By Vincent Saciolo

Once again Disney seems to think that we liked their original movies so much that we would rather watch a live action, CGI-filled remake instead of just watching the originals. So far Cinderella, 101 Dalmatians, The Jungle Book, and Beauty and the Beast have all been remade into live action, with even more remakes on the way! Aren’t you excited? No? Of course you aren’t. Nobody is. I doubt there’s a single person on earth who asked to see Beauty and the Beast, Mulan, or the Jungle Book re-made in live action. And why is that, you may ask? It’s because the original movies were already perfect! These Disney movies are classics and any attempt at a remake is pretty much an obvious, but successful cash grab attempt by Disney, because even though nobody asked for them, we’re all going to see them anyways and and soon enough every movie that has ever made them money is gonna be hitting the big screen again. This time, however, with real life actors, subpar singing, and a wide range of disappointment.

Oh, the movie? Yeah it was pretty decent. What else did you expect? It’s Disney. No matter how much we didn’t ask for this, it’s still enjoyable enough. The cinematography in the movie is very pleasing, as usual, but the best part of the movie to me was that they tried to answer some of the questions and concerns people had concerning the movie’s story since it first released:

What happened to Belle’s mother?

How did all the townspeople just forget about the massive castle a few miles away?

Was the Beast really only 11 when he was cursed?  

The remake answers most of these questions, and what couldn’t be answered was simply reworked to make more sense, which provided a more completed story. Without those, the movie would have been pretty bland.

A majority of the songs and musical numbers are subpar compared to the original film and filled with unnecessary line changes. Several of the characters seem too different from their animated counterparts; either in voice or personality. These characters include LeFou, and no, he isn't different because of his sexual orientation. That’s hardly even in the movie, so if you were excited about some LGBT representation in a mainstream Disney film, like they had advertised, then you can just add it to the growing list of disappointments in this movie.

A lot of the jokes in the movie don’t really land and some of them seemed incredibly forced. All of the CGI characters look awkward to me, and how the servants are depicted in the movie does not allow for any hint of complex emotion. Take a look at Lumière (the candlestick) in both the original and in the remake. Tell me which one looks like they can better express emotion and move more naturally. The remake lacks the charm and charisma that made the original a success. It is, without a doubt, a downgrade of the classic 1991 film.

Like I had already stated, however, this movie is still very enjoyable. I had a lot of fun watching it, but most of my problems about the movie only surfaced when I stopped to think about it afterwards. If you’re a person who can just enjoy a light-hearted, colorful and cheerful movie without thinking about the flaws, then I recommend you go see Beauty and the Beast. But for anyone else, I suggest you give this one a pass and wait for it to hit the shelves.