The new live-action Beauty and the Beast movie is one of a long string of adaptations that are coming from Disney. Several of their animated films (Mulan, The Lion King, etc.) are due for live-action film adaptations in the upcoming years. While for Disney, this is a concept that will definitely be a sure recipe for financial success, as remaking classic animated films, which already have an existing body of devoted audiences, will definitely draw people in because there is a part of all us that wants to see our favourite characters come to life, and the live-action adaptations is the closest we can get to that.

Bill Condon is the director of a couple of the Twilight movies, but thankfully such information becomes shocking when you see the work he does in Beauty and the Beast, which, really is quite a very good adaptation of the Disney film.
To talk about Beauty and the Beast, means we have to talk about Belle – the film’s heroine and one of the most endearing female characters to come from Disney. Emma Watson as Belle is one of the best aspects of the movie. She performs the role in such a way that she ensures her version of Belle is wholly her own while not, in any way, losing nuance and development of character.

Watson gives the role the perfect amount of charm, wit and strength and by the end of the film, you are convinced after seeing her performance, you can no longer envision any other actress in the part. Also, rather surprisingly, she can sing, which makes you think back to what La La Land would have been like if she had been cast in the part that went to Emma Stone. But, that’s a story for another day. Emma Watson in Beauty and the Beast reminds us that she is a strong actress and a young woman who is more than capable of carrying an entire film on her own while surrounded, as the only human character, for a lot of the time, by talking CGI-rendered housewares.

While on the subject of the animated characters in the film: Lumiere (Ewan McGregor), Cogsworth (Ian McKellen), Mrs. Potts (Emma Thompson), Madame de Garderobe (Audra McDonald), Plumette (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) and others, are all impeccable voiced and impeccably rendered. The voice work is extremely strong and characters become such a vital element of the story, and even though they are not in every scene in the film, each one of them finds a presence that the audience misses when the scene moves from the castle shifts to the village and the characters there. Ironically, out of all the CGI characters, it is the Beast who appears least interesting, which is odd considering that he has the largest role and one of the most vital presences in the original film. The new Beast (voiced by Dans Stephens) is perfectly okay, but is not extraordinary.

Perhaps, it is because, as a character, a lot of his own development comes from his interaction with other people. We learn of his temper only when he rages at Belle and his servants. We learn that he can be funny, when Belle points it out. We learn that he is falling in love with the girl when other characters say it. How does the Beast show his own development as a character though? The Beast seems to be written in such a way that he depends too much on others to unveil his own character. Nevertheless, the visual effects used to bring him and the host of other characters to life is breathtaking and it is very possible that Beauty and the Beast will nab a Visual Effects Oscar nomination next year.

In a wonderful departure from the original film, the character of LeFou (Josh Gad) is presented as gay, with a crush on Gaston (Luke Evans). Both actors deliver extremely strong performances and along with Kevin Kline, as Belle’s father, the trio of actors are compelling to watch and more than make up for the underwhelming character of the Beast, who is supposed to be the actual male lead. Luke Evans, in particular, is terrific as the vain Gaston.
Overall, Beauty and the Beast is a thoroughly enjoyable family film, and while one does wish, sometimes, that the exact scenes from the original film were not so faithfully re-represented in this live-action version, there are enough differences (such as the inclusion of new songs, including the beautiful, “Days in the Sun”) to make the film stand on its own as an extremely successful Disney venture.