Have you ever wanted to see a Disney Classic in live action? Are you interested in seeing your favorite movie actors as characters in your Disney childhood favorites? Well, then look no further, as Disney’s new film Beauty and the Beast provides an opportunity to see some of these characters in a whole new way.

Directed by Bill Condon from a screenplay written by Stephen Chbosky and Evan Spiliotopoulos, the cartoon characters we knew so well from the animated film transformed into stars including Emma Watson in the lead role of Belle, a character who is similar in intellect and curiosity to her role as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter series. Other actors include Luke Evans and Emma Thompson playing the parts of the evil Gaston and Mrs. Potts, respectively. While there were actors cast in parts as live action for Gaston, Belle, the Beast, and others, there were also characters such as Mrs. Potts, Cogsworth, and Lumiere who were only voice-acting for the CGI-animated house appliances.

In the cartoon, the story centers on a young, smart, beautiful girl, Belle, who seeks out adventure in her life as everyone else in her town is stuck in a mundane existence. She ends up in an old castle with enchanted appliances on her way to find her father who ends up as a prisoner for a cursed, monstrous prince. After changing places with her father, Belle stays in the castle with the frightening prince. They become closer after finding out more about each other, and little by little this interest turns to love.
Belle finds out that all of the beings in the castle suffer under a curse that was put in place because of the cruel prince. Keeping in line with the animated version, the story provides background on the two main characters, as it is discovered that Belle lost her mother to a disease that forced her father to take her away from their old city in Paris, France to a quiet, rural town so baby Belle wouldn’t fall ill with the same plague her mother had. The Beast, we learn, is selfish because, after his mother died, his father, the king, took it upon himself to make him a “perfect” ruler which seemed to include being a spoiled brat. The servants, who have been turned into enchanted household items, seem to think it’s their fault the prince turned out spoiled because they never stopped the king from teaching the prince “how to be a selfish ruler” and have vowed never to abandon him, no matter how barbaric he became.

Even some of the music from the animated tale is performed, as Thompson sings a rendition of the famous title song “Beauty and the Beast,” which was originally performed by Angela Lansbury. During the animation process for the pots, candelabras, and clocks, it was a new look for many of the actors when their characters were put into CGI animation.

The animation made many of the action and fighting scenes heart-wrenching, like the wolf vs. beast fight and the Gaston vs. Beast fight. The New York Times also pointed out, “Beauty and the Beast cost more than $300 million to make and market, and Disney — despite concerns about a live-action musical’s appeal to men and boys — committed to that mega-budget before La La Land demonstrated renewed interest in the genre.” The article goes on to say that Disney initially planned to remake Beauty and the Beast without the songs, but “they saw with Frozen that there could be a massive international audience for musicals,” Mr. Condon said.

While Disney said they were making a gamble, I believe the $300 million budget paid off way more than what they expected, as the film has already generated over $100 million from box-office sales. I give this movie a 5 out of 5 stars for all the new surprises it has, its comedy, and the nostalgia it brings.