Serene Sunday: Beauty and the Beast

One of my favorite animated films is Disney’s Beauty and the Beast released in 1991.  Twenty-six years later, Disney decided to release a live action version.  Naturally I wonder why they would want to do that when they had already achieved perfection?  Still my curiosity is piqued, so I will go see it.  I’ll tell you what I think.

In the meantime, you can compare the two versions of the title song.  Here is the official 1991 video with Peabo Bryson and Celine Dion.

Ariana Grande and John Legend perform the new 2017 release.  It is more lushly produced.  What do you think?

 

12 thoughts on “Serene Sunday: Beauty and the Beast

  1. Though I like both John and Ariana, this version doesn’t come nowhere near to Celine and Peabo’s. It’s hollow, IMHO.

  2. I saw it yesterday. Absolutely loved it. Found it beautiful, magical and it captured my heart. Brought a small tear to my eye. I am not a fan of Celine Dion – she sings How Does a Moment Last Forever during the credits and to me it sounds auto tuned. But that’s just me. The rest of the music was brilliant. Luke Evans in particular has a fantastic voice … but then he is Welsh so he should!

    The cinema was full of little girls wearing princess dresses. I left mine at home 😉

      • I haven’t seen the animated version for over 20 years so hard to compare. I was moved by this and so in love with the music that I downloaded it when I got home. And I would love to see it again. Have no great desire to watch the original.

  3. I think I prefer the older one, but both John Legend and Ariana Grande are very talented. They give it a more modern take, rather than more traditional. They both sing in a higher register than Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson, so that does make it sound less rounded. But a good version, nonetheless. I’m planning on seeing it on Tuesday.

    • This was the first time I’d seen Ariana Grande. Although John Legend was was really performing, I felt Ariana was like a singing mannequin. The first version seemed more soulful. Boy, I sound really hard. LOL! Let me know what you think. 🙂

  4. I think the B & B song was my first inkling of Celine Dion way back then. She and Peabo Bryson were well matched vocally. Though the new B&B song version is nice in its own way, that earlier version seems a bit more sweetly passionate to me–but then, I’ve heard it dozens of times. 😉

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