think the best thing they could have done was chosen a different actress. Emma did not make a good Belle. She, alone, ruined the live action of Beauty and Beast.
@@sab5076 Watson clearly ruined Belle's costumes, but the movie, no.
A movie is (generally) on three (groups of) shoulders: the writer(s), the producer(s), and the director(s). Casting is done by a casting director and is approved by the producer(s). Watson should not have been casted as Belle, and that is on them. The movie fell because:
the writing was terrible- fault of the writer(s) and producer(s),
the casting was inconsistent- fault of the producer(s) and casting director(s),
the takes were bad- fault of the writer(s) and director(s)...
Watson ruined four costumes, and that's embarrassing. But dozens of people were working "behind the scenes" to ruin the movie.
All the other costumes in the movie, which are beautiful and interesting, kind of proves she had limited power over Belle's costumes...
@@sab5076 yep. Corsets (especially modern corsets, commonly used in certain styles of wedding dresses many kinds of ballgowns) don't have to be uncomfortable and are an important part of many minds of modern (and most definitely historical!) formal wear for women. A fuller bottom would have made the lack of corset less obvious as well....
Acting means becoming a character different from yourself. Emma Watson doesn't want to become a character, she wants the character to become her
She's full of herself
Honestly, it’s Disney’s fault for not dropping Emma Watson after she insinuated herself so forcefully into the movie that she demanded her wardrobe to be changed and refusing to wear Stays and appropriate hairstyles. I guess she was really popular at that time and as Belle is somewhat of the feminist poster child of Disney princesses, Disney thought Emma might be perfect for this role. I’m angry for the costume designer, who went all out in trying to make the costumes of the side characters somewhat era fitting and oftentimes drop dead gorgeous, and then probably had to throw all their ideas for Belle’s outfits away because Emma Watson is a Primadonna. It’s just unprofessional. Acting is a job and shouldn’t be used as a platform to send out your own personal messages, unless it’s what the director intended.
I could not have said it better myself. 100% accurate!
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
@ThePinkLady Apple Nah they could, there's far more beautiful and talented actresses out there. I can think of a few that would fit the role of Belle wonderfully.
@@RedRoseSeptember22 saorise could be a good fit, the dreamy look could fit.
Yep. There’s a difference between “I refuse to tightlace bc it’s damaging to the body and I refuse to injury myself for vanity in that way and I refuse as a role model to young women to promote damaging body ideals” and “I refuse to wear a historically accurate, useful, basically required item of clothing for the costume as the LEAD in the MOVIE bc it doesn’t mesh with my ideals because I’m mis-informed and can’t spend 10 minutes using the entirety of human knowledge I can access from my phone to fact check my opinions”.
I’m not a fan of Emma Watson’s acting so I watched the French Beauty and the Beast made in 2014. They had amazing costumes.
Can confirm, they are beyond To Die For.
HIGHLY recommended
Yes! I don't even enjoy the French language (no offense to French folks, I know English, especially American English, must sound ugly to others... heck, I don't find American English pretty sounding... I just don't enjoy how French sounds either.)
Anyway, the French Beauty and the Beast (both the one 2014 one AND the 1940's one) are beautiful!
It was definitely more fairy tale-like. Disney should have gone with that look.
yes!! i watched it with my dad with subtitles and it was amazing
The 2014 movie was so visually beautiful, so it was such a disappointment that the two main characters had no romance.
The love story is treated almost more like a battle between two strong personalities; something that would've worked had there been romance that would've convincingly give the impression that there's love developing between them.
It's just nothing but sexual tension, from which we're given a few breathtakingly sensual scenes (That kiss on the ice, amiright?). When the Beast is given more tender and romantic scenes with his former wife, who he unintentionally murdered and thus got cursed for (I hate that movie plot point so much), than with Belle, then you know something's gone seriously wrong.
The lack of proper romance just gives the film a pervasive sense of masculine entitlement, with it's toxic romance tropes, but it’s nice to imagine them fitting somewhere into a better story.
I’m a little upset that Emma didn’t wear a corset because of some feminist thing...but corsets were literally used to support the dress, not to make the waist tiny.
Feminists get offended for every little thing, next thing you know they’re gonna start a boycott for bras
@@cinnaqwene9488 I think they already have
@@cinnaqwene9488 the irony is that the "oppressive" corset myths were started by anti feminist groups during the suffragette movement
@@cinnaqwene9488 lol bras were boycotted in the late 60’s. The beauty of today you have a choice to wear a bra or not no one cares anymore so Emma going braless in a period film just makes her boobs look out of place instead is a statement.
Also ironic that Watson wanted the dress to be light but refused to wear the support for the heavier dress that would've looked better
It’s been 4 years and I’m still mad that Emma Watson refused to wear a corset because it’s “restrictive”. Nooooooo!!!!! She would have probably worn stays and they are just the 18th century of a sports bra.
100000% agree
As a French. Its kinda obvious why she refused wearing a corset. In fact, its really uncomfortable. If you tight it more.
You're gonna suffocate
@@christophermichaelclarence6003 but I did hear that it helps your back because of all the layers on the dress. Is that right??
@@blinkity2758 Corests are actually not uncomfortable or harmful at all unless they've been tight laced. Working women in history wore stays and corsets as part of their standard undergarments. A good example from the Victorian era is the Pretty Housemaid corset, which we have extant examples of. The person above is ignorant as to what they're saying.
@@somedragonbastard you can tell the person above is a guy but thankyou for replying!
@Christophe Michael Clarence
Everything about your comment is sadly plain wrong.
Firstly, Emma Watson wouldn’t have worn a corset but stays, a pre-corset undergarment that wouldn’t even had been possible to lace tightly, because it had no boning and no metal hooks.
Secondly, tight lacing in general was NOT the normal way to wear a corset at any point in history, not even by the rich woman. Corsets were just used for breast support and, most importantly, to shift the weight of the clothing onto the corset instead of the body. Men wore corsets too for back support.
