Movie Review
I probably should have watched this ages ago, but you know how I feel about Disney Princesses…
…though Belle is probably one of the few classic princesses who actually reads, and saves the prince instead of the other way around.
Beauty and the Beast (March 2017)
An adaptation of the fairy tale about a monstrous-looking prince and a young woman who fall in love.
Starring: Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, and Luke Evans
Director: Bill Condon
Rating/ Runtime: PG 2 hrs 9
My Thoughts…
In a word? Underwhelming.
Sadly, I found this hyped up version just as dull as the original, just a little prettier.
Yes, Emma Watson was lovely. Yes, the ensemble cast was impressive (Sir Ian McKellan folks), and yes everything was all very pretty, but it was dull!
It did not deviate very much at all from the animated version, particularly the first half of the film. Same dialogue and everything. One can argue that this is what it was supposed to be, but I expected so much more. I will say that the last hour offered a few new angles to their origin stories and it did get slighly more interesting.
I usually follow my little one’s lead on family movies, and she was not interested AT ALL! The only time she looked at the screen was when the non-human characters like “Chip” were onscreen. This is a girl who loves Maleficent and the live action Wonderland movies, so it’s not her age. She just has good taste 😉
There was one scene we both enjoyed, and that was “Lumiere’s” “Be My Guest” number. It was spectacular and very well done.
I don’t know, maybe I’m the only one who feels this way but my general feeling overall was “meh”.
Anyway, it’s on Netflix (Canada) if you haven’t seen it. Maybe you’ll like it more.
Rating… C+
Reads & Reels 
I thought the movie was ok, but it was so similar to the original I thought it didn’t really justify its existence. It would much prefer Disney was more like Pixar, focusing on producing new content instead of remaking old movies to make more money.
I’ve written an article about the
Evolution of the Disney Princess, which you can read here https://scribblesofstageandscreen.com/2017/01/14/the-evolution-of-the-disney-princess/
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I agree! I can’t think of a pixar movie I haven’t enjoyed! Thanks I will have a look at this
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I thought Emma Watson was charming as Belle, and I really liked Luke Evans as Gaston. Also, I loved LOVED the costumes, but I felt this film was, overall, forgettable. In fact, I kept wondering why this film was necessary…?
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It wasn’t necessary! All the individual pieces were great but were put together in a completely forgettable way.
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I really enjoyed this movie, but I respect that it’s not for everyone. You gave a fair and balanced review 😀 I like how they expanded upon certain scenes that had been in the original animated movie, like where that enchanted book takes them to Paris. I thought that was pretty cool.
Great review!
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I liked that part too. I just felt they could have done so much more.
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Brilliant review! To be honest, I’ve not watched this yet and I’m not sure I want to- I mean I love the original, and from the clips and trailers I’ve seen, this is the same thing, just longer- and after reading your review, it sounds like it’s very similar. To be honest, I never saw the reason to remake a perfect film and I’m sure it’s fine, but “meh” pretty much sums up my reaction before watching it, so I can really relate to what you’re saying here (it’s also really interesting that your little one wasn’t too excited to see it as well!)
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Exactly! I won’t say don’t see it but you’re not missing out if you don’t. Ugh remaking perfectly good movies is a huge beef of mine
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Fair enough! haha yes I completely agree!!
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I have the opposite opinion. I did not find it dull, I found it to be magical and it did bring back my love for Beauty and the Beast.
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That’s awesome! I think this is one of those you really like it or you don’t cases.
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I am a massive musical fan so I fell in love with songs along with the characters and plot and I felt like the plot was expanded upon. Everything has a different opinion and that is okay
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Exactly! I didn’t hate it just hoped for more.
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I don’t even remember seeing the original so I did forget that I once loved the original so it was like I was exploring it for the first time, another reason why I love it so much
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I have a different view of this movie along with the musical. I loved this movie and it brought back my original love for Beauty and the Beast. So I have nothing wrong with the way it turned out
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I completely agree with your assessment. I actually think it is very fair. It is dull, indeed, and predictable to death. My main problem was Emma Watson too in the lead role.
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They had this wonderful opportunity to expand the story or change the dynamics. Such a waste!
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Absolutely!
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I still have to see this one (I don’t have Netflix and it’s too new to be aired on cable yet) but it did look so nice. So sorry to hear it didn’t live up to your expectations!
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Maybe you’ll like it. You just expect so much more these days. It doesn’t help when the media machine hypes it up too much.
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You’re not alone, I was disappointed too. I wanted to like it, but really just felt meh.
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Right? Such a let down 😐
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Argh! This movie…….
I have loads of problems with this movie. Buckets and buckets filled to the brim with problems. Your review was succinct and kind. My biggest beefs:
1. Nothing was improved. Maybe the colors. Maybe adding Beast’s song. But that’s it.
2. Emma Watson. Love that girl–wonderful person. Bad singer. I’ve never heard such blatant auto-tuning in a film in all my life. Just embarrassing, really.
3. They changed hardly anything, and the changes that they did make were poorly incorporated and fell flat.
3.1 Movie made me realize how much I NEVER EVER cared about Belle’s dead mom. That awkward side-story had
3.2 Changing around the “Gaston” song? Why? It was perfect before?
3.3 LeFou just seemed insulting. I thought that making him gay was a great idea for his character. Making such a sour joke out of the whole thing seemed the exact opposite.
I seriously could go on and on. I won’t. But I did not like this movie, and really wish that audiences had slammed it for the money-grab that it was. It bugs me that Disney can make so much money by jerking people around by their nostalgias.
And for the record, this is not just me hating on remakes or anything like that. I was actually very pleased by the Cinderella live-action remake from a few years ago.
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Oh! I forgot to mention that though I really like the actor who played Gaston, I found their age difference really creepy. I’m not against May-December romances but it just came across as bad casting.
Train the auto-tune was pretty obvious lol. It wasn’t a huge problem because I just focused on the other stuff.
Really, it was just soooooo boring!
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