Angela Lansbury, who voiced the role of Mrs. Potts in the 1991 international hit animated film Beauty and the Beast, recently spoke with about that motion picture and the forthcoming live-action version of the Disney classic.
The five-time Tony winner said the original film, which also featured the voices of Robby Benson, Paige O'Hara, and Jerry Orbach, will remain a classic because the world of animation has changed since Beauty was released. 鈥淓ver since Toy Story, I think was the first time when they used a different process, and they were no longer drawing each movement of each character individually, as they did then,鈥� the original Mame explained. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 do that anymore. So it鈥檚 a very rich, extraordinary piece of work in every respect, from that point of view. It鈥檚 a treasure. A legendary treasure as far as cartoon work is concerned.鈥�
About the upcoming live-action Beauty and the Beast, which will feature Emma Watson as Belle opposite Downton Abbey cast member Dan Stevens as the Beast, Lansbury said she initially thought, 鈥溾橶hy? Why are we doing this over again?鈥欌� But they are, and it will be interesting to see what they do with it. These are live action pieces and I know very well the actress who鈥檚 playing Mrs. Potts and she鈥檚 a very good friend of mine. It鈥檚 Emma Thompson.鈥�
鈥淚 can鈥檛 understand what they鈥檙e going to do with it that will be better than what we鈥檝e already done,鈥� Lansbury added. 鈥淎nd how they鈥檙e doing it live 鈥� it may turn out to be very entertaining and wonderful. It won鈥檛 be like the cartoon that we did, but it鈥檚 a good story 鈥� it鈥檚 one of the famous fairy stories that is known worldwide by children. Therefore, why not? I don鈥檛 blame them for doing it. But, I鈥檓 sorry, they鈥檙e not really on our territory. We did it as cartoon characters, and that is quite different from live actors.鈥�
Beauty and the Beast is scheduled to be released in 3D March 17, 2017. Also featured are Luke Evans (Gaston), (Cogsworth), (Garderobe), Emma Thompson (Mrs. Potts), (Le Fou), (Lumiere), (Maurice), Stanley Tucci (Cadenza), and Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Plumette).
The 1991 Beauty and the Beast film featured songs by and the late . The 1994 Broadway musical had additional songs by Menken and , who penned lyrics for the new songs for the forthcoming live-action film.
Watch Angela Lansbury perform the title song at a recent event celebrating the film's 25th anniversary:
Watch the trailer for the upcoming film below:
