Beauty and the Beast Movie Review {2017 Version}

I was invited to a press screening for this film. All opinions expressed belong to me.

The story of Beauty and the Beast has been my favorite since I was a 7-year-old girl memorizing every line of the 1991 animated version. {Seriously. I will gladly karaoke to the opening tune Belle any day…and even do all the voices.}

Belle has always been my favorite Disney princess. Her love of learning, her desire to be an original, and her kind heart are so appealing, right?

So I hoped and prayed the live action version of Beauty and the Beast would live up to my childhood affection. The good news? It surpassed my dreams. I LOVED this movie and I’m still smiling about it days later.

The storyline is all there…A small town girl sick of the small town mentality, a beast cursed due to being judgmental, a castle with inanimate objects that come alive. It sounds like a live action disaster on paper, but sprinkled with a little Disney magic, it feels SO real, and comes across beautifully on the big screen.

It’s re-imagined at parts, which brought in some welcome changes in my opinion {finally we know why Belle’s mom isn’t in the picture}. Most importantly, the Academy Award-winning music is all there, sprinkled with some new songs — and they had me wanting to stand up and clap after each one. It’s exactly the kind of movie that will have 90’s girls swooning with nostalgia and ushering in a new generation of Belle fanatics.

I thought Emma Watson was a fantastic choice for Belle. She is naturally stunning and easily captured Belle’s true beauty with her intelligence and bravery in her depiction. Her voice wasn’t perfect, but it fit well. Kevin Kline played Belle’s artist father and it was hard not to have a soft spot for him throughout the movie.

As expected, Josh Gad {Olaf!}, who played LeFou, completely stole the show from Gaston, played by Luke Evans. He was definitely one of my favorite characters.

Was it controversial though?

All those “gay innuendos” the media is going nuts about? Yeah, they are there if you’re looking for them, but they are incredibly subtle and will go over any kid’s head. Additionally, this version actually included people of color, and even highlighted interracial couples. Personally, I say “Go Disney!” for taking a bold stance in a small, non-threatening way.

If that type of stuff bothers you, just skip this movie 😉

Age Recommendation

Let me start off by saying this movie wasn’t created with preschoolers in mind.

Regardless if your child loves the original, it is tons more intense to see on the big screen. There’s ferocious wolves, growling from the beast, blood, and Gaston uses guns.

For that reason, I am recommending ages 7+ for this film. At the end of the day, you know your child. But I think most moviegoers will agree this isn’t for little ones, and it definitely could cause some nightmares. If you have a child who scares easily, save it for rental when the scary parts don’t seem as intense as they are on the big screen, or you can just skip over them entirely.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I found this to be a beautiful film, and one completely worthy of a trip to the movie theater. I did see it in 3D, which was neat, but not necessary in my opinion.

Will every person love it? Maybe not. But for this gal who grew-up thinking Beauty and the Beast was the gold standard for Disney, I’m a happy camper.

Enjoy this film if you go see it!