Angela Lansbury Isn’t Too Enthused With The New Beauty & The Beast

While we crow with delight at the idea of a new Beauty and the Beast, a cast member of the original 1991 Disney film is none too pleased with that decision. Angela Lansbury, who provided the vocals for the maternal Mrs. Potts, told Entertainment Weekly that she's a bit puzzled by all this remake hubbub. "I was a bit taken aback, naturally. I thought, 'Why? Why are we doing this over again?'" Lansbury explained. She's not necessarily hating on the project. Because she, like us, loves the original. In her eyes, it doesn't need an update. The logic reads: if it ain't broke, why add Emma Watson to the mix?

(Answer: Er, because it's Emma Watson?) "I can't understand what they're going to do with it that will be better than what we've already done," she added. Mrs. Potts — sorry, Angela Lansbury — makes a fair point. The original film was an impressive feat of motion-picture artistry, especially for its time. The 2017 film, which will grace our screens come March, is live-action, and that requires a different type of artistic work. They're apples and oranges, really. Ultimately, though, the honorary Oscar winner gets it. It's a fairytale of sorts, and an integral part of the pop culture Bible, as far as we're concerned. The film industry will literally never stop making different iterations of the story. "I don't blame them for doing it," she admits. However — indulge while we engage with our inner Carrie Bradshaw here — one has to wonder if Lansbury is declaring sour grapes. Emma Thompson, one of Lansbury's contemporaries, will play Mrs. Potts in the new film. Twitter, for one, is upset that the decorated British actress isn't in the film.

Lansbury or no Lansbury, the film looks like it will impress. We suggest you watch the film with an open heart, Mrs. Potts. There may be something there that wasn't there before. (Well, who'd have thought?)