For those who have issues with the voices of the actors that sing in the newest version of Beauty and the Beast, I understand. There were some moments that were lacking in musical talent per say or at least it wasn't what we expected.
That being said, music is not just about the talent. I'm inclined to go as far as saying that it has very little to do with talent.
As I watched the movie, it was very clear to me that the directors picked Emma Watson because of the person that she is, rather than how well she can sing. In my mind, there was no one better to play Belle than a women who truly wanted to empower young girls and help them to see that beauty is not just a pretty face and a perfect singing voice. Beauty is only seen on the outside if it is already inside. We love Belle because she is brave, and loyal, and true. We love that she did not conform to what everyone thought of as normal, and that she kept on reading her books and loving stories. We admire her courage for riding to a place she did not ever know existed to find her father and when faced with a decision that could have meant her life, she chose her father with absolutely no hesitation. We agree with her for not giving into the Beasts demands about dinner. And we laugh at how no matter how big of a fit he pitched, in the end he couldn't make her do anything. We totally sympathize with the Beast as he begins to see what a truly good person she is, and how he sees that he doesn't deserve her, yet he still falls in love with her. We see her beauty change him.
See? It's not just about the music, or the vocals. It's about the story and how we want to tell it now that so many things in society have changed. It was so important to have a person, an actress, that not only agreed with the new portrayal of Belle, but also showed those qualities in her own life. Emma Watson has always been Belle, even when we knew her as Hermione or any other similar character.
I also want to say that at first I was a little disappointed of how her voice sounded, but then I loved it because it was real. How many girls that age can sing perfectly with vibrato and immaculate pitch and tone? Realistically, when would Belle have had time to train, because lets be honest a perfect voice doesn't just pop up out of nowhere? She was a good girl with an average singing voice and that is most of us.
All I'm saying is that this new rendition of Beauty and the Beast was not just a musical, and the actors were not there to just sing the songs and move on. It was about the story, it was always about the story. I loved how they told it and I hope that after you read this you might put aside your complaints and see that a beautiful story is not perfect. It is real. It is alive. And most of all, it represent us.
-SK
