Nostalgia factor is key.

Rating: 7/10 (19 March 2017)

I thought the movie was fine. However, there were so many things that this new adaptation missed.
And among the things missed, was the feisty, sassy, charismatic Belle that I'd known and loved. There was a warm girl with a big heart, and she was fully present in the original movie. In this remake, starring Emma Watson, Belle was much colder. Belle didn't capture your heart. There was a detached feeling. Emma Watson is a perfectly good actress, but she wasn't Belle, she was not Belle at all.
The CGI on the Beast was horrible, but I learned to grow used to it as the movie progressed. I really didn't become fully immersed into the movie until it was almost over.
By far, my favorite actors in the movie would have to be the two playing Gaston and Lefou. They breathed new life into their characters, they made things interesting. I very much enjoyed them whenever they were on screen, but that must have been the only positive contribution made here.
What's that saying? "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"? The only benefit I found in this was the waves of nostalgia I received from hearing all of the classic musical numbers and seeing the iconic yellow dress as Belle and the Beast waltzed across their ballroom. I still love, love, LOVE, this story. I love Beauty and the Beast and the strange sadness and longing for old Disney films that it inspires within me. I couldn't help comparing the 2017 version to the 1991 version, and feeling slightly disappointed (at times), throughout the movie.
This film was just a cash grabber. I'm sure we've got many live action movies coming up in the next couple years. We'll probably be seeing a real-life Mulan, Aladdin, etc., etc., in the next few years. I re-watched the original movie at home, and really felt that there was so much more that could've been done for the remake. The Beast just wasn't as temperamental, or lovable, as the original. Belle wasn't the kindest or most accepting, either. I didn't hate Gaston as much in this adaptation either, when --frankly-- I should have, even if just a little.