The idea that corsets were torture devices for women was actually proclaimed by men who wanted to ridicule the clothing industry, because that was the only industry run by woman at the time.
It was an anti-suffragette propaganda move that somehow the society of today has eaten up.
Woman were working in corsets, doing sports in corsets and just... living in corsets without having major health issues most of the time.
The only reason why actresses often proclaim corsets to be uncomfortable is because theirs often doesn’t fit properly, is put on the wrong way and because they often don’t wear anything underneath. It’s ridiculous, no historical woman would ever wear them that way.
Hollywood just wants to push the narrative that corsets are bad and the historical fashion community is getting tired.
The biggest problem with the movie: Emma Watson.
Exactly my thoughts👍
You gonna cause a riot with potter heads buts yeah it’s true She just didn’t fit she wasn’t belle
She was great at acting but it was misinformed feminism since corset hate came from the patriarchy to undermine mostly female run fashion businesses
@@nightowl6349 don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of Emma watson, but I don't identify as much with her Bella as with the animation
@@vanilleistee4763 I support feminism a lot, but she shouldn't use that as an excuse to change the film with so many ideas
I do like her peasant dress in this film, even accounting for the fact that it doesn't fit in with most of the other costumes - her little jacket she wears with it is definitely historically inspired and I just think it looks cute - but I just can't stand that ball gown. It's not even historically inspired, it's not a pretty design even for a modern dress (which i at least think the wedding dress is, even though i hate it lmao), and that color yellow is too cool and pastel-y on Emma Watson, making her look pink and splotchy in it. When the film was coming out someone criticized the way the glitter trim on the gown was glued on in stripes and you could see that the fabric wasn't the right kind of fabric for glue - it was too lightweight and it was puckering. From that they came to the conclusion that this dress was probably in redesign for a while and they ended up rushing it to production, which I completely agree with. From the way Durran emphasized in her interviews how much control Watson had I think she might have been trying to signal that Watson should take the heat for it, and not herself, and it makes me wonder if there was some back and forth over how the dress should look before they rushed an ugly and cheaply-made dress into production, because otherwise it makes zero sense that the hem would have glitter glued on it.
It bothers me that Watson insisted on wearing a dress she could ride a horse in. In the animated film, when Belle runs out of the castle after the ball, she's changed her dress. WHY. Would you need a ballgown. You could ride a horse in. They're made to dance! Not to ride horses in! JUST CHANGE BACK INTO ANOTHER OUTFIT. It doesn't make any sense - from a story perspective, Belle's not like, going to that ball they have planned thinking she's going to ride a horse afterward??? Emma Watson gets more done up for premiers than she did as Belle in that ballgown... it's just an atrocity.
I feel like I could have written this, you’re absolutely right.
I liked her little jacket in the village! I’ve gotten the impression too that Durran is passing blame to Emma lol because she knows she could have done better on her own. And it’s seriously stupid how they designed the dress specifically to be able to ride a horse in, for all the reasons you said!
@@AnywayJenniferSim It seriously does not look like a Durran design at all! I do think the peasant costumes look like her style but the ballgown doesn't look like any single outfit in either Durran's oeuvre or the rest of the film specifically. One thing i love about Jacqueline Durran in particular is her feel for mixing textures and always picking superb colors for her actors and actresses, and the fact that the dress is, as you say, so bland and one-toned and of only one texture, as well as a color that isn't flattering on Watson, makes me feel like she didn't have a lot of input on this dress.
Belle riding the horse in the ballgown feels like a consequence of them rushing to the climax. In the animated version Belle had to leave to take care of her father because he was sick, as it winter she needed warmer clothes for the journey back. The Live Action film rushed it so now Belle has to save her father from being committed, so no time to change. (and apparently only the castle is experiencing winter, which throws the timeline into a loop.)
Now the question is did they do this because they thought it was more dramatic or because Watson wanted to ride the horse wearing a gown? Either way is ridiculous.
@@CoolG97 I'd forgotten about the change to why she has to save her dad, that's true. Though I think "he's sick, he may be dying" made it equally imperative that animated Belle get to her father in a hurry? (I do remember, also, that when the film came out people pointed out that Belle doesn't, like, use the magic travel book to get back to her father in this version and that that actually feels like a plot hole in this case particularly - why doesn't she have time to change if she has that means of travel...)
The timeline changes - trying to stretch out the amount of time Belle appears to spend in the castle - pervade the script so i would genuinely be willing to believe that wasn't as petty as Watson wanting to wear the gown on the horse, but she took at least a couple of potshots as the costuming in the Cinderella remake (for which Watson was offered the role but turned it down because she thought it was regressive; as i understand it being able to change Belle's characterization to suit her ideas was a condition of her taking the role in the first place) so I genuinely would not be surprised - Ella wears a dress that's obviously worn with a corset or shapewear and ballet flats (another fashion item Watson was snarky about) to ride a horse in that film.
@@rosereddened Oh I didn't mean to say Belle wasn't in a hurry in the animated one, she was but needed to change in order to safely travel in winter. (And yes they did introduce the magic book, but it mostly serve to show Belle's mom dying, because the film makers clearly don't trust the audience and have to explain everything so they replace "plot holes" with plot canyons) For whatever reason the live action film had it so the castle was in permanent winter, that's what I meant about the timeline being mess with because the original portrayed the passing of time with the seasons, so Belle could've spent LESS time at the castle than in the animated version for all we know.
Now that I think of it Watson Belle travel from the castle to the village in the same amount of time it took for the villagers to arrest her father and almost throw him into the wagon...what are they feeding these horses that makes them travel great distances in the time it takes to walk a man 20 ft? (Heck her father should've been in the wagon before she'd reach the stables)
Time and space are broken. (I heard about the Watson Cinderella story, the controversy surrounding the waist on James's Cinderella is probably the reason Watson was allowed to object to wearing a corset and have design control.)
