Much better than the original

Rating: 10/10 (16 March 2017)

I have only written reviews for maybe one or two other movies, so that is how passionately I feel about this film.
This is the best live-action Disney remake thus far. And I absolutely loved Cinderella and The Jungle Book. I'm so sad there are such negative reviews for this film, and I don't really get why, either.
I loved the original. It deserved the first ever animated film nominated for Best Picture. With that being said, this 2017 adaption absolutely perfected, modernized and matured the original. Emma Watson is the perfect Belle; she also makes her more independent, self-aware and bad-ass. She's the perfect 2017 Disney princess. Luke Evans also kills it as Gaston. He has an incredible singing voice and really brings the character to life.
The CGI really blows it out of the water. "Be Our Guest", the huge number in the original, is the best part of the film. I was clapping and gasping at how stunning the scene was. It's one of the best musical sequences I have ever seen and 99.9999% of it was CGI.
I loved the new songs and character backstories as well. They weren't too much, and I felt like they were appropriately spaced out.
Ewan McGregor, Ewan McKellen and Emma Thompson were INCREDIBLE casting choices and truly gave it their all, despite only physically being on screen for a few short moments.
On to the "gay moment" controversy:
LaFou, who is overwhelmingly gay in the cartoon, is much less of the "butt-of-the- joke" sidekick in this adaption. He is definitely comedic, for that's the role of LaFou, but he is also very level-headed, despite his affection for Gaston. I like that they made him more flamboyant, because, as stated, he is overwhelmingly gay. Also, I loved that they made an effort to show him switch from a female to male dance partner in that "gay scene" that shocked the nation. It gave him a happy ending, which he very much deserved, and overall humanized him, despite being the "bad guy's sidekick".
Overall, the effects, production design, sound, acting, singing and directing were phenomenal. I hope the online scores improve when more people see it - this film is truly special, and really sticks to the original while very much making it its own.
If anything, go see it for the incredible cast! You will NOT be let down.