'Beauty And The Beast' Remake Freshens Up The Tale As Old As Time
Beauty and the Beast
Starring: Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Josh Gad, Kevin Kline, Ewan McGregor, Ian McKellen, Emma Thompson, Audra McDonald, Stanley Tucci
Musical, Fantasy, Family
Run time: 2:09
Rated PG
In theaters March 17, 2017
We're in the middle of a Disney remake renaissance and Beauty and the Beast dances right into the line up perfectly. Following in the footsteps of the 2015 Cinderella, the Bill Condon-directed film features gorgeous scenery, intricate costumes and some additional scenes that set it apart from its animated counterpart.
With a truly magnificent cast (which is so star-studded the list above doesn't even include everyone), the movie is truly no lightweight. Emma Watson immerses herself within her role as Belle, being both as beautiful as the name suggests and as intelligent as her character is famous for, and though he isn't physically seen, Dan Steven's voice is the perfect combination of both gruff and charming that should come from a prince-turned-Beast.
The "supporting" cast is so much more than that, with witty banter that would be expected from Lumiere and Cogsworth, perfect timing from the additional "furniture" and a hilarious - but odd - repartee between Gaston and LeFou.
The story itself is a refreshing upgrade of the Disney cartoon and provides additional scenes and songs that were not in that original film. Some of the songs are not necessarily the best of fits, and there are a few scenes that could have been cut to keep it under the two-hour mark, but overall, the changes answer questions and fill gaps that the much shorter original left behind.
More dimension is added to the relationships between Gaston and LeFou, Belle and her father and, most importantly, Belle and the Beast, which is quite welcome - and necessary - when telling this story with real people rather than cartoons.
However, even though it is being marketed for viewing in 3D, it seemed to be a bit nausea-inducing at times; this is one film that should be seen on the big screen, but probably only in 2D.
If you need something magical in your life, Beauty and the Beast will easily charm both kids and adults without even trying.