Beauty and the Beast (2017)

“[to Belle, about the enchanted book] Think of the one thing that you’ve always wanted. Now find it in your mind’s eye and feel it in your heart.” – Beast

Number of Times Seen – 1 (13 Apr 2017)

Brief Synopsis – After being turned into an ugly beast by an enchantress due to his pride and selfishness a former prince must find true selfless love before an enchanted rose withers in order to become human once again.

My Take on it – Most of you who know my taste in films know that in general I am not a fan of remakes that don’t help make the original better.

This film easily fits into that category because just about everything done here was done even better 26 years ago when Disney managed to garner the first ever Oscar nomination for Best Picture for an animated film.

For some reason, there are still people who believe that due to the advances in technology that it is possible to outdo themselves by using CGI technology.

Yes, the special effects are spectacularly done here, but that alone doesn’t help raise the level of entertainment in this film.

The story and songs are virtually identical to the previous incarnation of this story and the few additions don’t do enough to make this a better version of the story.

The one thing that I liked here slightly more than the animated version is the fact that they were able to spend a bit more time developing the love story between the characters but that feels like a bonus here and is unfortunately the exception and not the rule.

Bottom Line – Interestingly done yet completely pointless remake. The film feels too drawn out in certain parts and virtually nothing really new is added to the musical aspects of the story.  Amazingly done CGI helps a bit but it still can’t come even close to being as entertaining as the original animated version. I also liked how the love story was made slightly longer in order to make it a bit more plausible yet this film is (along with the rest of the slew of live action former animated Disney films films or in the works) still a pointless remake.

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – According to Emma Watson, when her character Belle had to be intentionally struck in the face by a snowball, the whole sequence required numerous attempts until a satisfactory hit was accomplished. In the end, Emma had to keep moving her face/target into the line of fire in order to increase the chances of a direct hit. (From IMDB)

Rating – BAFTA Worthy

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