Try the grey stuff it's delicious

Rating: 7/10 (6 April 2017)

The first thing you should know before seeing this movie is it is not the original film. throw all concept of the original film out of your mind, because of you compare the two films, you will be monumentally disappointed. Nostalgia plays a big part in why we love the movies from our childhood, whether or not they are truly actually good. However, the original animated Beauty and the Beast was a masterpiece of animation. It was the first animated film to be nominated for Best Picture. I know it is hard to try and drop comparison, but please, try to do it, and think of this film as its own entity.
This version of Beauty and the Beast clocks in at just over 2 hours, nearly forty minutes longer than the original film. In the film, they deeply explore some more of the themes of feminism and misunderstanding that the original just glances over. Some of the exploration of the past really works well. However, some sequences fall flat, like the exploration of the Parisian windmill. Not everything necessarily needs explaining within a film, and it almost felt as if the writers assumed the audience was a little dumber than they actually are.
One aspect of this film that drove me crazy was the visual effects. Don't get me wrong, there moments where I was very impressed by some of the lavish effects. That being said, there were many times it was just plain overkill. The Be Our Guest sequence featured far too many flashing colors that made me think I was developing either ADHD or epilepsy. I felt the computer graphic image rendering to be nothing more than sloppy. the wolves in the movie made me wonder how any computer artist could think that the work on them was remotely good enough to put on the screen. That is how fake and unrealistic they looked. I found big problems also with the design of the Beast. When doing my research, I found that director Bill Condon wanted to create the Beast with skilled makeup rather than CGI. However, Condon's request was overpowered by the studio heads in charge of the film, I wold have much rather had a practical made Beast because his face was at time frighteningly terrible. I gave praise to Logan's visual effects yesterday, and how well they were done. Beauty and the Beast brought back to why I hate bad CGI more than nearly anything else in film, as it can ruin so much within a singular movie. Finally, some of the interactions between the furniture and the live actors felt clunky to me as well. Many shots in the film had me question director of photography Tobias Schliesser's credentials as someone they did not pick up off the street on the day production began. Many of the pullback shots were so out of focus of the characters that you could hardly see the character singing. Seeing as Beauty and the Beast is the most expensive musical ever made, I truly believe they should have put more time and effort into the visual effects.
A major criticism of the film came in the casting of the actors, and their inability to sing or fill the roles of the original voice actors. Here's the deal. Voice actors only have to worry about their voice. That is the only thing they have to contribute to a film. Of course, their voices are going to be better than live action actors, who have many more dimensions to their performances. Yes, many of the actors in Beauty and the Beast are not trained singers by any means sans Audra McDonald. However, they give very solid performances of the songs. Original songwriter Alan Menken even wrote some new songs for the live action film. Are they slightly forgettable? Yes. However, they are decently enjoyable tunes. The original songs have stood the test of time of the past twenty-five years. They are bound to be more memorable songs. Much of the casting was pretty spot on, in my opinion. Emma Watson did a wonderful job exploring the feministic side of Belle, showing the characters quiet strength in not only her acting but vocal performance. There was no performance I think in the film that really held it back. I still wish Jean Dujardin was cast as Lumiere over Ewan McGregor, but you can't always get what you want. Josh Gad is once again a scene stealer as the more flamboyant model of LeFou. Also, if you cannot handle a homosexual subplot for not even four minutes of a film, you should not see movies. The "gay Lefou" storyline was blown so far out of proportion by the media that you hardly even recognize it in the film.
Not enough praise is given to the technicians who create so much of the films we see and get so little of the credit. The same goes for Beauty and the Beast. The set design and costume design was lavish and distinguished, and should definitely be recognized by The Academy for Oscar nominations.
Beauty and the Beast has moments where its brilliance shines through. However, many parts of it feel clunky and too in your face. Overall, it is an above average musical that is enjoyable throughout. If you must compare it to the animated class which it is based, I give you this shocking thought: Remakes are very rarely better than the original, and this film is absolutely no different.
Score: (7/10)