Beastly by Alex Flinn is one of those books which sounded interesting, and which I have been meaning to read for ages, but never picked up. When I learned that it was being adapted into a film I knew that the countdown had begun and I was recently sent a copy which I just read in time to see the movie!
Beastly is the retold fairytale of Beauty and Beast, set in modern times and featuring the cocky and good looking Kyle Kingsbury who gets transformed into a beast so that others can see how ugly he is on the inside. He only has two years to get a kiss from a girl that he loves, and that loves him, if he wants to be changed back. In the movie this is altered into one year.
The film Beastly features Alex Pettyfer as Kyle, Mary-Kate Olsen as Kendra the witch, and Neil Patrick Harris as Kyle's tutor, Will. The girl Kyle begins to notice when he is no longer so focused on looks is Lindy, played by Vanessa Hudgens, who gives him his chance to prove that "love is never ugly". Personally, I'm not too familiar with any of these actors, except Harris, who I love in How I Met Your Mother. Pettyfer is also staring in the book to movie adaptation I Am Number Four, and he looks perfect for Beastly. I'm unconvinced about Hudgens- Lindy is a redhead with crooked teeth in the book- but hopefully she does an okay job.
Even though I enjoyed the book, I actually think Beastly is one of those cases where the film might be better, or at least more believable. The most significant difference between the two is that in the book Kyle really is beast-like, an animal covered in hair, whereas in the film his ugliness is more subtle. I appreciate this because I don't think a live-action version of involving a very hairy man with claws would have had quite the same impact. It does feel like the movie, at least from the trailer, maintains the romance and supernatural twist that Flinn's book is so well known for.
Of course, to go along with the upcoming film release there is a new edition, Movie-Tie In of the novel featuring a cover from the film poster.
Here's the film trailer:
Have you read Beastly? Are you planning to see the film or read the book? If you have read the book, are you looking forward to the movie adaption?
I read the book and watched the movie. I liked both the movie and the book. While there are some differences in the movie, I think it still had the same feel as the book.
I've already read the book :) I loved it. I'm pretty excited about seeing it. I have strong feelings its going to be awesome
ReplyDeleteI've read the book too. and it really liked it. I'm absolutely planning on seeing it! just hope it'll live up to my expectations!
ReplyDeleteI read the book and watched the movie. I liked both the movie and the book. While there are some differences in the movie, I think it still had the same feel as the book.
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