What do the classic tale Beauty and the Beast and the fantasy series Harry Potter have in common? Other than the fantasy elements in each story, there aren’t many similarities to be found between these two. However, if we take into account their live-action adaptations, the number one thing that comes to mind is that Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) is now living in a castle with a prince-turned-into-a-beast.
With Emma Watson leading the adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, directed by Bill Condon (The Fifth Estate, Mr. Holmes), comparisons to her work in the Harry Potter saga and the Wizarding world in general are inevitable – it was only a matter of time until a skilled internet user put them together in a mash-up video.
PistolShrimps on YouTube made Beauty and the Beast meets Harry Potter a reality, with an interesting premise: What if the Beast was Lord Voldemort, and Belle fell for him? Probably not the idea many had for a mash-up of these stories. PistolShrimps took the Beauty and the Beast trailer, added spells, wands, new dialogue for the magical objects, and Voldemort himself to make Beauty and Lord Voldemort.
Set in Hogwarts’ castle, Belle’s father is captured by he-who-must-not-be-named and taken prisoner. Just like in the fairy tale, Belle stays and her father is released – time to meet the rest of the inhabitants of the castle, some of whom are actually elves. Although we all know the extent of Voldemort’s evil, Gaston is the bad guy in this tale, as he wants to “kill the beast” – like he does in the original story.
The video is full of Easter eggs related to the Wizarding world, too. Aside from the obvious elements like the spells, we can see magical creatures like Buckbeak, unicorns, and dragons, the Whomping Willow, and Mrs. Potts wearing Rowena Ravenclaw’s diadem (which doubles as one of Voldemort’s horcruxes). There’s also an extra detail that doesn’t belong either to the Wizarding world or Belle’s story: Gandalf’s line from Lord of the Rings, “Fly you fools!” spoken by Cogsworth.
Joining Emma Watson in this live-action remake of one of Disney’s classics are Dan Stevens as the Beast, Luke Evans as Gaston, Ewan McGregor as Lumière, and Ian McKellen as Cogsworth. With the release date fast approaching, Disney’s marketing campaign is at its peak right now, and while this particular video is not part of it, it will surely bring more attention to the movie.
Hats off to PistolShrimps for the incredible amount of detail in this mash-up video as well as for bringing Voldemort to a completely different universe in the most credible way – although the biggest surprise of this unconventional story is not so much that Voldemort is capable of loving (something that, in Harry Potter cannon, is impossible) but that he fell for a muggle-born, or “mudblood” as he would say. Everything is possible in the world of the internet.
Next: Beauty and the Beast Trailer Comparison
Source: PistolShrimps
- Beauty and the Beast Release Date: 2017-03-17