Review of Beauty and the Beast (2017) by Joseph%20 M — 11 May 2018

Remaking the 1991 Academy-Award nominated, animated Disney classic based on the eponymous fairy tale, "Beauty and the Beast" may not have as much charm as its predecessor, but it still managed to satisfy this Disney fan.

It's an impressive production, filled with magic that can be seen on the sets, the costumes and the design, which all have an 18th century European feeling to them. But it's not all that this film has going for it.

The entire cast shines, particularly Emma Watson as the fearless and dreamy Belle and Dan Stevens, which delivers a brilliant motion-capture performance as the Beast and he offers his handsome looks as the Prince.

The film is a musical, just like the animation that inspired it, composed once again by the insanely talented Alan Menken. The skilled cast bring the melodies to life with their powerful singing - even though the slight use of autotune may be obvious in some parts.

But seeing iconic animated scenes like "Be Our Guest" being brought to life gave me utter joy. The film looks stunning for most part, thanks to some brilliant VFX work, but the CGI on some certain characters may look old fashioned in a few years from now.

It does feel like its slow pace at the beginning is only to allow a longer running time. But despite the flaws, it manages to add up to the story of the already beloved tale as old as time, with some new sweet details, as director Bill Condon and the rest of the crew make sure that they create the best wedding cake of a movie possible.