You Have To See 'Beauty & The Beast' Pre-CGI

It's pretty obvious that the live action remake of Beauty & The Beast would include a lot of CGI — more than half the cast is made up of talking furniture. But seeing it for yourself is a totally new experience, and instead of ruining the magic, it actually makes the movie that much more impressive. On Wednesday, behind the scenes photos of Dan Stevens before CGI in Beauty & The Beast hit the internet, and they're definitely something you can't unsee.

In the photos, Stevens is wearing a gray motion capture suit and bulked up to match the size of the beast. That alone isn't too weird, but when you see him next to Emma Watson in her gorgeous yellow ball gown, he looks more than a little out of place. Now, thinking about their iconic (and romantic) ballroom dance scene where they fall in love is totally different. How did she keep a straight face? Give this woman all of the Oscars for this.

And honestly, give Stevens the awards, too. It couldn't have been easy to be the one wearing the suit, either, especially during such a serious moment in the series. Can we please see the bloopers from this scene, unedited?

And can we talk about his very serious, very poised walk down the stairs — on stilts, at that — in which he did so flawlessly? This is real talent, guys.

As a fan of the original Beauty & The Beast since childhood, I was very impressed with the finished product of the live action version, but now, this adds a new layer of appreciation. Next time I watch, I probably won't be able to see the beast in anything other than this gray suit... but it's also a solid reminder of how much work went into making this movie as magical as possible.

And someone sat at a computer, took this footage, and turned him into the beast. How cool is that? Technology really is amazing.

Might I suggest a DVD extra with the entire movie, sans CGI? It would be really fascinating to watch... and also really funny.