Newer isn't Always Better (Spoilers Ahead)

Rating: 3/10 (20 March 2019)

As a child, I dreamed of being a princess. You can imagine my excitement when Disney announced they were bringing one of their princess films to life but even better it would be Beauty and the Beast. Belle was my all-time favorite princess with her overwhelming amount of kindness, her ability to stand her ground, and her sacrifice for those she loves. She was a role model to me. The live action announced their cast and I was skeptical but excited because of their beautiful recreation of Cinderella. I doubted the possibility of failure when it came to the magnificent story tellers that Disney has. However, the live action Beauty and the Beast would fall short ultimately leaving me disappointed and begging Disney to try again. It was a film filled with the overuse of computer-generated technology, a lifeless portrayal in acting skills, the overuse of auto-tune instead of actual singing, and overshadowing the film with new themes that don't present themselves. I would give this film and overall 3/10 stars.
Beauty and the Beast is a tale as old as time. Generations have shared their love for the story that teaches us to look beyond appearance but at the heart. It tells the tale of a young gal named Belle who lives with her quirky father. She is seen as unique among her town but her beauty surpasses all those around her truly captivating them. She has even caught the attention of a handsome yet conceited fellow who attempts to persuade the Belle to marry him. Her father sets out on a journey and her request upon his return is a single rose. Along the way her father gets lost and seeks refuge in a lone castle he stumbles upon. He is welcomed by enchanted house supplies who help make his stay pleasant but their master isn't keen on their new guest. The beast decides it is best to lock her father away. Belle soon learns of her father's disappearance and sets out to find him. Once she learns of what has happened she sacrifices herself out of unconditional love for her father. He pleads with her not do this but the Beast who needs true love to break the curse he and his servants are under. He obliges and takes her instead because he is in awe of Belle's willingness to give up everything for her father. Belle in her time will learn to see past simply appearance and the Beast will learn what sacrificial love truly means.
The film served as yet another colorful addition to Disney's film collection with its beautiful cinematography. They have many costumes designed perfectly for each character and adds a flare of color to each scene. Nevertheless, the computer-generated imagery was overdone and seems to take away from the natural beauty that the film had. They try and modernize each character taking away from their classic animated versions. The Beast especially holds a scarier appearance than his cartoon face. It is a bit harder to enjoy the film due to their overuse of CGI that ruins the potential the film had.
Disney announced their casting for the movie which caused fans to be skeptical of their choices or caused excitement for what was seen as an unexpected cast full of potential. Ewan McGregor and Josh Gad were both previously in musicals and did an exquisite job when it came to bringing their characters to life. Luke Evans and Dan Stevens surprised the audience with their rendition of their characters along with other actors. However, everyone was most excited to see the Emma Watson bring our beloved Belle to the big screen. Nevertheless, Emma seemed to miss the mark greatly of who Belle was. Emma lacked emotion and ended up giving us a lifeless portrayal of Belle. Instead of re-creating Belle, Emma tends to recreate her past character Hermonie causing the film to fall short with a misconception of who the Belle is.
Every Disney musical has magnificent vocals that will capture their audience hearts. The film had some powerhouse singers casted such as Ewan McGregor, Josh Gad, and Luke Evans who simply seemed to fall flat in the area of singing. The expectations they were given upon being announced to the film just was not met in the slightest. Nevertheless, their co-star Emma Watson had taken many vocal lessons to play the part of Belle but was overshadowed by auto-tune. This being said her voice wasn't pleasant to listen to and lacked the necessary emotion that we were given in the classic Disney film. It would have been better if they coached their actors to apply the much needed emotion to their voices that a musical generally has as well as hire someone with prior singing abilities rather than relying on auto-tone for the star of their production.
Furthermore, Disney would announce new themes such as a homosexual character and a feminist princess that would ultimately turn an audience away rather than draw them in with excitement. It was an announcement that would shock the audience. However, upon viewing the film neither themes were prominent enough to notice. It left the audience confused because of the hype that was centered around these major new plot additions. Nevertheless, fans were relieved that they didn't steer far from the original film with these additions but questions arose on why the announcements were made in the first place.
Disney decided they would make a live-action version of the beloved tale Beauty and the Beast upon their success with prior live-actions they have recently made. It was expected to be a beautiful rendition that would capture the hearts of a new audience and reach generations that dearly loved the film. However, newer would not prove to be better. The film lacked Disney's usual magic touch with inadequate acting, insufficient singing, dismal computer-generated technology, and new themes that were faulty. The film left the audience wanting more and disappointed with the final product.