Edit-I check the scene again Animated Belle saw her father lost in the woods in the dead of winter, yeah she had change before leaving or they both would've been in trouble.
Why did they even hire a costume designer? They could have sat Emma down and made her browse through WISH and she could have selected a costume for the ball.
Yup. 10000% surprised me how horrible the dress was, LITEREALLY THE BACKROUND CHARACTER WAS BETTER DRESSES
It's like she just decided to wear her undergarments and leave the dress behind.
Did they have pick Emma Watson as belle?...
They should have went with someone else like Daisy Ridley who can actually sing and was pretty popular at the time thanks to Star Wars.
They probably picked her becasue the casting directors only knew Belle as being a bookworm and Emma Watson is known for portraying another famous bookworm. This is negating that even though Belle and Hermione have similarities, they are still two completely different characters.
Terrible casting. Anna Kendrick would have fit the bill heaps better. It's fine to portray one's own type of feminism - but this is a movie remake of a character that is loved for its own sake. Love the original - this one I could barely watch to the end. No inclination to watch any futute remakes. And Belle's dress being a showstopper was a must requirement 😑 (typos edited 😁)
@@canadianbeautygeek Or Emilia CLark even, she looks a bit like Belle as well as Daisy.
Her fanbase... Having her portray another childhood classic, something that most of her fanbase grew up with. But to me she put too much of her opinion into the movie, something that the storie didnt really need
Can't believe I spent my money on watching Emma Watson and the Beast.
🤣🤣🤣
Lol
Emma's dress (not Belle's dress) is really an insult to historical costuming, Belle's feminine qualities, and the romanticism of the rococo period.
the beast is royalty and would dress in the best, but the dress looks like the fabric was purchased in a bargain bin and sewn by a home economics student.
Even cheap Disney princess Belle Halloween costumes looked more like Belle's dress than the remake one did. Like how do you screw it up that bad?!
I feel u. I've hated this dress the day I saw it moving around in the film. The dress was one of the main parts of the film I was looking forward to n it was a total failure. The whole movie was, really. I honestly believe that they had cast the wrong actress for belle, Emma Watson doesn't seem to have the range required for this role. She cant sing nor act at the level that was expected for Belle. Emmy Rossum is more suited to the role as she had a similar role in phantom of the Opera n pulled it off beautifully. Heres an excerpt from a ranking list I made a while ago on my favorite Disney Princess Dresses, enjoy; A grand entrance for a grand dress, we were in awe as soon as Belle stepped out onto the grand staircase to greet the Beast in this luscious, golden number. Glowing magnificently against the beauty's chocolatey tresses and rosy complexion, this deliciously ostentatious gown hangs delicately off the shoulders with profound textures and accents, twisting and turning like fine butter that melts into the soul with every graceful whim of movement. It is always a shame whenever this gown is portrayed in unflattering shades of lame yellows instead of gorgeous tones of warm golds which is why the Emma Watson Belle dress was such a disappointment. Yes, all that is gold is not always glittering but in regards to the original animated version, it is both. +_0
Beautiful! Thank you for sharing!
I agree, Emmy Rossum would have done a much better job than Watson.
While Emmy would have done better (such a low bar), she didn’t do well in PotO. No one did. They had to change the melody since Emmy couldn’t sing the range needed, and Gerard was just physically painful to listen to.
@@Author.Noelle.Alexandria To be fair, Webber literally wrote those roles and their intended vocal ranges for the original cast. Ain't nobody hitting _that_ soprano like Sarah Brightman, and Michael Crawford is a _tenor,_ while Gerard Butler is a baritone, and a deep one at that, verging into the sort of bass-baritone you'd need more for a role like Sweeney Todd. Plus, he has diminished hearing and permanent tinnitus in one ear, which probably made for an even harder time. The only one of the cast that had any training as a singer was Patrick Wilson, who played Raoul, and he suffers for the fact that he's more a tenor, and the part of Raoul was originally written for a baritone, in a weird sort of role-reversal (usually, in musical theatre, the baritone or bass parts go to the villains, while tenors are the young lover or the hero of the piece). So, all of the actors were already working at major deficits, both because the vocal parts weren't really in their range, and because only one of them had anything resembling vocal training, while one of them had an even greater deficit in that he additionally is working around damaged hearing.
Honestly, I felt like Phantom of the Opera was better off than Sweeney Todd, wherein they cut huge chunks of songs out because they cast for looks and not voice (particularly in the case of Timothy Spall as Beadle Bamford, who's supposed to be a pompous dandy tenor who spends most of his time trilling falsetto), and slowed almost all the songs down in order to make it easier on their cast.
What annoyed me most is that they felt the need to take a movie that already had feminist messages with Belle's independence and levelheadedness and the juxtaposition of what the village (aka Ganston) wants from her and what her own thoughts are... and they decided, that is too subtle, now she needs to invent the washing machine and be banned from teaching girls how to read. That isnt modern "feminism", that is just assuming that your audience is too dumb to recognize the messages of the original. The original already made its points without having to paint everthing in stark black and white. And emma watson's take just exasperates me.
Belle as a more "active" character is a statement I simply dont understand, because, as you said,shes a bookworm. And her outfits in the original were already practical enough for shopping and snow fights. so whats her point? To me it kind of felt like in order to make belle "feminist", she had to adopt an ultra-practical approach to her close and a hate for her era's fashion (since she so obviously doesnt wear her era's clothes at all). And that is just... well... simplistic and such a boring stereotype. Why exactly cant Belle be independent and practical, and wear her normal blue dress in town... AND wear the bombastic golden dress to the ball? Girls can be active AND love pretty things. And there's also the issue of appropriate dress. If she is more active, fine. But a ball is a huge formal occasion, and the bombastic romantic evening in the film. Theres nothing practical about it. If I go to the theater with my boyfriend, I dont turn up in my practical hikinh pants. I will pick the nicest dress I can find, and that makes me feel badass, put on those heels I never wear, and have the best night. I will arrive by taxi anyway. You can be feminist and like heels and hiking pants. But I guess that thought is too nuanced for Disney.
