The first trailer for Disney's live-action "Beauty and the Beast" looks magical — and doesn't yet show us the Beast.
Now this, my friends, is how a teaser trailer should be, and I’m not just saying that because I’m a sucker for cobwebby chandeliers.
Disney’s live-action “Beauty and the Beast” has a lot to live up to — its animated 1991 version remains a gem — and the first glimpse, released today, shows us just enough to tantalize: a peek at Emma Watson’s wide-eyed face, just a few words from (I think) Lumiere (Ewan McGregor) and Cogsworth (Ian McKellen), some faintly Gothic atmosphere, and nary a peek of the Beast (to be played by Dan Stevens, formerly the dashing but ill-fated Matthew of “Downton Abbey”).
Bill Condon (“Gods and Monsters,” “Dreamgirls,” “Mr. Holmes”) directs, and the perfect-sounding cast also includes Luke Evans as Gaston (the one who uses antlers in all of his decorating), Emma Thompson as Mrs. Potts, Audra McDonald as Garderobe, Stanley Tucci as Credenza, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Plumette. (Yes, a few of these sound like new characters.)
“Beauty and the Beast” arrives in theaters in March 2017 (the same time slot “Cinderella” killed in last year); I might be humming “Be Our Guest” until then.