Entertaining New Audiences- Beauty and the Beast #Movie_Review

Be Disney’s Guest and enjoy the spectacular cinematography of Beauty and the Beast- I’m giving it an A.
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A live-action retelling of the classic Disney fairy-tale about a girl with brains who takes her father’s place as a prisoner in a cursed castle. Belle (played by Emma Watson) and her father (played by Kevin Kline) have moved to a small town in France. Belle’s education makes her an outcast among the “provincial” town and she longs to learn more about her mother’s death and the family’s flight from Paris. 

​When her father gets lost in the woods on a sales trip, he finds a cursed castle and picks a rose for his daughter, sending him to the dungeon. The castle has been forgotten by the town around and hidden from sight for many years because the prince only looked for wealth and physical beauty instead of the real value inside. He was turned into a beast while his staff became a part of the castle. Belle trades places with her father and charms the beast. In turn, he learns the importance of looking deeper. After all, good-looking men like Gaston, often hide a cruel heart. 

​The Disney remake retains much of the original cartoon’s songs and storyline but adds some depth to the characters. We learn about both Belle and Beast’s families, and what made them who they are. The townspeople and castle servants are intertwined in a unique way and we see how the loss of love has affected them all. 

​Josh Gad as LeFou steals the scenes as Gaston’s right hand man. He idolizes him, cares for him, and keeps him on the right track. But it’s his own awakening to what is “morally correct” that changes things for everyone. Luke Evan’s plays Gaston as a man on a mission, albeit one who has suffered as well. If only he’d have had someone to change him from a monster.

​The CGI graphics of the beast are awkward at first but when you let the movie pull you in, they seem to fit. New songs and beautiful landscapes are sure to make this a movie you will want to see again and again.