Review of Beauty and the Beast (2017) by Thequietgamer — 09 Jun 2017

The French fairy tale has once again been brought to the big-screen by Disney. Only this time in live-action form. If one was hoping for a more faithful adaptation of the original story this time around, then they would be disappointed. This pretty much just a remake of the 1991 animated classic. It never strays from what that movie did by much at all, outside of it's own little personal touches to make it not quite a 100% repeat. As a result we are left with a movie that is very familiar as was to be expected based on those trailers. It's very "been there, done that" and doesn't hold a candle to it's animated counterpart. Yet by no means is it a bad movie. There's a reason this tale is as old as time and that's because it's a darn good one.

What keeps it from living up to it's predecessor is that it's more cartoonish in nature. There's an extra added sense of goofiness and more humor to every scene. It's missing that dark, more mature tone that made the original so charming, intimate, and effective. It's wonderful to see the dazzling light and pretty sights the director has in store for you. I also laughed regularly. It's clear that this version is more concerned about pure entertainment than having the tale pull at your heartstrings the way it did back in 1991. They even turned down the more menacing aspects of the Beast's personality like his violent outbursts to make it more appealing to all ages. There was a frightening aspect to the character for me as a kid so I see why they did it, but there's no hiding the fact that it hurts the story and romance in the end. Even in my early years when Beast's angry, loud eruptions gave me a fright I didn't mind them. Even then I noticed how it made Belle's slow peeling back of his layers all the more meaningful and effective. I also wasn't too happy with how characters like Cogsworth were pushed more into the background this time around.

There's a lot the movie does get right though. For starters it's absolutely gorgeous and the little touches like how the prince's beastly appearance shares features with his true human form. It also extremely well cast. Emma Watson really is the perfect Belle. For the most part the cast has been given more over-the-top versions of the characters. Watson is the only one who plays their character with the exact same conviction as their animated counterpart. Something I do not believe is the rest of the cast's fault. Instead the blame falls on the writer(s) and director. Luke Evans nails Gaston's arrogance and manipulative qualities. Then there's Josh Gad who is an absolute scene-stealer with this new version Le Fou, Gaston's sidekick who turns out to be quite endearing this time around. Much like the animated movie there are musical numbers. Most of which are ripped right from the original. They are surprisingly excellent. The dance accompanying them could have used so much, but it was nice to see, or rather, hear Disney not butcher these wonderful songs.

It's magic, romance, fantasy, visual splendor, and well-meaning silliness all rolled up into one big movie. We've basically seen this before and it was no doubt better then, but there is still reason to give this not so new version of a tale as old as time a watch. The qualities that made the fairy tale so well-loved in the first part are still here, albeit in lesser form. It's worth showing to the kids (but make sure they see the superior version at some point) and reliving a classic with some new little touches. 7.