Revise and resubmit: Beauty and the Beast (2017), live-action remakes, and the Disney Princess franchise

ABSTRACT

When Beauty and the Beast premiered in 1991, its self-assured protagonist was a deliberate departure from the earlier Disney princess narratives. With time, however, the film has been lumped in with the other princess films as regressive, in part because the fairy tale itself is fundamentally flawed. The decision to remake the film as a live-action spectacle opens Disney and the text to the familiar critiques, which the 2017 film alternately addresses and suppresses. This article focuses on three efforts Disney made to skirt the long-standing feminist critiques on Beauty and the Beast: the casting of Emma Watson, including an “exclusively gay” moment, and framing Beauty as an AIDS allegory. In the process, it becomes clear that the remake is a deferential companion piece designed for cross-generational appeal, both for children today and of 1991, to sustain the highly profitable Disney Princess franchise. By exploring how paratextual and textual strategies were employed to address potential critiques, I assess the extent to which Disney faltered in its efforts to offer a more socially conscious film.

KEYWORDS:

• representation
• media franchises
• media industries
• production cultures
• remakes

Acknowledgments

The author wishes to thank Eduard Cuelenaere, Selena Dickey, Julie Grossman, and the anonymous reviewers for their kindness and support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. See Rebecca Ford’s article on Mulan (Niki Caro 2020), for example.

2. Caroline Ferris Leader’s 2017 article on animating hair in Tangled and Brave is a notable exception.

3. Emma Watson 2017 acknowledged as much in an open letter: “I know there is so much more for me to learn.”

4. Gaston’s sidekick is identified as Lefou in 1991 and LeFou in 2017.

5. Griffin (2000) addresses the significance of Ashman as well as the mischaracterization of him as an “auteur.”

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Peter C. Kunze

Peter C. Kunze is a visiting professor of communication at Tulane University. His research and teaching interests include media history, media industry studies, and children’s culture. He edited The Films of Wes Anderson: Critical Essays on an Indiewood Icon and Conversations with Maurice Sendak, and he co-edited American–Australian Cinema: Transnational Connections. His book project, Staging a Comeback: Broadway, Hollywood, and the Disney Renaissance, examines the creative and industrial relationships between Broadway and Hollywood in the late 20^th century. Email address: [email protected]