Why I Love the New 'Beauty and the Beast'

I am a massive Disney fan and one of my all-time favourite Disney classics is ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and always has been since I was a child. So, when I heard they were making a new live action remake, I was both excited and apprehensive. I was excited to see what they would do with it and was more than happy with the casting choices but I was concerned that it may ruin the original film. I was greatly mistaken.
I have now seen this film 4 times in the cinema. It evokes so many emotions in me. Humour, happiness, sadness and a sense of striving to be a better version of myself. I won’t write a large wordy review but I will write just a few points of why I loved the new live action ‘Beauty and the Beast’.

The Visuals:

I want to start by saying that visually the film is stunning. They really tried to pull from the time period and all the wonder and glamour of French fashion and design. The sets were astounding to see and, seeing it more than once, I continuously found myself spotting things I hadn’t noticed the first time round. The attention to detail was incredible. The costumes were also a key part in what made this film so aesthetically beautiful. Admittedly, Belle’s dress was more yellow than gold than I had hoped but it was still so beautiful and I loved her celebration gown at the end. The design for the whole film was classic and traditional and reminded me of why I love older time periods and fairy tales.

Backstory on the Characters:

A key thing with this version that actually was better than the original is that there was a greater explanation into the characters backstories. We finally got to understand why the Beast became so selfish and cruel and what happened to Belle’s mother. It just made you feel more connected with the characters and provided more empathy for the Beast especially. I also felt there was greater expansion as to why the household staff (especially Mrs. Potts) was so patient with the Beast considering he was the reason they were all cursed. So for me it felt like any questions I made about the characters growing up were finally answered, creating a more fleshed out and detailed story than before.

Openly Gay Character:

This will forever be one of the greatest things about this film and I would like to congratulate the writers and Josh Gad (who played LeFou) for doing it so brilliantly.

Yes, there was an openly gay character in the film but they placed it in so seamlessly and didn’t make it such a big deal that it felt natural, which is exactly how gay characters should be in movies. Being gay or having gay characters shouldn’t be a new thing, it should feel normal and natural which is what it is! I felt they did it without making it tacky and overly stereotyping and creating a humorous character without being disrespectful to the LGBT community.

(And come on, let’s be honest, we all knew LeFou was gay for Gaston)

The Emotions:

I have already mentioned that the film gave me a multitude of emotions. I genuinely felt as though I was on an emotional rollercoaster but the best kind of rollercoaster. All characters had a pinch of humour to them, most notably Dan Stevens did an excellent job at making the Beast wonderfully dry humoured through his tone of voice and facial expressions. Again, Josh Gad stole the show in the way of humour but it wasn’t just humour that made the film. It was moving and very nostalgic (which I’ll come onto later). I found myself genuinely smiling and caught myself at times grinning which I don’t think I’ve ever subconsciously done in a film before. The added scenes and music that were new moved me to tears, especially the song 'Days in the Sun'.

No matter how many times I'd seen the film I truthfully still laughed just as hard and even cried more than before. I think that's what truly makes a wonderful film. A film that can tap in to a range of emotions and also make you want to be better. This film was inspiring and truly teaches you to see the different sides of people and the strength of being open minded and just kind.

The Music and Nostalgia:

The greatest thing that this film did was create a sense of nostalgia that warmed my heart especially through the music. Although this film stands alone in it’s own right, it’s respect to the original brought out such warming feelings in me it made me cry happy tears and the music was a big factor in this.

To say Alan Menken is an incredible composer feels like an understatement, his music is timeless. For anyone who doesn’t know, he did the original music for the cartoon version and also worked on the new adaptation. It was clear from the off that the original score had been used and that for me meant more than anything. Even with the added songs it didn’t feel wrong and tapped into something in my soul, which sounds exaggerated but it's not at all. He made the music consistent with the original while making it fresh and so much more moving.

I just think the film was an absolute triumph and I will go as far to say it is my new favourite film. Emma Watson was the perfect Belle and she made her so strong and independent while still allowing her to be feminine and Emma was the perfect choice for that. Luke Evans was difficult, not because he was a bad Gaston he was an amazing Gaston, but I love Luke Evans so much I almost didn’t want to hate Gaston. The voice actors also need continuous credit.

The film exceeded all expectations and beyond. I simply hope the next live action versions can live up to this but we will soon see.