A lot of modern "feminists" don't really understand what feminism is. Watson included.
Not to mention, the Beast has a temper in the original but Belle absolutely does not let it stand. In this version he straight up insults her and she doesn't get a word in. Presenting the library goes from a nice gesture because he knows she loves books to basically assigning her homework because he hates her taste in literature, and as I recall she just stands there awestruck that he is rich and educated. How is that a feminist improvement?
YES. At the time this movie came out, there was a huge push toward moving girls away from pink and frilly things since “strong” girls were supposed to eschew those things. But isn’t it just as limiting to girls to tell them they MUST like other things as it is to tell them they MUST like those things? People can be strong whether they like feminine or masculine things, yet Emma has been on an anti-feminine-things bender sending the message that strength means liking masculine things.
@@isobelduncan Agree
Corset misconceptions are the bane of my existence
same
Mine too. People will cherry pick and blatantly ignore evidence because they're so stuck in their ways, like the people they claim to be against.
I know. I had to wear a corset like brace for medical reasons in the past and kinda miss it for the support it gave. Wasn't uncomfortable at all
Airica Starwall ditto. Still wear it, until I can get a reduction. I have a pain syndrome and every bra makes me have tension in my neck that becomes a tension headache and then migraine. But they’re so ridiculously huge (specially on my frame) that I can’t go braless. A good corset supports me enough to take the pressure OFF of my shoulders and at least buy me a few hours of being out and going to a doctor’s appointment or a movie before I start having pain, vs immediate pain and maybe an hour before I’m heading into a migraine.
They can be SO helpful. And if they’re HURTING, it’s from tight lacing or a corset that doesn’t fit correctly! Part of my pain thing is my brain misinterpreting discomfort for pain, so even just uncomfortable stuff is translated as pain to me. But corsets don’t have to be even uncomfortable! It’s just a matter of knowing your stuff and getting the right thing. The corset hate is so weird to me. 🤦🏻♀️
Yeah, I remember after seeing Cinderella's remake gown that I just couldn't wait to see Belle in hers...and...it....was......that?
You did point out something I haven't seen a lot of, and that was they could have done amaaaaaaaaazing if they'd just stuck with Rococo and went with gold. It would have set her off from everyone else, yet still keep her in the setting.
I mean...there are tons of Belle cosplayers who have done amazing gowns...and this...isn't.
It's made even more tragic when you see Emma Watson in Little Women...wearing a corset and hoops for her gown and she looks freaking GORGEOUS.
Such a waste.
She also wore a corset in 'The perks of being a wallflower' during the 'Rocky horror picture show' scene.
@@rachelturner1318 do you know why she refused to do so for this film? If she's worn it before, then she should know what the point of a corset is.
I was against them casting Emma Watson as Belle since the beginning smh As others have said when you look at her you don't see Belle you just see Emma. Belle also always came off as an older woman maybe mid 20s because of her maturity and Emma eternally looks 18
I do think that Belle is a very feminist character and I didn't mind her being inventive and more active in the story. However, what bugs me is that the anti-corset thing seems like a really superficial way of "performing" feminism.
Belle's a romantic at heart, she likes romance and fantasy novels because she is tired of her usual boring unimaginative life given to her. She wears a simple dress at the beginning because she helps out at home and has to take care of her old father. However, I feel like if given an opportunity, she would absolutely love to dress in a lavish ball gown which she did later. Its not even a question of dignity because by the time we reach the ball dance scene, her relationship with Beast has developed so much that she is willingly staying with him.
Even if Emma didn't want to wear a corset, she could have worn gloves with the dress. The dress could have tiny intricate detail on it and a lot of layers as you said. I love how she supports Feminism but performing femininity is not oppressing, some women love doing it and although Belle defies social norms, she is very feminine. It's not really sexist to want to dress up once in a while and wear "impractical" dresses. I hope she realises that because I love her work for feminism.
The costume design hit the mark with every other character except for Belle, and I highly doubt she would have decided to go completely contemporary with Belle's ballgown when it honestly would have been the most fun to give Belle a rococo styled update for the new movie. I genuinely believe Emma Watson and the director were to blame for most of what went wrong with Belle, costuming and otherwise. Emma Watson demanded so much of a say in how Belle was written, designed, and portrayed which really ended up being the biggest hinderance. I still don't understand why she felt the need to take the inventor's trait from her father but it aggravates me so much. She said she wanted to make Belle more of a feminist icon but it was really an excuse to take every interesting and likable trait from people outside the castle. Belle didn't need a feminist update because she's already considered to be a princess who was progressive and ahead of her time. I actually felt bad for Gaston when Belle turned down his proposal, which I think is everything you need to know about her performance and "take" on the character. This really ended up being a self insert fanfiction starring Emma Watson as herself, and I do not exaggerate when I say she was the worst thing to happen to Beauty and the Beast.
Even if they wanted to make Belle modern, why didn´t they put her in a Robe a la Reigne?? It was the XVII century modern dress!!!!
They made Gaston sympathetic and he was pretty polite to her and had genuine reason to be concerned about her staying single. Single women in villages were basically cast out.
I just don’t understand why Emma didn’t want to wear stays for this dress, but apparently she had no problem at all with it in Little Women? I love her but I didn’t like her Belle. The acting and autotune was awkward as well.
i think she had no problem with it ij little women because she wasn’t the lead so nobody really had to follow her specifications lol
@@katrina9475 Emma is so full of herself
@@josephine1465 that's what i feel too
Why the hell did Emma accept the role if there was so much about it she wanted to change? Haven't seen the movie...never will.
because it was her childhood and she said that she "identifies with belle and that she is basically belle in real life"
8:02 the ear cuff one is an eye-opener. i dont watch a lot emma watson movies but it.finally made sense to me when people comment "emma watson plays emma warson in every movie" and the quote in the end 👄*chef's kiss*👌
Nicholas Cage plays Nicholas Cage in every movie, only he leans into it and makes it humorous. Emma wants us to see her as this insightful, great actress.
