The new Beauty and the Beast live-action remake of the 1991 Disney original is a remarkably good film. I suspect it’ll be a better movie if I see it again without having to constantly compare and predict how it’s different from the original. But, even with that analysis, the movie holds up as a very credible and not unnecessary remake.

The first thing to note is that the film follows the plot and story beats from the original but does add new character motivations, scenes, and songs. It’s not as much an identical remake as it looked in the trailers. Some of those changes were good and some less so but I could usually see why they made them and those will probably not be as glaring on second viewing.

The Beast is a great digital creation – the visual FX in this movie are amazing. The character is far less animalistic now and that changes his persona a bit but not so much as to ruin the character. It does mean the things that Belle sees in him have changed though (he’s more human-looking now and far less angry)… but it still works. It only suffers in comparison. The actor and the motion capture is brilliant and nearly every scene he’s in is convincing that he’s not only there, but matches up against the live action Emma Watson.

Emma Watson is really good and she never reminded me of Hermione. She inhabits Belle to the point I wasn’t seeing anyone else which is a good job for someone who really hasn’t had a huge number of movie roles. Her singing ain’t half bad either – though not as showy as the animated film.

The romance between the two still feels a little abrupt as I felt it did in the animated film (though that had the defense of being animated and 85 minutes). They do try new scenes and new romantic angles though and most of those work (even a weird grim scene about how Belle’s mom died). I’d still call this a romantic musical – no matter what they did or did not do, the focus of the film is still on Belle and The Beast.

Luke Evans plays Gaston and he does a good enough job. I’m not 100% sure he’s as handsome a man as they suggest but it’s not like he’s ugly. The main problem is that he’s not BIG enough (but that’s only in comparison to the comical overkill of the original). Curiously, he’s more villainous instead of just a comical egotistical buffoon. They appear to have changed him from a hunter to a solider and that changes a number of lines in his song and, interestingly, his character motivation at the end of the film. Also, the biggest crime the movie makes is cutting the line from his song “and every inch of me is covered in haaaaair!” A crime I tell ya. A crime.

Much hay has been made of LeFou being an openly gay character (Which just makes me wonder if anyone thought he was straight in the original (I have doubts)). Folks running certain movie theaters should know that this is not played up or obvious unless you are looking for it (or are old enough to see the hints). Josh Gad plays him and it’s one of the performances that man has done that hasn’t bugged me. I liked his portrayal.

All the usual song you know are here (slightly modified as mentioned) plus a few new ones. I believe one the Beast sings is original to the movie but some of the others may have been from the stage play (never saw it). I was actually very impressed by the opening song Belle – the production was much better than the same scene from the animated flick. Others like Be Our Guest try hard and they work but the animated version is still better in my book.

One thing that I’m not sure I like but I get why they did it was an attempt to fill plot holes or explain things. For example, one accusation of the animated version is explained here – why don’t the villagers know about the HUGE castle that appears to be only an hour outside of town. Or to much lesser things like why did the candlestick have a spotlight on him during the Be Our Guest number (answer: a flying plate redirected sunlight… and now you have the answer to the question that’s just been eating away at your soul since 1991!).

Most of this is just par for the course for remakes these days – they feel the need to explain things to avoid internet critics from nitpicking them to death. So I can’t blame the movie and, hey, it’s not like most of this ruined anything.

So, yes, this is a very good film and not at all a bastardization of our memories and nostalgia of the original. Does it NEED to exist? I guess not… but it feels more vital than The Jungle Book or Maleficent, for example. The actors all comport themselves well and sometimes offer nuance, the songs are good and well staged/produced, and it looks amazing in a way that allows the movie to work without being a staged showcase for the latest CGI. Take the kids, take yourself… it’s worth seeing.