Flat and kitschy

Rating: 5/10 (16 March 2017)

Oh man, I really wanted to like this movie. I'm a die-hard Disney fan and Beauty and the Beast is by far my favorite, I know it like the back of my hand having watched it a hundred times. It was really Disney's masterpiece. I went with a group of five 6-12 year old girls and we had made it a pretty big event...the little girl in me was SO PUMPED.
As much as I love Emma Watson, she was sorely miscast in this adaptation. Really all I could see was Hermione popping through constantly. I love her quirks, but they didn't come off as Belle's strange, feisty quirkiness. Really in the opening scene in the village, nothing about her came off as "strange" at all even though the townspeople are singing about how strange she is. Actually she seemed normal and THEY seemed strange. And while she can sing to an extent, it lacked Paige O'Hara's richness and emotion. And the odd delays in between the words in the song lyrics drove me absolutely insane. I'm all for making a classic song new, but the original is hard to top as it is and the little changes that were made almost seemed to make fun of it. If you can't make it better, then stick to the meter and timing of the original at least and don't try to change it at all. The crowd- supported parts of the songs were the best because they stayed the truest.
The CGI I felt was actually pretty good, but the character design was Just. So. Weird. They didn't have to look like the original characters but they didn't have to look creepy... I guess when you need to make an actual object come alive, maybe there's really no way to do with WITHOUT some creepiness. Beast's design really just didn't do it for me but it wasn't entirely awful. Really it was his lines and demeanor that ruined it for me. The voice acting in the original was full of emotion and granted you can draw a character to have any facial expression and emotion you want....but is it really so difficult to find actors that can do the same? Emma is beautiful of course but she isn't Belle, just like Dan Stevens is a great actor but he's not Beast. Rachel McAdams or Natalie Portman, while older than Belle's character, both could have fit this role and have the look. I'd have picked someone like Bradley Cooper for the Beast...again older than Beast's character but he still has that ruggedness and boyishness about him.
It wasn't so much the CGI that bothered me but the flat and awkward line delivery. It didn't feel natural, it didn't feel emotive. Actually the whole movie felt just really really awkward. I thought maybe the ending might make up for it, I had really hoped for that heart wrenching roar the beast lets out as Belle is riding away that would defibrillate some life back into it, but instead he sang an awkward song which may or may not have been part of the original Broadway play? Look your girl is riding off and you're doomed to remain a beast. That warrants a roar, not a song. Okay, maybe the transformation scene would change things....it started off riveting and promising....but then when he lands on his feet (instead of a dramatic "dead" crumple, only to heave a new breath of life and rise up again) he just has this dopey and ridiculous look on his face. I actually laughed out loud.
LeFou was great. Controversial maybe, but seriously it was so subtle that it's going to fly over the head of anyone under the age of 11. I can't think of anyone better to play him really, and even Luke Evans as Gaston was mildly entertaining. The Kill the Beast number was the best of all of them, really.
The final dancing scene was really beautiful. Belle's dress and the roses on everyone's costumes was a nice touch.
I don't know. It felt forced and uncomfortable. It felt more like a high school play. My 6- year old enjoyed it and that's what matters, but in the end the original is by far superior.