Beastly (film)

Beastly is a 2011 romantic fantasy drama film loosely based on Alex Flinn's 2007 novel of the same name. It is a retelling of the fairytale Beauty and the Beast and is set in modern-day New York City. The film was written and directed by Daniel Barnz and stars Vanessa Hudgens and Alex Pettyfer.

Beastly was expected to be distributed to theaters by CBS Films on July 30, 2010. However, the film's release was delayed until March 18, 2011, in order to avoid a clash with the release of Charlie St. Cloud, which starred Zac Efron, Hudgens's then-boyfriend with whom she had a strong following at the time, but in January 2011, the release was moved forward to March 4, 2011.

Plot

Kyle Kingson (Alex Pettyfer), the arrogant and vain son of wealthy and equally arrogant and vain news anchor Rob Kingson (Peter Krause), bullies the witch Kendra Hilferty (Mary-Kate Olsen) who magically transforms handsome Kyle into a bald, tattooed, and scarred shell. If Kyle does not find someone who loves him by the next spring he will remain in this ugly state forever. Kyle is taken to live in a private house with their maid Zola Davies (Lisa Gay Hamilton) and the blind tutor Will (Neil Patrick Harris). Both are a comfort to Kyle when his father begins to neglect him.