It's the original animated movie...just higher definition of the same thing again.

Rating: 5/10 (17 May 2017)

The magical 1991 animated tale is being told again, only this time in 'live-action'. The movie stars Emma Watson as Belle who finds herself imprisoned by a beastly creature in a cursed castle (Dan Stevens). The two obviously at first start out at odds, but over time learn to look past their differences and become fond of one another to the point where they may have achieved a love that could break the spell over the castle and everyone who inhabits it.
I didn't like it... I think the movie itself is fine. There really isn't that much wrong with the actual picture; it's well made, well directed, looks pretty, acted fine, songs (for the most part) are the same and decent, it has a few good laughs, the CGI is mostly done alright. My real gripes about this movie is that, aside from approximately 15 minutes worth of material, it is exactly the same as the 1991 animated movie of the same name. It is as close as a movie can get to being a 'shot-for-shot' remake without reaching quite to the extent of Gus Van Sant's "Psycho". There isn't any real originality to this movie, it rips off every single scene, all the songs and lines of dialog from the original and makes it "live- action", which even then it's not really live-action since the majority of the film is done with CGI. Granted, a lot of the CGI looks fine, but some of it looked a little...creepy.
Anyways, I can't say that it's a bad film but that is only because it follows the original so closely so of course it isn't bad. But if I want to watch the exact same movie again then I'll pop in the 1991 movie that feels way more genuine than this remake. I was able to feel way more of the enchantment and charm of the cartoon than I was with this movie. With this movie, all I was able to feel was the cynical attitude of the producers basically saying "Well, if we make the exact same movie again then we don't have to think up anything new and the audiences will be happy because they're seeing the same movie all over again that they could easily watch at home but this time they have to give us money for it...Genius!" That's what this movie feels like, it's lazy on the part of the writers and producers to make this movie because they already had the movie made for them once before, all they had to do was copy and paste. Yeah, there is a few different scenes and songs scattered around but they either stick out like a sore thumb or don't make any difference to the overall story anyways so it became pointless. This whole remake's existence is pointless because it's already been done before and done way better. It's a manufactured, lifeless product rather than an endearing and magical love story like before.
I love the original, I really do. And I can see why people would like this movie; like I said before, it's not a bad film, I just have a problem with studios being so lazy that they don't even bother taking the time to come up with a new or different adaptation of the material. They'd rather ride the success of the original movie by doing the same thing again, and it worked. And I understand that this is completely subjective, so if that doesn't bother you then fine. Personally, I'm under the opinion that if a remake isn't doing something in order to justify its reasons for existing then it's pointless. If a remake is only going to do exactly what the original movie did then I'll just watch the original instead. Now if this movie tried putting a different spin on things, or expanded much more on the characters, maybe taking a unique direction, changing things up in the story that possibly could play on expectations; then I would see a reason for this movie being made, however as it is, it's a lesser and longer version of a classic Disney masterpiece.
I know that I've been extremely harsh on the movie, but the movie itself really is fine. Technically speaking, there isn't that much about it that's necessarily bad. Emma Watson does fine in the role of Belle, although I don't think she has a particularly strong singing voice. Dan Stevens I already just naturally like, he has a good on screen presence in about everything I've seen him in and he does well as the Beast. Kevin Kline I always love to see in movies, besides "Bob's Burgers" I don't get to see him in much so I'm glad that he played Maurice since he can balance kooky and lovable so easily. Luke Evans and Josh Gad as Gaston and LeFou were pretty great actually. They were a big reason why I laughed as much as I did while watching the movie.
Moving on. The songs from the original are still catchy and charming, the new songs I honestly can't remember what they sounded like; I remember where they pop up in the story, but not so much their melodies or lyrics...so I guess they're...fine? Maybe? The movie looks very pretty; the set designs and costumes are visually interesting, the special effects are mainly done well, and there are some decently shot sequences. So I say if you end up watching this, you'll probably have a good time with it and it's fine to show to your kids for sure. If and when I have kids though, the remake won't be the first thing I show them. It will be the animated film and the remake will probably never make it into my movie collection so...woops...I guess they won't get the privilege of seeing that one...oh no