The way the film should had been in 1991

Rating: 10/10 (21 March 2017)

Well the film may only be released just over a quarter of a century after the original version but it certainly is a much better movie than the the original.
Pros Cast made of some well known movie celebrities, Brilliant visual effects, some plot holes and puzzles from original film answered.
Cons To similar to the original film, a bit to dark for children, songs not as great as the original film.
Well when I learned via internet back in 2015 a live action remake of Beauty and the Beast was going to be made I was simply over the moon. I am a guy and even though like Frozen and the recent Cinderella movie it will mostly be girls that will be watching the movie I for one was not going to miss this flick and I am glad I seen it. I waited nearly 2 years for this film to be released and I kept thinking this film was never going to be released but I will download it when it is available via iTunes and I will see it again and again. I am a big fan of Beauty and the Beast and it is one of 2 Disney Princess movies I like the other being Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs which is apparently in the works to be a live action Disney movie as well. I grew up watching Beauty and the Beast that came out in 1991 the year I was born and I admit the original film may have been a bit to 'young' to get the live action treatment as it is nearly only 26 years old but we all know that most Disney cartoon movies are getting the live action treatment.
I do agree with most critics the remake is simply a direct remake of the cartoon as Belle is a young girl who swaps places with her father Maurice in a castle the home of a prince who has been turned into a Beast and must win her love to break the spell before the last petal falls otherwise he will be cursed for entirety. There is of course Luimier, Cogsworth, Mrs Potts, Chip, Le Fou and of course last but not least the jock villain Gaston because after all 'Noone can be a villain in this film like Gaston'.
In my opinion despite the film being to similar it is much better than the 1991 version and I swear to God Bill Condon has made the film the way it should had been in 1991. If Bill Condon was not going to be director my other choice would be Tom Hooper director of Les Misables as that musical was also set in France. I would had also considered Eddie Redmayne for the role of Beast but Dan Stevens did a great job as Beast. He did a terrific job singing the original song 'For Evermore' which I think should get a nomination next year for best original song. He sounded so much like Beast in the original film but I was slightly disappointed he did not speak to Belle when he returned to his human self. Emma Watson also did a great job as Belle except for the singing as that was not as great as Paige O'Hara's but she did a good job playing the main female character in the film. Luke Evans was not too bad but I felt he lacked the body-build Gaston had in the 1991 version but he was much more darker and evil in this film. I know a lot of people thought Le Fou was not that evil but in my opinion he was though not quite at the same level as his animated counterpart. Still both Luke Evans and Josh Gad showed great chemistry in the film but if I was to pick the actor to play Le Fou it be Ben Whishaw as he is gay in real life as was Le Fou in this film. The servants were alright but they never had a quite as a big a role in this film than the 1991 adaptation. For example Cogsworth and Chip don't get as much screen time this time around and I felt also Ewan MacGregor had more of a slight German accent than a French accent but he had fun playing Luimier . As for Mrs Potts her singing just was not as great as Angela Lansbury's for the theme song of Beauty and the Beast and I think either Julia Walters or Imelda Staunton could had replaced fellow Harry Potter star Emma Thompson for the role. Kevin Kline did a brilliant job as Maurice and had much more screen time than his cartoon counterpart.
As I said the film was much better than the 1991 version but the songs especially Be our Guest and Tale as old as Time were just not the same as the original versions. As I mentioned Emma was not a great singer but she did a great job as Belle. What I did like was that she was simply stunning in her yellow ballroom dress. Emma simply looked like a cracker with her bare arms and her hair when she wore the dress. I did not like her peasant dresses very much but other than that she was stunning.
As I said I thought the film was much better than the cartoon version as Condon made the film the way it should had been in 1991. We finally learn why the prince became rude and snobbish and unkind. We learn why Belle and Maurice moved to the village here named Villienueve after Belle's mother died in a plague and what I did like was that each time a petal fell the servants become less human.
I would recommend this film to anybody and Bill Condon you did a brilliant job bringing this film to life.