WASHINGTON — From “Maleficent” (2014) to “Cinderella” (2015) to “The Jungle Book” (2015), Walt Disney Pictures has found increasing success reviving its classic animated fairytales into live-action blockbusters.
On Monday, Disney released the official trailer for its next live-action flick “Beauty and the Beast.”
The movie is, of course, an update on the 1991 animated musical, which starred Angela Lansbury and became the first animated movie to earn an Academy Award for Best Picture.
The new film stars Emma Watson as Belle, Ewan McGregor as Lumiere, Luke Evans as Gaston, Dan Stevens as The Beast, Ian McKellan as Cogsworth, Emma Thompson as Mrs. Potts, Josh Gad as Le Fou, Stanley Tucci as Cadenza and Kevin Kline as Maurice.
It’s directed by Bill Condon, who won an Oscar for writing “Gods and Monsters” (1998) and wrote Best Picture winner “Chicago” (2002) before directing “Dreamgirls” (2006) and “Mr. Holmes” (2015).
The hauntingly beautiful score is provided by eight-time Oscar-winning composer Alan Menken, who won Oscars for Best Original Score and Best Original Song for the 1991 film. The revived score will include new recordings of the original songs written by Menken and Howard Ashman, as well as several new songs written by Menken and three-time Oscar winner Tim Rice (“The Lion King”).
“Beauty and the Beast” hits movie theaters on March 17, 2017.
Watch the teaser trailer below:
