Better than I expected

Rating: 8/10 (4 July 2017)

While my kids couldn't wait for this to come out, I was less than excited. I didn't think Emma Watson is "pitch perfect" as a choice as Variety declared, and I couldn't imagine what Disney felt it was accomplishing by turning the cartoon into live action. Having said that, I watched it on video and found that I liked it better than I expected. The Beast seemed more sympathetic and educated character than in the animated version, and some of the back story added perspective, not that I couldn't live without it. I am disappointed that as in the original movie they cut "Human Again," but the new songs were OK, and the ones that were dropped were no great loss. I do think many of the negative reviews here were unduly harsh, maybe because they paid full price in the movie theater, but for $8 video, I was entertained and satisfied with my investment.