Disney has released the first Beauty and the Beast trailer, and it is the very definition of a tease. With the lone exception of Emma Watson's visage gracing the end of the trailer, which is itself blocked by an out-of-focus rose, the only thing truly on display here is the visual effects and set & production design. On those terms alone, Beauty and the Beast looks pretty good, about on par with last year's Cinderella, but other than getting swept up in the nostalgia of certain settings from the 1991 animated version, there's really nothing to talk about with this.

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Image via Disney

Okay, okay, so you can hear what sounds like Lumiere (Ewan McGregor) and Ian McKellan's Cogsworth, and a third voice that I can't quite place, but again, this all just seems to be for the value of a good stoking rather than any real indication as to what we should expect from the film. Bill Condon’s live-action adaptation of the 1991 classic animated film stars Dan Stevens as Beast, but we see nothing of him but his claw marks, and I don't imagine we'll get a good gander until the follow-up trailer, or even a few down the line. Alongside the aforementioned cast, there's also Luke Evans as Gaston, Josh Gad as Le Fou, Kevin Kline as Maurice, Stanley Tucci as Cadenza, Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Plumette, and Emma Thompson as Mrs. Potts, all of whom I assume we'll be getting a look at soon enough. For now, we at least know...what the rose looks like.

Check out the Beauty and the Beast trailer below. The film opens March 17, 2017.

ere’s the official synopsis:

Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” is a live-action re-telling of the studio’s animated classic which refashions the classic characters from the tale as old as time for a contemporary audience, staying true to the original music while updating the score with several new songs. “Beauty and the Beast” is the fantastic journey of Belle, a bright, beautiful and independent young woman who is taken prisoner by a beast in his castle. Despite her fears, she befriends the castle’s enchanted staff and learns to look beyond the Beast’s hideous exterior and realize the kind heart and soul of the true Prince within. The film stars: Emma Watson as Belle; Dan Stevens as the Beast; Luke Evans as Gaston, the handsome, but shallow villager who woos Belle; Oscar® winner Kevin Kline as Maurice, Belle’s eccentric, but lovable father; Josh Gad as Lefou, Gaston’s long-suffering aide-de-camp; Golden Globe® nominee Ewan McGregor as Lumiere, the candelabra; Oscar nominee Stanley Tucci as Maestro Cadenza, the harpsichord; Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Plumette, the feather duster; six-time Tony Award® winner Audra McDonald as Madame Garderobe, the wardrobe; Oscar nominee Ian McKellen as Cogsworth, the mantel clock; and two-time Academy Award® winner Emma Thompson as the teapot, Mrs. Potts. Directed by Oscar® winner Bill Condon from a screenplay by TBD based on the 1991 animated film, the film is produced by Mandeville Films’ David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman with eight-time Oscar-winning composer Alan Menken, who won two Academy Awards® (Best Original Score and Best Song) for the 1991 animated film, providing the score, which will include new recordings of the original songs written by Menken and Howard Ashman, as well as several new songs written by Menken and three-time Oscar winner Tim Rice. “Beauty and the Beast” will be released in U.S. theaters on March 17, 2017.

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Image via Disney
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Image via Disney
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Image via Disney
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Image via Disney