Did You Really Expect It To Be As Good As 1991's Version?

Rating: 8/10 (17 March 2017)

1991's adaptation of Beauty & the Beast is my favourite animated film. I honestly do think it is the best ever. No disrespect to Toy Story or Snow White, but the 1991 classic has such beauty and raw power that has an undeniably strong emotional impact. Sure there have been other adaptations of Beauty and the Beast, but none of which was a remake of the cartoon. When I found out that a live-action version of the cartoon would be made, I was thrilled. My favourite animated film ever is being made with real people! The Jungle Book and Cinderella are the recent live-action versions of Disney classic and they soared high. Okay maybe I'm babbling, so I'll get to the point: 2017's live- action version of the beloved Beauty and the Beast is good but not great.
Emma Watson dons the role of Belle. She was good, but not great. In fact, she may be the worst cast in this. Dan Stevens is almost perfect as Beast. For the costume he gets, there was no getting better. Luke Evans is pretty awesome as Gaston (I think that's how it's spelled). Josh Gad was great as his sidekick. And Kevin Kline was wonderful as Belle's father, Maurice. But how well do these character's mesh with everything else?
In the first little bit, Belle is popular and Gaston wants to marry her. The movie takes off when Maurice stumbles into the Beast's castle. Honestly, the whole chunk before that isn't all that special. The beautiful scenery and looks are what carry it...and the whole movie. This first bit didn't seem to have the joy and spirit that the 90's version had. It's rather bland. It doesn't suck, it just doesn't have much of a reaction on the viewer.
When Maurice winds up at Beast's castle, he becomes his prisoner. Belle rescues him and she takes his place. Now the movie is taking off and we're at the point where the cool things happen. All of the animatronics of the accessories were sweet and the castle itself looks wonderful. And of course, everybody's a sucker for the romance between Belle and Beast. The only flaws were that the magic was lost. The little furniture things were cool but not awesome, the scenery wasn't enchanting or glamorous, and it was all too dark. I was expecting the look to be as enchanting as the live-action version of Cinderella from 2015. This one got lucky a few times, such as (obviously) the "Tale As Old As Time" scene. In terms of looks, that Cinderella wins.
The other stuff that deals with Gaston is rather generic. When him and the town's people invade the castle, it is the battle between him and Beast that is actually the worst part of that scene. There was nothing special or intense about it like the cartoon had. With all this upgraded technology, they should have made it as awesome as the cartoon! But whatever, the payoff when Beast and all the objects turn back into humans is wonderful.
So the movie doesn't have the magic or charm that the 1991 cartoon had. So the pacing was off (almost fifty minutes were added, a simple fifteen or twenty would have been enough). So it was dark. The movie still has stuff going for it. The imagery is beautiful, the romance is strong, the music is fine, etc. Maybe they're not at the level of the old one, but this still does almost all those well enough. And the flaws I listed are reasons this movie wasn't totally fantastic and why I may not call it one of the year's best.
Nonetheless, I recommend it. It's hard not to compare, but this is too good to ignore.
3/4