Disney’s classic “tale as old as time,” Beauty and the Beast, was reimagined through the eyes of director Bill Condon in a live-action lm. Belle, played by Emma Watson, is a girl who strugglesto tinandseeksmorefrom life than what her hometown has to o er. Her father Maurice, played by Kevin Kline, stumbles upon the Beast’s castle and is imprisoned. Belle goes to nd her father and o ers her life for his. Slowly, Belle and the Beast, played by Dan Stevens, fall in love and nd that they are more alike than di erent. They both face obstacles along the way, but in the end, true love saves them and their loved ones.

I had high expectations going into the movie, mostly because it had two of my favorite things: Disney and the princess Belle. Beauty and the Beast has an extraordinary cast, ranging from Josh Gad to Ewan McGregor, with the performances of each character brilliantly portrayed. However, moments lost their signi cance when the camera would suddenly ash to other situations, distracting

the audience from the main focus of the scene. While I was pleasantly surprised that the movie made e orts to explain the backgrounds of Belle and the prince, the manner in which the backgrounds were portrayed seemed unnecessary and forced.

The visuals of the Beauty and the Beast were extremely appealing to the eye, and there was never a dull moment. The computer generated imagery (CGI) transformations from animation to live-action were true to the characters but not identical to the Disney original, which I appreciated. The technological advances brought each character to life in a magical way, but auto-tune was unnecessary for the singing. The makers of Beauty and the Beast have not con rmed that auto-tune was used within the movie. However, Emma Watson seemed to have a more robotic tone to her voice. Personally, I would rather hear an imperfect human voice than Apple’s Siri voice sing. The lm kept Alan Menken’s original music for Beauty and the Beast, and added a couple of new songs to the movie,

such as Menken’s “Days in the Sun” and “How Does a Moment Last Forever.” I enjoyed the live-action creators’ concepts and ideas within the lm. For example, the dying rose, the most famous symbol for Beauty and the Beast. Each time the rose would lose a petal, the Beast and his house sta would lose a piece of themselves. Belle’s live-action dress remained in stand out yellow, which it is known for, yet unidentical to the animated version. Overall, I would give Beauty and the Beast three and a half out of ve stars. The visually appealing lm remains true to the classic tale, and adds its own twist of magic by bringing the beloved characters of the iconic original to life with a terri c cast. I highly recommend Beauty and the Beast for Disney fans who love the animated original and yearn to explore beyond the poor provincial town.