The song ‘A tale as old as time’ rang throughout the beautiful ballroom. The small town girl wearing a yellow ball gown that sweeps across the floor as she dances along with her prince. The only thing that could have made it more nostalgic was if I had just hit play on the VCR in my living room.

  Beauty and the Beast was my favorite Disney musical when I was growing up, so you could imagine my excitement when I heard it would be recreated into a live action movie. My expectations were high, and I am happy to say they were met.

  The classic story of Beauty and the Beast is of a small town girl named Belle, played by Emma Watson, who seeks more than just a “provincial life,” which she finds in an unexpected way. Belle is captured and taken as prisoner by a hideous beast, played by Dan Stevens. The Beast is also captured – but by a curse, and Belle is the only one who may be able to break that curse.

  Compared to the original animated version of the movie, this live action was very similar, and I appreciated that. New songs were added, but the same old classic songs of the film were performed and portrayed almost identically. There were times when I heard significant lines in the new version that I would remember from the old one.

  Regarding the characters, I feel that the film was casted well. Luke Evans as Gaston was the perfect match. It felt like Evans really was Gaston: his voice, appearance and ego was exactly like that of the character.  This really made the song “Gaston,” from the original movie come to life. As for Stevens, I thought he portrayed the role of the Beast very well, even though we didn’t actually see his face until the very end of the movie. In this live action, the Beast is actually given a new solo song which I really loved. There were times where I didn’t feel Watson fit the role of Belle. Maybe it was because I kept thinking about her characters in other movies – such as Hermione in Harry Potter – but then she would surprise me and portray traits that made me think she was Belle.

   This movie made me smile at cute moments, laugh at silly scenes and shed a tear at heartfelt times. Maybe it’s just because I’m an emotional person, but this movie brought that side out of me.

   Overall, I was satisfied with the production of this movie. The special effects, songs and dances were all amazing to me and reminded me so much of my favorite Disney movie I grew up watching. I still say that Beauty and the Beast remains a favorite.