Beauty and the Beast Review

Rating: Null/10 (30 March 2017)

It's a tale as old as time and a song as old as rhyme, Beauty and the Beast. The original Disney animated movie was the first animated movie to ever be nominated for the Best Picture category at the Academy Awards, back in 1991. So it's no wonder that there was a lot of pressure to get the live-action version just right. It's easy to compare it to the animated movie, but the live-action version brings a lot of new elements to the story. It provides backstory for several characters as well as better romantic development between Belle and the Beast. That's all accompanied by some great and often delightful acting performances as well as the musical songs.
While the movie is basically a remake of the animated version it also changes a few things and adds in scenes in order to tell the story better. One new element the movies adds comes from the original fairy tale story, and that's Belle asking for a rose every year from her father Maurice. The movie also adds in new scenes between Belle and the beast that creates a better romantic connection between the two. Emma Watson does a great job playing Belle, she brings a lot the character beyond being warm and kind. Dan Stevens also does a good job at making the beast sympathetic as well as caring.
As for the songs. While Emma Watson does not sound like Paige O'Hara (the voice of Belle in the cartoon) she does a wonderful job singing the songs. Surprisingly Dan Stevens has a great singing voice and gets an original song that is actually really good. Even though Ewan McGregor's French accent was not great, his version of Be Our Guest was fantastic and different from the original. Emma Thompson does a wonderful job as Mrs. Potts. While not copying Angela Lansbury, she still brings warmth and care to the character.
Not everything in the movie was perfect. Luke Evans is a great actor but his version of Gaston is not as fun as he was in the cartoon. This is evident in the song "Gaston". Josh Gad does a great job as LaFou, who is not quite the fool he was in the animated movie, but Gad has a great singing voice. The other thing that was quite as well done is the ballroom scene with the title song. The visuals didn't feel as grand and magical despite the setting. Some of the directing were off in a few scenes, where the focus wasn't clear and the angles weren't perfect. Some of the designs for the object characters were odd looking, but after a while, you get used to it.
However, if we stop comparing this to the animated version, this movie is a great adaptation that has a lot to add to the story. The opening musical "Belle" draws the audience right into the character and the town. It sets up the story perfectly and does a great job establishing why Belle doesn't fit in with the town. The ending had some small changes that were surprising and interesting. Overall this movie was beautiful, sweet and magical, everything you want in a Disney fairy tale movie.