A charming new take on a beloved classic.

Rating: 10/10 (22 March 2017)

Well, most of the user reviews that I've seen on here for this film are mixed-to-negative so I decided to give it a positive review for a change of pace.
Let me be clear; this isn't going to replace the original film. The original 'Beauty and the Beast' is still very much the masterpiece that made it the first animated film ever to be nominated for Best Picture. Clearly, there were a lot of expectations towards this new film because of that prestigious pedigree. And, clearly, it was one of the riskiest ventures of Disney's recent run of live-action remakes. And because this film is probably the closest to its original out of all the Disney remakes so far, the term 'unnecessary' is being thrown around a lot. Maybe it is, but that doesn't really bother me in the slightest.
Yes, this film has almost the exact same plot as its predecessor, but at the same time, there are some minor touches here and there that at least help it to differentiate itself from the original. At the very least, it's not a 100% carbon copy of what we saw before. Plus, the film is undeniably well-made with gorgeous visuals and an equally gorgeous production design. The classic songs are handled excellently in live-action, the new songs are great additions, and the film's impressively stacked ensemble cast is fantastic.
In short, I know that there are people out there who aren't too big on the remakes. That's fine; no one's forcing you to watch them. But, at the same time, these new films are not negatively impacting their original sources to the high levels that those who oppose them claim they are. At worst, they'd just end up being a mediocre remake that just makes their original counterpart even better by comparison. And yet, that hasn't been the case with most of the recent Disney remakes. They don't replace their original sources; they just serve as a nice little complement to them. This new take on 'Beauty and the Beast' is no exception. So, with that in mind, ignore all the negativity surrounding this film (particularly the completely overblown backlash towards a new aspect of the film that is so subtle, you probably wouldn't have noticed it if everyone hadn't made such a big deal about it) and just enjoy a heartwarming new take on one of Disney's most beloved stories.