'Beauty And The Beast' A Review

Beauty And The Beast is a family fantasy film, an adaptation of the 1991 cartoon itself an adaptation of the 18th century fairy tale. In a small town in France Belle(Emma Watson) is different, intelligent and imaginative she doesn't fit in in her humdrum village. She continually rejects the romantic attentions narcissist Gaston(Luke Evans) and when her father Maurice(Kevin Kline) is captured by Prince cursed for his selfishness into a Beast(Dan Stevens) she takes his place in confinement. Overtime the two begin to care for each other.

It's difficult to gage any part of this film without the influence of the now classic animated original. Watson is a decent Belle, the entire cast are all good and each is clearly committed and having fun. The songs are all good renditions and the handful of new ones help flush out the story but there is nothing about any of the performances that really soar. Nothing that goes beyond the good. Because the film is such an exact replication it doesn't allow the actors to do much more than parrot or do impressions. The voice work of some of the objects is very well done(Ewan Mcgregor, Emma Thompson) but even then there is something in the hardlined faithfulness of the adaptation that constrains.

The score and musical numbers are wonderful, just like they were the first time. Seeing actual humans and CGI figures reenact, at times shot-for-shot with identical blocking, the beloved cartoon is cool and entertaining. It fully delivers on nostalgia without any of the disappointment these 90's revisits typically bring along with them(TMNT, Jurassic World) it's not as good as the cartoon but it compares and offers enough difference to be, if not fresh, than fun. Devoid of context the film may not work but for any fan of the animated classic this incarnation is a great ride.

A familiar musical spectacle with a lot of joy if few cinematic risks.

See It.