Warning: If you are unfamiliar with the story of Beauty and the Beast, watch the movie first! This article contains spoilers.

Rumors of a live-action rendition of a fan-favorite Disney movie, Beauty and the Beast, have been swirling around the internet since as early as January of 2015. Since then, die-hards have been eagerly anticipating the release and counting down the days until March 17, 2017. The trailer took the internet by storm, sending fanatics into a frenzy and unable to contain their pre-existing excitement. With a cast including Emma Watson as Belle, Dan Stevens as Beast, Luke Evans as Gaston and Josh Gad as LeFou, the public was hyped to see their incredible acting skills put to work. On opening weekend the movie rolled in over 350 million dollars, beating out movies such as Logan and Get Out. It truly was an incredible film from beginning to end.

There have been several controversies and disagreements regarding critics’ reviews and the rumor that the character LeFou was gay for Gaston. Many people decided to boycott the movie because of the idea of LeFou feeling a little more than friendly towards his companion. While watching the movie, it was hardly noticeable to the audience that this was even going on. In fact, I would go as far to say that without that rumor floating around, no one would have even noticed anything of the sort at all.

The remake of the song “Tale as Old as Time” was absolutely stunning. While it followed mostly the same storyline, it also added new scenes. For example, no one ever really knew why the Beast was so mean and selfish as a human, but this version answers that question by giving background. Back when the Beast was a child, his mother died and left his father to take care of him. Unfortunately, the father was the one who taught Beast to be selfish and care only about money. The film also gives more of a role to the enchantress who cursed Beast. In the movie, Gaston tied Belle’s father up to be eaten by the wolves so that he would not need his blessing to marry Belle. It was the enchantress, Agathe, who saved him. Near the end of the movie, the last petal fell and the beast was dead. Belle cried over his body and exclaimed that she loved him, and that is when Agathe revived the rose and Beast turned into his human form. Another mystifying scene much different than the original occurs when Beast shows Belle his magical traveling book. Agathe granted him a book of maps that would take him anywhere he wanted, but it was not a teleportation device, it would just look and feel like he was in that certain place. He let Belle choose which place she wanted to go, and she chose her childhood home in Paris. It was there where she found what happened to her mother and how she died. This moment also brought the two closer together.

In terms of costumes, makeup and CGI, everything was spot on and absolutely perfect. Belle’s infamous blue dress was given a twist with interesting patterns poking behind the apron and brown combat boots as the shoes. It almost gave a modern twist to such an old-timey film. LeFou and Gaston’s costumes were almost identical to the original, but it seemed as if they were toned down and less cartoon-like. To make characters such as the Beast come to life, Dan Stevens had to act with ultraviolet makeup on so that in editing they could fit the beast’s body and face around Stevens’ original expressions. He actually had to play his part twice – once moving his body and once only moving his face. Characters such as Cogsworth and Lumiere both seemed incredibly lifelike – even for a clock and a candle stick. It was obvious that the editing and prop team wasted no time to make sure the two were very detailed.
The entirety of the movie was an incredible experience. It is guaranteed to have the audience smiling the whole way through. From classic songs to new twists, this is the best movie I have seen in awhile.