"Beauty and the Beast" (2017) Movie Review

I admit, I was concerned about how this film would turn out. I'm always skeptical about remakes, reboots, and reimaginings. Personally, I find most remakes to be unnecessary and even slaps in the faces to the originals. That being said, I enjoyed this film. It was a beautiful and moving tribute to the original all the while creating its own magic.

We all know the story of Beauty and the Beast, so I will jump right in to what I liked and didn't like about the film. First of all, I will say that I absolutely loved the music. Every song had its own beauty and grace and flowed perfectly with each scene. There were songs from the animation and there were new songs as well. Everyone sang beautifully and, if you were concerned about the theme song being performed by Ariana Grande then fear no more! That version is not heard in the film itself. Emma Thompson performs the song in the film.

One thing I disliked was the looks of the enchanted furniture, or rather enchanted humans turned into furniture. Lumiere, Mrs Potts, Chip, Cogsworth, Madame Garderobe, Maestro Cadenza and Plumette all looked rather dull and lifeless.If you remember the animation, they were lively and you could tell they were magical. In the film, however, they looked more like cursed furniture rather than humans that were cursed to take a different form.

The cast was perfect. Emma Watson was the perfect choice for Belle. Dan Stevens was a great Beast but a rather dull Prince. The voice acting for all the CGI characters was outstanding, Ian McKellan as Cogsworth and Ewan MacGregor as Lumiere being my two favorites. Ian and Ewan played off each other well and were fantastic comic relief, just like in the animation. Luke Evans was an incredible Gaston. Even though he wasn't overly muscular like he was in the original, Luke had the attitude and look which was convincing in itself. Also, if you put the animated LeFou side-by-side with Josh Gad's LeFou, the two look almost exactly alike. Josh portrayed his character perfectly with the same goofy liveliness that the original had.

The effects were gorgeous and transported you into the film and kept your attention throughout. The amazing eye for detail that Disney Studios has never ceases to amaze me. The scenery and the colors compliment each other, bringing a whole new kind of beauty to life in every frame.

Obviously I enjoyed the film and I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. I'm sure there will be some purists out there that will hate on it no matter how remarkable it is and that's fine. To each his/her own. I'm just here to share my opinion and that opinion is that the film is a near perfect retelling of one of Disney's most beautiful stories. I give Beauty and the Beast a 3.5 out of 4.