In case you missed it, Beauty and The Beast is getting a live action remake and people can’t wait for the tale as old as time to be retold.
The upcoming film is staying close to the original narrative, but it turns out the 1991 Disney animation isn’t the only film favourite Beauty and The Beast is honouring.
Hawk-eyed Harry Potter fans have noticed a hat-tip to the magical franchise in the latest teaser for the 2017 reboot, in which Emma Watson portrays beautiful bookworm, Belle.
Debuting her singing skills with surprising success, the latest trailer sees Watson give eager viewers a guided tour around the provincial town where the Beauty’s story begins.
Encountering the locals along her way, Belle strikes up conversation with Monsieur Jean, who looks befuddled to say the least.
Asking the elderly resident whether he’s lost something, Jean replies:
I believe I have… The problem is I can’t remember what.
As any die hard Potterhead will know, Monsieur Jean’s sentiment is alarmingly similar to one of the many little panics written into the narrative of lovable Hogwarts goofball, Neville Longbottom.
If you need a gentle reminder – and have misplaced your Remembrall – just check out the quote, perfectly illustrated by this meme:
Twitter, as ever, didn’t miss a beat and were quick to notice the nod to a fresh-faced Neville in Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone.
Commentators pointed out the parallel between The Beauty and The Beast reboot’s village fool and Harry Potter‘s very own class clown with childlike glee and a lot of capitalisation.
Between this subtle Easter egg and Emma Watson’s own admission that Belle and Hermione are in some way ‘connected’, fans are freaking out and adding to the fervour surrounding Beauty and The Beast.
Watson recently told ELLE UK:
For me, Beauty was the perfect, most joyful thing to do. There was something connected about Hermione and Belle, and it was good to be reminded that I am an actress; this is what I do.
The film is pure escapism.
Watson takes on the portrayal of yet another strong, female intellectual in The Beauty and The Beast.
Her determination to make young girls who love reading cool in the eyes of popular culture – and redress the archetypal female character in Disney films – is deserving of admiration.
Beauty and The Beast is released in both the UK and the U.S on March 17 2017.
A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.