OK... I cried at the end..

Rating: 8/10 (18 June 2017)

Let me start off by saying I have never seen the original cartoon. Sure, I owned it for the kids but animation is not something I enjoy watching so I never bothered to watch it. Honestly, I have watched less then a handful of Disney stuff I owned for the kids, Lion King and Aladdin are the only 2 that come to mind, both I thoroughly enjoyed. So for me there was no bias while watching this gem of a movie. And I literally did not know the story so it was fresh and new to me. I do believe this sets me apart from many reviewers. I didn't watch this with preconceived notions of what it should or shouldn't be.
If I had to compare it to any movie, it would have to be Cinderella since I watched that last year (the cartoon I saw in theater as a child). Lily James was better as Cinderella then Emma Watson as Belle, which is a little ironic since I didn't care for Lily James's character on Downton Abbey as I felt she over-acted her and would literally cringe when she was on screen. For me Emma Watson's performance felt a little on the flat side but not enough to dislike the movie. And I'm a HUGE fan of the Potter series and loved her in those. I also enjoyed her in The Perks of being a Wallflower. Her final scene in this movie, though, was excellent. Brought tears to my eyes...
It took me a few minutes to recognize Kevin Kline who I adored in this along with Josh Gad. Both Dan Stevens and Luke Evans did a fine job. I was totally enthralled by the voices of the actors playing the inanimate object. This is one of the reasons I don't like animation. I can't see faces and physical embodiment of the characters. But these guys conveyed so much emotion in many scenes. I thought the CGI was beautifully done. Now, I'm not an expert in CGI like it seems so many reviewers are but I think they did an excellent job.
A lot of what I feel boils down to whether or not I would buy the movie. Being of limited income, is the performance and overall effects be enough for me to not only recommend the movie but buy it. I definitely will.