Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Alice (all the way from the Wonderland), Princess Aurora, and Cinderella among others, have already found their way to the big screen with their live-action movie adaptations.
And, catching up on the bus loaded with these memorable and endearing characters from our favorite bedtime fairy tales is Belle, together with his bestial prince charming, via the upcoming Walt Disney film Beauty and the Beast.
The film slated to be released in the U.S. on March 17, 2017 will be led by Emma Watson, who starred as the Harry Potter film franchise's Hermione Granger. She will play the role of Belle (Beauty) together with the other members of the cast already confirmed for their roles including Dan Stevens as the Beast, Luke Evans as Gaston, Emma Thompson as Mrs. Potts, Josh Gad as LeFou, and Kevin Kline as Belle's father Maurice.
The film is reportedly, but not officially confirmed, going to be a musical with its ensemble of musical team led by Alan Menken, who will score the film with the help of Sir Tim Rice (Aladdin and The Lion King), as noted by PopSugar.
Menken is a composer who has already won eight Oscars for some of his notable works that include other popular Disney films such as Aladdin, Pocahontas, The Little Mermaid, Entangled, Enchanted, and the 1991 animated film version of Beauty and the Beast.
Meanwhile, it was just confirmed and the Variety has an exclusive report that Ian McKellen will play the role of Cogsworth. It will be recalled in the fairy tale that Cogsworth is the Beast's loyal manservant of the house who was cursed by the sorceress with a spell and transformed into a clock.
Ian Murray McKellen is an English actor who has already taken on some significant roles in several blockbuster films lately. He played Eric Lehnsherr, also known as Magneto, for the X-Men film series, and the wizard Gandalf for both the The Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.
The screenplay for the movie will be written by Stephen Chbosky who will work, once again, alongside Emma Watson. The two have already collaborated in the hit movie The Perks of Being a Wallflower back in 2012, the PopSugar also notes.
"The studio's 1991 animated feature version of 'Beauty and the Beast' grossed more than $375 million worldwide, spawned a Broadway play and became one of the few animated films to receive a best picture Oscar nomination", writes Justin Kroll of the Variety.
