Beauty and the Beast: Review

Beauty and the Beast is directed Bill Condon and stars Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Ian McKellen and Ewan McGregor - plus some starry support. It re-tells the classic Disney fairy tale adaption of a young girl imprisoned after stumbling upon a castle where those within are enchanted by a spell that can only be broken by true love. 

A tale that may be as old as time but a story that will forever live on. Disney not only dominate the animated box office but now triumph with their live action remakes. Beauty and the Beast continues this trend and shows us all there's still life in the old dog - or Beast. As kid's films are becoming so much more intelligent and accessible to adults than they use to be, this remake sustains the solid plot of the 1991 original whilst containing a few new surprises along the way. With the right balance of kindness and determination Watson creates a marvellous Belle, improving the classic Disney princess by showing us why she is so different to everyone else in the village

Though the most Beastly aspect to the film may be its over stretched run time, the extra chunk is wisely spent setting up more of a background to the Beast. This not only stretches our love for the character but creates much more of a blooming relationship between him and the beauty. It's always difficult brining 2D animation to life, especially when the cast consist of a talking candlestick and a teapot. That said, being brought to life on screen really works in the antiques favour - as Mrs Potts, Cogsworth and Lumiere are all improved with witty one liners and enchanting animation, not to mention A -list star voices

Beauty and the Beast stands out through its visual splendour, the sumptuous use of sprawling landscapes and huge castle interiors make for a wonderful backdrop for the story. As for the film's new additions, in most cases they work but all the extra songs that are introduced make the film more of a musical than - perhaps - it should be. With a huge Sound of Music-esque opening number the songs we all know and love sound and look fantastic. The rest of the 'new' songs aren't really necessary to the film however, and contribute to the particularly slow pacing. 

In the end Beauty and the Beast offers a lot more than just an average remake. We are treated to a few new extras that mostly work, and rewarded with improved characters and a visually stunning experience. It's classic Disney magic, but in the flesh. 

I am going to give Beauty and the Beast:

7.9/10