I have a huge issue with the fact that Miss Watson refused to wear corset. (If you want a bit more info on this, watch Karolina Zebrowska (sorry if I'm misspelling her last name), Abby Cox, or Bernadette Banner, lol)
P.S.: I'm so glad that you brought up this issue in this video, especially because I wear a corset daily, lol
I love all three of those ladies! Bernadette has so much insight to wearing corsets because of her health. And I love Abby’s video of how she wore stays for 5 years. And Karolina has a hilarious video mocking Emma for not wearing a corset.
@@AnywayJenniferSim XD, indeed
I completely get what you're saying, and I definitely dislike corset "they were torture devices" ignorance. (also I LOVE Abby Cox, Bernadette Banner and Karolina Zebrowska!!! Do you watch SnappyDragon? Her videos are great too!)
But I think it's worth mentionning that most corsets produced for films aren't nearly as good as historical corsets. The reason so many actresses talk about how uncomfortable wearing a corset was for them is because the corsets weren't designed the way they were in the past, to be comfy and support you, but are poorly designed in a hurry and the actresses don't have the time to break them in.
So even if she wasn't ignorant about corsets and historical fashion in general, the corset she'd have worn for the film might still have been uncomfortable since film costume corsets are generally lousy.
@@chronicallyonline945 A completely valid point :)
@@e.e.s.6076 Thank-you!
The worst part is that I've seen cosplayers have make more stunning Belle gowns with a budget of a few hundred dollars (if that), and this multimillion dollar movie made... That.
someone once said belles dress looks like dry lasagna noodles and now that's all i can think of when i look at belles live action dress
Belle suffers from bad case lead character costume and it doesn't have to. Just giving her a bum roll for correct silhouette would go a long way. The ball gown looks like they had $50 and 3 days to make it. If you're short on time and chose fabric too lightweight for heavy embellishments, glitter paint is your friend. Why they didn't make it a polonaise is beyond me. Perfectly period, simple yet visually interesting and fun style without being overly trimmed and fussy. Makes sense for Belle as character and make her stand out in the same time.
You know, she was 100% correct not to wear a corset in that film and had I been the costume designer I would’ve wholeheartedly agreed and not even considered it the proper option.
They should’ve put her in stays.
Bernadette Banner, is that you?
omg i was abt to be a bit triggered and then i finished reading 😂
@@tgrsparrow 🤣🤣🤣
They had us in the first half not gonna lie 😂
Stays and effigy bodices are comfortable...to me. But maybe that's because I have a bad back, and it helps my posture. Geez, the straps are even adjustable in a similar way to a modern bra.
@Jennifer Sim I agree that Emma Watson played her as a hard core feminist but that makes Belle come across as rude some of the time and ruins some really good scenes. 1) in the original movie before belle agrees to take her father’s place she asks to “come into the light” and we get the dramatic full effect of the beasts appearance. whereas in this remake Belle barely asks him to come into the light before SHOVING the candle toward his face to illuminate his features. 2) after the song “Belle” Gaston gives Belle flowers for her dinner table and ask if he can join her that evening her response is “sorry not this evening” and when he asks if she is busy, instead of lying to spare his feelings she says “no...” before walking away with a discusted look. Now I understand her saying no because everyone knows that he is the villain of the story but AT THIS POINT he’s just doing what any guy would do when asking a girl out
Completely agree, and those examples you gave bug me so much too! And it’s through the whole film. Emma tried to go for a strong/feisty character but it just comes off as bratty in my opinion.
“If your corset is uncomfortable you’re doing it wrong.” The best quote on corsetry ever!
Emma comes off as such an angry person. It's like she never stopped being hermione.
I know right, i love her somehow that she pisses me off so much hahaha
emma watson's particular brand of feminism makes it really obvious that she never grew out of her 'not like other girls' phase, and it's so clear in her behaviour in this movie
The only thing I liked about the dress was how light and flowy the materiel for dress was (good for twirling), but apart from that, it was a major disappointment.
Honestly, if I was a peasant woman living historically (regardless of time period), and was given a chance to wear clothing fit for being in the presence of royalty, I'd be going all out on the design.
I would say that one of the only benefits of Live Action over animated is the costumes. I have issues with the 2015 Cinderella but their costumes are on point. With BatB however it's clear that Belle stands out and not in a good way. Watson gives Belle this aura of pretentiousness, her costumes feel less tomboy and more hipster and her "gown" looks cheap. Another reason I heard for it's design is "practically" because these idiots rushed the climax so Belle now rushes back on horse back wearing her dress and later throws it in the mud... which is where it kinda belongs actually.
(This film was just bad, the village was more cartoony than the animated one, Gaston of all people is the only likable character, and don't get me started on the Beast.)
2015 Cinderella was hilarious to me. Bellatrix as a fairy godmother? Cool...I guess. But they went too on the nose with the Slytherin references when she turned the lizards into Cinderella's footmen. The Prince and the other nobles dressed like they raided Michael Jackson's closet...or Captain Crunch, I can't tell, they dressed alike. But Cate Blanchette was a perfect Lady Tremaine I have to admit.
@@rhaenyralikesyoutube6289 I actually didn't care for the fairy godmother in that film, they traded Cinderella getting comforted with a test of character and it felt wrong. Helena played the character more ditzy when she's meant to be this grandmother figure. (It'd be like if Mrs. Potts had Chip's personality in their remake.)
You know you done fucked up when the most sympathetic character ends up being the one who we’re supposed to believe is the villain.
@@Author.Noelle.Alexandria Seriously if they had switched Gaston and the Beast's personalities this film would've been more bearable. (And source material accurate because the original Beast was a well mannered if a little dumb gentleman.)
