Beauty And The Beast 2017 Review

Finally got to see the new live action Beauty And The Beast once again produced by Disney who brought us the all time 1991 classic that became the first animated film in history to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture.

SPOILERS

      Let me begin by saying that the original Beauty And The Beast remains one of the defining movies of my childhood as well as a masterpiece and my second favorite love story next to Titanic 1997. Growing up, there were three main Disney films that dominated my childhood which was Aladdin, The Lion King, and Beauty And The Beast. When I first saw the trailer for the live action Beauty And The Beast, I got excited as well as goosebumps in regards to the authenticity of the original being present in the early trailer. Disney has impressed me thus far with their early attempts at turning classic Disney stories into live action films as I enjoyed 2015s Cinderella, and 2016s The Jungle Book prior to going into the new Beast film. My expectations for this one was never for it to be better than the original which is a near impossible task given the legacy of that one and it's level of spontaneousness but I hoped for a live action adaptation that remained faithful to its predecessor while standing on its own feet as a standalone movie. So the question on everyone's mind reading this review is whether Beauty And The Beast lived up to the expectations placed upon it by audiences and critics who loved the first film? The answer is to put it frankly, an absolute and astounding yes.

Beauty And The Beast 2017 is not only a faithful adaptation to the original classic that does it complete Justice but it also carries with it a certain level of Disney magic as it's own tale of classic romance. Chicago director Bill Condon had the extremely difficult task of bringing this complicated love story revolving around the concept of Stockholm Syndrome to life from cartoon, and does he deliver in that regard. The love story doesn't just present large doses of nostalgia with audiences making them feel like a kid again but it actually works as a more mature and upgraded romance. The movies greatest strengths is in regards to the believability of the cast as well as the authenticity of the film with the Art-Set Decoration of the film as well as the Costume Design and music nailing the style of the film perfectly while maintaining key moments that made the first film so enchanting for audiences such as Beast and Belle sharing their official dance and Be Our Guests musical number being reenacted in stunning live action form. In regards to the performances themselves, the cast is near flawless with Emma Watson turning in a fantastic performance as Belle with her only fault being her singing feels a bit off at times.  At first I questioned if someone else could've portrayed Belle as the look of Watson doesn't quite matchup with how Belle appears in the original cartoon, but her performance captures the spirit, the wonder, and the essence of the character. She makes it believable that a girl of her stature could fall in love with her captor and rescuer over a brief period of time. Dan Stevens is simply stunning as Beast, not only having the look of him in human form but nails the mannerisms of the original Beast perfectly along with the voice. Luke Evans proves to be a perfect Gaston in live action form with this version of him coming across as being more unlikeable making him a cross between the original Gaston and Billy Zane from Titanic. Kevin Kline shines as Maurice, Belle's father who not only cares about his daughters future but also mourns the loss of her mother. Josh Gad shines as LaFeo, Gaston's close friend and admired, often stealing the show when he's on screen along with sharing a surprise twist with his character in the films climax, prompting unnecessary controversy in regards to the sexual orientation of his character. As for other supporting roles, Ian McKellen, Ewan McGregor, and Emma Thompson all shine as members of Beasts servants in the mansion turned accessories with McKellen playing the clock named Cogsworth, Ewan McGregor as Lumiere the candlestick, and Emma Thompson as Miss Potts. These additions to the film as well as the characters they play do a remarkable job at capturing the spirit of the original characters while bringing new life to them, giving audiences goosebumps as they relive their childhood on the big screen. With the acting and technical aspects of the movie being amongst the strongest points of the film, the strongest point is also the live action movie embracing it's own legacy, taking the same story and making its own interpretation of it while adding to the characters and their motivations. This time the audience feels Maurice's pain at the loss of his wife and Belle's mother, this time the audience hates Gaston more as he shows his true character and snake like personality especially towards Maurice, this time after Beast saves Belle from being attacked from the Wolves, their relationship really begins to grow stronger whereas the original film had them suddenly falling in love with not much buildup in between Beast rescuing her and their magical dance moment together. Beast also has moments where his personality and past is fleshed out more with him reflecting on his own childhood and feeling genuinely sad once Belle leaves to help her father. The live action version doesn't take away anything from the original but expands on it both story wise and technologically. The best remakes are the ones that don't try to copy the same film 100 percent but pay the utmost respect to their predecessors while crafting their own interpretations of the same story. The live action version of Beauty And The Beast can gladly be classified as one of the rare movie remakes that actually works as well as being an example that the transformation from cartoon to live action can actually work along much like The Jungle Book.

Overall, Beauty And The Beast 2017 is a stunning and magical retelling of a classic Disney story that's endured the test of time within its 25 plus years of existence, leaving a powerful stamp on young audiences worldwide as well as a benchmark for the type of impact a cartoon film can leave upon audiences. The original Beauty And The Beast was the first animated film of its kind to garner an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture which it lost to Silence Of The Lambs. While the live action movie will most likely miss that opportunity to repeat history twice despite being worthy of an actual nomination, it still deserves recognition in technical categories such as Visual Effects Costume Design, Art-Set Decoration, music, and Cinematography which was breathtaking and stellar. The greatest joy of watching the live action movie is the nostalgia of seeing a familiar faces and locations in Beatss castle come to light while hearing familiar musical numbers such as the opening scene with Belle's music which quickly provokes feelings of childhood nostalgia. Beauty And The Beast 2017 is a faithful live action adaptation that succeeds because of its remarkable cast, the amazing attention to detail that it's director, Bill Condon, brought to the big screen in an effort to being audiences back to this magical world, and the magical feeling that Disney was able to replicate with this version, making audiences care once again about the romance between a young girl and a Beast. While some will always prefer the original film which is still the superior version, Beast 2017 stands on its own ground giving audiences a faithful adaptation that often feels amazing at times that it's actually capturing the feelings we had upon seeing the first film 25 years ago. Beauty and the Beast does nothing to harm the legacy of the original but reintroduces it to a new generation of young audiences while giving older fans a more mature version of a tale as old as time.
                                                                                                                                         9 out of 10

Our characters for this evening: