"Beauty and the Beast" Movie Review

By: James Southworth
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Disney has dominated the movie industry a long time. It's very well known that one of the movies that really pushed them forth in being industry giants was "Beauty and the Beast", a magical story about a young woman named Belle who falls in love with a Beast and softens his cold heart. Audiences fell in love with it, and with good reason. It's one of my personal favorite of the Disney princess series, as it has one of the most dynamic female protagonists in Belle, a sympathetic flawed person in the Beast, a delightfully despicable villain Gaston, and some of the best characters Disney has made in Lumiere, Cogsworth, and Mrs. Potts. The Disney version of this fairy tale has gone down in infamy, especially in its famous songs like the title song, "Be Our Guest", and "The Mob Song". It's no wonder that Disney would eventually make this into a live action movie. It's the highest box-office live action Disney movie, and it's also the only live action one that's a musical. The question is, how does this version fare?

One of the things that this adaptation really has going for it is its production values. This movie is absolutely gorgeous. The set pieces simply jump off the screen, especially the beautifully adorned castle. It really does feel like you are in an enchanted land, as even the town, which is supposed to be the normal world, still has a certain charm to it. A lot of moments in the movie, I was trying my best to pay attention to the story while still admiring the background because of all the immaculate detail that went into it. One of the best moments that really shows all the work that went into the visuals is where Belle and the Beast were dancing. The camera shows all the grandeur of the room they're in, and then there is this lovely moment where all of this candle lighting appears to create a look that can only be experienced by watching this movie. The song "Be Our Guest" also had a lot of creativity in its visuals, having a lot of bright colors. This may well be the strongest part of the movie: its look is practically perfect. It doesn't ever feel overpowering; instead it adds to the magic. The look has been the major strength of every live action adaptation, and I feel the same way with this one.

The most important part of this movie is, of course, the story and songs. Let's talk about the songs first. It should be mentioned that Disney would have a tough time really replicating the feeling the famous songs of the original animated version had; those versions have been ingrained in people's heads for years. I am happy to say that almost all the songs are really well-done. "Be Our Guest" is one of the highlights, as Ewan McGregor shows off his singing abilities and still manages to keep the character qualities Lumiere has intact through his singing. Emma Thompson was a perfect choice to do "Beauty and the Beast"; in fact, she sounds as good as the original Angela Lansbury version. Thompson made sure to honor the source material by keeping her voice soft and delicate (unlike the over-the-top Ariana Grande and John Legend version that sadly went to top 40 pop charts). Kevin Kline adds some raw emotion to "How Does a Moment Last Forever", and I also liked what all the enchanted pieces contribute to "Days in the Sun". My favorite song came from the Beast in "Evermore". It carries a different type of emotion than "If I Can't Love Her", but it still works effectively all the same. Dan Stevens' voice shines on this song, and the backing orchestral accompaniment is gorgeous. "The Mob Song" and "Gaston" are pure fun. Unfortunately the more problematic songs come from Emma Watson in "Belle", "Something There", and her version of "How Does a Moment Last Forever". Her voice has some clear auto tune manipulations, and it can be very distracting. Her voice is so manipulated it often has an artificial beauty to it.

The story is often good, including the backstories and how the creators change some of the characters, is often good but it can have its flaws as well. I love the backstory they gave to the Beast, as it gave him some reason to be so bitter. Although I do like how they shrouded the original Beast in mystery, this story added more sympathy to the character. It was also an interesting choice to make Gaston have PTSD. They don't use that as an excuse for his evil nature, but they do say that could contribute party. Gaston is also far more evil in this version; in fact, he's pretty much a psychopath. That made his character more frightening and more of a force to be reckoned with. Maurice's character was changed as well. Instead of being just a sort of bumbling inventor, he is more a smart artist with a tragic backstory in losing his wife. This made Maurice far more interesting. I'd say he's the only character that's done better here than in the original movie. There were some other parts of the story that I didn't care for. The Enchantress became slightly more prominent in this version, and I don't think that worked. She would do better to just be in the beginning and nowhere else. Also, the backstory with Belle's mother and how she died felt more like filler, and it was passed over too quickly for the audience to register feelings for Belle. Finally, I didn't like how they showed the enchanted pieces in human form at the beginning of the movie, as it took away from the mystery of what they would look like in the end. I think a lot of the stories could've been taken out or not extended upon as much.

The acting in the movie, much like the story, has some strong and weak points. I was surprised to find my favorite character was Maurice, and that was in large part due to Kevin Kline's superb performance. He added quite a bit to this character, making him have a certain intelligence to him that's been lacking in this character previously. I felt more weight in him caring for Belle, as she is the only connection he has left in his life. Instead of often laughing at Maurice, I felt for him, and that was a change I liked. Maurice was also not an entirely weak character, and his arc by the end of the movie is touching and well-earned. Dan Stevens also does very well as The Beast. I liked his interpretation, and the way he changed from going to tough and cold-hearted to soft and friendly was believable. Ewan McGregor, Ian McKellan, and Emma Thompson were all great in their respective roles of Lumiere, Cogsworth and Mrs. Potts. They all made their characters similar to the original movie while adding some of their own personality to them. All of them are likeable, and I liked getting to know them. Stanley Tucci also deserves honorable mention as the Maestro. I liked this new character, as he had his own interesting story. Luke Evans as Gaston makes a suitably menacing villain.

The weak performances were a little bit disheartening for me. Emma Watson as Belle has a few strong moments (primarily in interacting with Maurice and Gaston), but overall she didn't work for me, which was disappointing. I had been sure she would be the best choice for the character, as Watson embodies a lot of the same personality as Belle does. But, she is only mediocre in this movie. She doesn't seem invested when interacting with the enchanted pieces. I guess that could be because they are CGI. Then again, the actor who played Mowgli in the live action "The Jungle Book" did an excellent job at interacting with all CGI characters. She did not reciprocate the chemistry that Dan Stevens provided her; I never got the impression that she really cared for the Beast. As I mentioned before, her songs feel artificially pretty. She doesn't even seem to enjoy singing them, instead just going through the motions. Overall she does well when interacting with characters that aren't CGI, but every time there is a CGI character (which is a lot of the time) she falters. Josh Gad as LeFou was simply not interesting, and probably the weakest performance in the whole movie. I loved the comedy he provided in the original, but he's not very funny here. It's only in his song "Gaston" where I felt anything funny coming from him.  Audra McDonald as the Wardrobe didn't add anything fun to her character, and all the actors who played the Silly Girls looked bored every moment they were on screen. Hattie Morahan as the Enchantress was ok, but I still feel like her presence was unneeded.

I still am surprised to find myself saying that "The Jungle Book" is the best Disney live action adaptation to date, but that might be because I was never a big fan of the original. Overall, "Beauty and the Beast" is a solid movie. It does have its weak points. Emma Watson being one of the weaker points is problematic, and a few of the songs sounding artificial is disappointing. Still, the movie looks absolutely gorgeous, most of the songs are really good (my favorites are easily "Evermore", "Be Our Guest", "Beauty and the Beast", and "The Mob Song"), and there are many performances that really shine, especially Kevin Kline's. I certainly recommend seeing this movie. It may not be a perfect adaptation, but it is still enjoyable. Despite its imperfections, it still holds a type of magic that only Disney can create.