It's amazing how much you said the things I want thinking but couldn't express in words. And the statement about Emma Watson being Emma Watson in the movie instead of Belle is so accurate! Now I want to watch the original again (PS one of the highlights for me are the voices of Jerry Orbach and Angela Lansbury, which are obviously absent from the remake, it's like a non-Robin Williams Genie in the new Aladdin).
Agreed. Not costume related, but I personally wish they had cast an unknown as Belle...
YES! Exactly. It would have been much better. Someone no one really knew, who could ACTUALLY SING, and wouldn't have been an ignorant, "woke", brat about proper costuming.
Her influence on the wardrobe is really full of misguided feminism it's like c'mon
Just had a thought about "inventor" Belle, if they wanted to give Belle more independence why not make her the schoolmistress or a tutor, that would help get across the maturity and sophistication for the character. (The whole "woe is me I was just trying to teach a...well fairly well off girl going by the outfit how to read but this time period is sexist." is really annoying when you realize that if this film takes place during the Rococo era (1730-1759) that means it takes place around the time the original fairy tale was written (1740) by a woman for young girls. That could've been a cute tie-in)
The costumes were so spot-on that this movie is easily dated to 1740-1742, exactly. Durran did that good of a job. Then Emma ruined it.
And Emma invented a washing machine that took over the entire town’s entire water supply just for herself. She gave them reason to hate her by doing just that.
@@Author.Noelle.Alexandria
Emma stands out, but not in a good way. They were going for tomboy and got amateur Disneybounder instead.
Another thing about the washing machine scene is A. Earlier she almost stepped on people's clean laundry during her "quirky" strut through town and B. The book she had was in English (Even the animated version had everything in French), Townspeople had plenty of reason to be mad and the flimakers went with female literacy.
Yea Emma was terrible choice,but Disney wanted Emma for her fans and popularity, sad that for money ruin dress and movie
The Cinderella dress compared to Bell’s dress...is....
Oh dear...
I think what really sold the live action Cinderella was Lily James herself. She was such an emotive character and her pain on screen was tangible. Costuming and aesthetic wise, it was a very stylized movie, but it was also consistent throughout, and her ball gown had the appropriate level of gravitas. The signature princess dresses should be larger than life, and hers definitely was. It was absolutely stunning.
Emma Watson not only fell flat as an actress, but her gown was stupidly underwhelming and utterly lacked magic. It was jarring to see it on-screen when almost every other costume was luxurious and over the top. Her dress should have been the most over-the-top garment in the entire movie. It should have stolen the whole show. She should have put Marie Antoinette to shame. But no. Because Emma Watson wanted to make a fucking unrelated point.
I really disliked what they did with Belle in the remake. I think the worst part is that, no matter how active a women was in the 18th century (the 1700's people) no proper woman would run around town with her skirt tucked into her apron string to show her pantaloons. Not even "Feminists Belle".
Literally the worst way they shot themselves in the foot with the dresses was putting them alongside actual attempts to recreate rococo fashion. The reason why Belle's dress in the animated movie can get away with being out of time is that it's the only ballgown in the whole movie (aside from just being an amazing dress design in general).
Micarah Tewers made her dream Belle dress after seeing how ugly the live action one turned out. She made it with like 30 dollars? You should check out her video, it's INCREDIBLE
Micarah Tewers is one of my favorite humans. If ever I’m feeling down I go watch one of her videos. And I’m seriously impressed she made that Belle dress for only $30, it looks so good.
Belle was my favorite princess growing up so the 2017 movie was a pretty big letdown, and thinking of what the gold dress could have been is a tad painful. Cinderella was far superior thanks to Lily James' charming portrayal and the beautiful costuming.
My grandmother sewed me a beautiful lemon yellow dress made of satin when I was younger. It has a square neckline, layered butterfly sleeves and full circle skirt. No corset, but a sturdy petticoat makes the skirt look fuller when standing. When I spin around, its weight and sheen almost resembles the OG Belle dress or the Anastasia one.
I don't understand why they couldn't do something like this for the remake dress. What is the point of adding all those expensive crystals when you can't even see them while she's dancing?
Edit: Grandma also bought me a cheap necklace with green and gold rose-shaped beads to match the dress. I personally think it looks better than the twig in the remake version. 😅
I admire Emma Watson for a lot of things. However, her stubborn refusal to listen to a professional costume designer who clearly knows what she’s doing is very frustrating. She doesn’t understand how historical dress worked, and she carried that ignorance into this project. Women wore stays, which were frequently formed to fit the body (not restrict it) and support the chest and back, and layers of clothing. The boning was not steel (mid-19th century), but whalebone, reeds, or even feathers, so it was quite flexible. That goes for the vast majority of women, even those who worked very hard. In fact, if anything, stays allowed women more freedom of movement and independence. Emma Watson’s attitude in this area is not progressive, it’s insulting to the women who lived through these time periods.
Anne Hathaway or Anna Kendrick would've made much better Belle(s) and they can both sing!!! Both are far more beautiful and not wooden like Emma Watson.
Anna Kendrick!
@@auntiezann5146 yes that is what I thought!!!! 😱
An actors job is to bring to life a character - their thoughts and feelings - and be true to that character’s environment, which means wearing historically appropriate clothing and/or make-up/accessories if the role calls for it. It is not your job to shoehorn in your own personal views/beliefs. She cared more about herself and her feminism than the character and so did a disservice to the role, which explains why her portrayal of Belle was subpar.
the flat yellow dress being a poor imitation of the resplendent golden gown perfectly exemplifies how the live-action remake is a cheap knockoff of the original animated film
also if emma watson had as much say on the dress’s design as she reportedly did, it also exemplifies how she portrayed belle as what she thinks she, herself, is: a modern, progressive and speshul princess who gets her way when belle is a gentle, sensitive and considerate lady whereas watson is selfish, conceited and misguided in how she views feminism. and has terrible posture.
