Perfect through and through

Rating: 10/10 (21 March 2017)

I absolutely loved it! Starting from the perfect casting to the songs (old and new).
Emma Watson was perfect for the part of Belle, I couldn't imagine anyone else doing the part justice. She brought a grace to Belle's movements and character that reminded me of old Hollywood (Julie Andrews, Audrey Hepburn). Luke Evans as Gaston and Josh Gad as LeFou were pure perfection as well. I also found that Dan Stevens brought a lot of humanity and humor to the Beast and by the end of the movie I could see why she fell in love with him. I always found the cartoon was a bit rushed in this respect. It felt like they met and the next day they confessed their love and The End. The movie fixed this as well as several other plot holes that the original cartoon had in my opinion. The movie, probably benefiting from being longer than the cartoon, had a much better pace and thus could flesh out the characters more fully.
During "Be our guest" I realized that I was smiling from ear to ear and I did not find it overstuffed at all. Others mentioned that the new songs were not catchy like the old ones. I actually left the cinema humming Days in the sun and Evermore. I got the soundtrack and the second I got home and these two songs are practically on a loop since then.
The only thing I did not like was one of the 3D effects. I saw the movie twice in IMAX 3D and the time they pan up to ceiling of Belle's bedroom with all the gold leaves, that scene was completely blurry and I was forced to look away. Other than that the 3D effects were better than expected. It was probably the first time during a 3D movie where I flinched when seeing something coming towards me. Marvel movies never managed to get me :)
I also loved the changes they made to Belle's costumes. The small touches they added here and there were very notable and just perfect.
All in all, I would recommend this movie to anyone and I would even pay to watch it for a 3rd, 4th, 5th time.