Beauty And The Beast 2017
So, it is very well made, and an enjoyable enough way of passing a couple of hours. But for me there are a few small flaws. One, you can't out tea pot Angela Lansbury. So while Tale As Old As time is nicely done, it isn't as emotional or wondrous as the previous version. Two, Emma Watson does the acting side pretty well. But the singing not so much. Sure she hits and holds notes but she doesn't really belt them out. Third and finally, it is basically an identical retread of the earlier film and doesn't really offer anything new. Sure a big deal was made of Le Fou being gay, but really the only time that's different on screen to the earlier film is at the ball at the end where he ends up dancing with another guy. It's probably better that no big deal is made of it, after all some people are gay, get over it as They say. But on it's own it doesn't have a huge impact and is not really a compelling reason to watch this version over the earlier film. The beast gets a new song which is pretty decent and I think the household staff get a song that was previously only in the special edition. And there's some unnecessary gumf about Belle's mother.
Those flaws aside, it was pacey, energetic, and very enjoyable. But the earlier film is the one I'd recommend every time.
4/5. Original film gets 5.
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