The New 'Beauty & the Beast' Poster Looks Familiar

Ma cherie Mademoiselle, it is with deepest pride and greatest pleasure that we welcome you tonight and now, we invite you to relax, let us pull up a chair, as Walt Disney Studios proudly presents ... the newest Beauty and the Beast live-action poster. (Too far? I'm truly unaware of where the line resides.) Emma Watson, aka Belle, released the new magical poster on her Facebook page on Thursday. The artwork seems to effortlessly capture all the feelings associated with the Disney classic. Pretty lettering. Belle and the Beast (Dan Stevens) dancing. Sparkles? Or are they lens flares? Or bits of snow? Doesn't matter, they make my eyes feel happy. The new poster also seems to be pretty reminiscent of something. But what, you ask?

The original 1991 version's poster, that's what. Both feature a vignetted central image, an image of the Beast (while he's still a Beast, obviously) dancing with Belle in a pretty dress. It's hard to discern what dress Belle's wearing in the original, but in the live-action version you can see it's the yellow dress. The one from the "Tale As Old As Time" dance scene, and the one featured in most of the images of released thus far. Check it out below.

And now, look at it next to the original:

Aesthetically speaking, everything from the live-action seems to be taking major nods from the original. Except for a few tweaks here and there. For one, the beasts horns are larger, which therefore, makes him more terrifying. (Who could ever love a beast, am I right?) For two, Watson's Belle happens to be a little more pragmatic, appearance-wise. Last week, Watson told Entertainment Weekly, "My Belle is very practical. In the movie she wears these little ballet shoes, and I knew they had to go. If you're going to ride your horse and tend your garden and fix machinery, then you need to be in proper boots." Proper boots are a worthy change that I don't believe will compromise anything important. In fact, this alteration adds to new Belle's appeal.

That being said, taking cues from the original will only enhance the experience of the live-action. Nostalgia and a deep-rooted love for the animated classic has been, and will continue to be, the largest pull for this re-imagination. Everything we've seen so far that's a call-back has been working. Right down to this poster.

Ohhh, isn't this amazing? It's my favorite part, because well, you'll see. This is where she meets Prince Charming, but she won't discover that it's him until Mar. 17, 2017. (Because that's when Beauty and The Beast will be rel — eh, you get it.)

Images: Walt Disney Studios (2)