I feel like there’s a “this Belle is the real Gaston” joke to be made here but sadly I can’t think of any good ones.
Disney is at fault for hiring someone that would rather focus on writing the character, costume design and superficial feminism than singing YES SINGING and acting.
As a feminist who also enjoys wearing corsets and being pretty and feminine, Emma Watson's behavior surrounding this movie annoyed me too. Some women actually enjoy being outwardly feminine and choose to wear makeup and corsets and pretty dresses. Because feminism is the freedom of having that choice.
But we really could have made that point without the subtle sneer when you talked about feminism. Feminism has its place in society and it benefits all genders.
I completely agree with you. Belle is my favorite Disney princess and I can't stand what Emma Watson did to the character and the wardrobe.
This is what I imagined Belle's dress to look like ua-cam.com/video/T9xsgD7V1EY/v-deo.html
Even if Emma didn't want to wear a corset (I don't agree with that ill-informed decision, but hey, it's her choice), they still could have done amazing things with a hoop skirt, petticoats, padding, with well-placed embellishments. This dress was just plain.
Every single supporting character in this movie was better dressed than Belle, which is just sad. I had such high hopes after the amazing gowns from the first scene, but unfortunately they chose to repurpose my mom's favourite garden tablecloth for Belle's dress.
Emma had a problem with wearing corset? Pff, Lily James in "Cinderella" had bigger problem with her beautiful dress, specially dancing in it, but she learned to. Imagine if she would complain on it too and we wouldn't get that beautiful dress...Belle dress is boring as f*ck
I also luv the concept behind the colors they picked for Cinderella's live action gown. They decided to do a switcheroo on her dress (Blue) with the fairy godmother's dress (White/Silver), as in the animated Cinderella film, her dress was silver while her godmother was clad a blue robe :D
I would not be mad if Disney made another live-action Beauty and The Beast to redeem Belle's character. Personally, I would love a different actress who focused more towards animated Belle, or even the princesses at Disneyland, who can portray good chemistry with the beast for a better love story, and (if you keep the songs) someone who can sing better, or at least better voice lessons. She wouldn't have to sing as well as animated Belle, but at least better than what they settled on. AND PLEASE a historically accurate and beautiful gown to top what they settled on.
Anyone have any ideas on who could do it better? Or do it like animated Belle?
What I hate the most about emma watson's take on feminist is that she thinks that a feminist women must be this active/girlboss/no nonsense. She refuse to believe that belle's softness and kindness, and he habit of daydreaming is also a trait that a feminist women can have.
I think I saw her interview somewhere, where she mocks cinderella because "wait their prince to saved them" but if we take a closer look to the stories, we can see that cinderella never wishes to meet the prince, she just wants to go to the party, the prince just happens to fall in love with her.
Belle's live-action dress was so ugly. It was super plain. She didn't look like a princess at all. So disappointing. I would have liked it to be bigger, not as much as the cinderella remake but in that general direction.
Preach. I'll die mad about the corset thing. It's not like Emma has never and will never wear a corset, either. She's done it before. Now it's for FEMINISM though
I'm a feminist, too, Emma. Corsets aren't torture devices, get our cause out of your mouth as your excuse for ignorance, Emma.
Also, stays are SUPER comfortable, I switch into mine when I have back pain or have to write my thesis or something
In original animation movie belle's dress was fancy and her headpiece which hold her hairs in a bun was simple but here in live action it's opposite. And I hate it
That dress was ugly. She deserved all the hate this time. There's more actresses that can play Belle much better than her. That's why you're an actress. You play a character or a role, not the other way around, that the character will adjust based on your own preference.
I thought one of the biggest insults was listening to the auto tuned songs. This movie (1991) was legitimately up for best picture and was a treat visually and aurally. In my opinion, WD moving forward with this when there were so many marks against it, shows their true goal is $$ not quality.
The dress is something you would wear to a casual party/prom, not on a r o y a l b a l l
The French production of the stage musical did a wonderful job of recreating the gold dress in an 18th century style in my opinion. ❤
The yellow dress is even worse in person, I saw it in an exhibit, the 'embroidery' was actually painted on with like a gold marker, terrible 🥴
WHAT?
I’ve stated this before in other videos, but it is worth repeating, because that dress is so hideous. I have never, ever hated a dress before, let alone a Disney dress. The dress looks very cheap, as if it’s a Halloween costume off the rack.The top and the bottom do not complement each other, at all. It’s like they were pieced together from two different dresses. The top looks like a rag, with shredded detailing that is applied on. The design almost looks like armor. And the metallic thread throughout looks cheap. The sleeves are awful, and almost look ill-fitting . The skirt looks like yellow tissue paper. The embroidered detailing is nice, but who can tell. And I have never seen such square edged scalloped layers on a skirt before. The effect is not pretty. It looks so off. And the whole thing together was a giant fail. Great job Emma. And her peasant dress was lousy too. I thought the white dress with the floral appliqués was pretty at first, but the more I looked I realized, no, a dress shouldn’t be in 3D. Maybe she was trying to say too much with each look, whatever that could have been, and they had too much going on and looked like cluttered messes. I hope Emma never designs for an iconic role ever again.
It’s not metallic thread. It’s literally glitter glued on.
I hate when people put feminism where it has nothing to do with the context. Corsets where not made to oppress women, they were used to support the skirt, to support your chest (since bras didn't exist how we know them today) and to make your posture better. Emma should have studied the history of fashion better, her "feminism" ruined a dress that could have been better than cindarella's. Belle's dress is awfully simple and plain up ugly.
I never noticed the ear cuff thing until this video
No disrespect to the actress but I truly am disapointed that she treated this role like this it really wasn't professional at all she said herself that she could relate to Belle they were both born in Paris like to read... I think she got sucked in the idea of how similar they are that she wanted to make her just like she is and got lost in the process resulting by playing herself or wanting to play herself and not Belle whatever the reason was no matter how much she can relate its not HER it's Belle and its her job to be a Belle not Emma
I just LOVE how people love to hate on this dress...
me included ;)
(now how about that singing...)
I'm so late but I have always wondered since I saw the film why Emma's Yellow gown looked too plain especially with the era-appropriate co-stars' costumes. I'm all for artistic liberties but Watson as Belle looked plain.
Imagine an artistic take on Belle's Robe a la Francais ball gown. Kirsten Dunst in Coppola's Antoinette film is proof of taking liberties on a costume that still managed to appear era-appropriate.
Honestly, you are 100% correct. Belle's dress in this film should have been more elegant, dramatic, and beautiful. I mean she is in a cursed castle after all, but she just looks like Emma Watson, which is kind of annoying.
Deborah Kerr’s “the King and I “banquet dress is closer to The original “Beauty and the Beast” dress than the live action remake. I think they should have repurposed THAT dress with gold instead of the pink and Voila!
Arguing against corsets is like arguing against wearing a bra. Should it be a choice? Absolutely, should it be demonized? Absolutely not.
I have a lot of back problems and I have a nice selection of corsets that really help me function when I know I'll need to be mobile for long periods.
Emma Watson not wanting to wear a corset is the same as not wanting to wear a bra. She's totally one of those "feminists" who think bras are "evil devices of men controlling women and women only wear bras to look attractive to men so bras should be burned" whereas bras are actually worn to give support to women, minimise backpain and bad posture, and prevent pain and discomfort because we have something called breasts (especially for big chested women... I'm one, and I'd be in constant pain and discomfort without bras, and I really understand the importance of corsets to women of the past.) I'm guessing Emma isn't bright enough to have realised that basic thing and I'm pretty sure she wears bras all the time herself.
I hate the brand of toxic "feminism" that Emma parades around like some sort of a medal that uses misinformation and bad "advice" to use as an excuse for "fighting for women". She's no feminist, she's a stupid and vapid celebrity out of touch with reality using the name of feminism to make a personal image for herself in the media. She doesn't have the first clue about what feminism is really about. While Hermione was a know-it-all who *actually* knew it all, Emma is an idiot who thinks she knows everything.
Also, wearing or not wearing a corset shouldn't be the concern for an actor in the first place, unless there's some physical or medical problem involved. The actor is there to ACT, not to use the movie as a vehicle for her own agenda. That's just incredibly unprofessional and hypocritical. If it's a period movie, YOU WEAR PERIOD PIECES, YOU DONKEY. She just used her star power and celebrity influence to use the movie as excuse (like she uses everything else) to advertise herself as some messiah of feminism. So disgusting. I can't wrap my head around why so many worship her like she's some sort of an angel sent to earth to save all women. She's not here to save anyone, she's just using the name of feminism, an actual real movement by people trying to do actual good for the world, to gain clout and fame while she can, especially since she can neither act nor sing to save her life (I wonder how long she can keep up the charade before people finally start seeing through her bs)
I love how the Beauty and the beast remake seemed okay the first time you watched it, but when you start analyzing it it failed at every level
It's also so sad because the 2015 Cinderella gown makes for such a good interpretation of Belle's original dress, except in blue. The round skirt, the shape or the bodice and the huge bertha are all there in the original design, just sadly missing from the Emma Watson version.
My theory: they made a very simple gown so it would be easier to mass produce merchandise to sell to little girls.
Not to mention that the dress doesn’t even look that good from a contemporary standpoint. Like, what is with the layers?? They confuse me so much. I once read a comment calling them “kraft cheese slices” and I think that’s all that needs to be said lol
Super insightful. I wasn't aware of the depth of historical precedent that Emma Watson so flagrantly disposes of.
Excellent analysis! I refuse to watch the live-action remake (despite its $1B+ box office). Emma Watson as Belle made one critical, and unforgivable, change: she removed the "fairy tale" aspect of the story. Her influence clearly made it a feminist morality play of sorts, which was completely unnecessary.
They wanted her to stand out from the other characters, and she did, in a bad way. I think Emma Watson particularly added to its lackluster nature with her misinformation about corsetry. I think they really did a disservice to the costuming by allowing everything to look so period typical but then gave someone who hadn't put in the historical research make changes to the dress.
I really liked this analysis from you, you're well spoken and the topic was interesting!
I really disliked the necklace she wore in the town. It looked really out of place
Agreed.
If they embraced the French style at the time in her dress, it could have looked so awesome, like how Cinderella’s dress isn’t exactly the same as the animated version but it can stand on its own and it’s sooooo gorgeous. They should have made Belle’s dress inspired by both the movie and the French era. That would’ve been so cool but…alas, they dropped the ball :/
Emma Watson was the worst pick for this movie. Forced, bad singing, no chemistry, not that beautiful where Gaston should love her... so disjointed and disappointing
Another thing was original Belle was warm and kind-hearted, Watson just came off as arrogant and condescending.
@@isobelduncan yep.
In my opinion one of the Biggest issues with Emma Watson as Belle and its especially noticeable when you compare her to Emilie De Ravin portrayal of Belle in Once Upon a Time is that I found that Emma Watsons lacked Belle's compassion. Belle is a very compassionate character and Emilie De Ravin is brimming with compassion in her Portrayal. Emma Watson on the other hand i find has a slight air of Snobbery to her ,which works well for a character like Hermione who is slightly snobby but not for someone like Belle who's meant to be someone kind and compassion who see past the surface level
Cinderella did it perfect and then this movie did garbage. I remember being highly dissapointed in the movie teather after I saw her looking like that.
They actually made the dress longer with CGI 🙄
No, they didn’t. That rumor is based on different dresses that were made. There were more than one. The ones that look different weren’t digitally altered. They were earlier versions, and they did include different lengths.
I just realized that maybe the success of Disney movies lay in great characters and not in celebrity. Robin Williams knew this. With animation it was easier to separate the two.
I can't wait until casting directors refuse to employ her.
It's a disaster.