Beauty and the Beast: A Tale As Old As Time

On Friday evening, I surprised my girlfriend with tickets to a movie that has been talked about for several years now and generated massive amounts of chatter, both online and offline.

I am of course talking about Disney's 'Beauty and the Beast', starring Emma Watson as Belle and Dan Stevens as the Beast. Under the direction of Bill Condon, with Stephen Chbosky and Evan Spiliotopoulos writing the script, the end result was a film that is not a direct adaptation of the original 1991 Disney animated classic, nor an adaptation of the hit Broadway show, but its own story, wedded to the music and songs of both the animated original and the Broadway production.

This review is not intended to be chock-full of spoilers, rather, I will state as I have with other reviews, the primary motivations/reasons why this movie was an amazing release for Disney's live-action film line.

1. Casting: What a cast this was! Each actor and actress brought their character to life, giving them all more depth and background, fleshing out certain characters who were central to the story, but didn't have much in the way of their own story beyond what was seen on the screen or stage. Everyone who see's this film will be delighted by the cast, and I would not be surprised if certain leads get nominated/win Oscar's for their performances.

2. Music/Soundtrack: Many of the original songs composed by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman for the original animated movie were used, with Menken returning to score the movie along with Tim Rice. To all who grew up delighting in these songs, you will not be disappointed one bit, plus a few song surprises thrown in by Menken, so make sure to keep your ears open.

'Beauty and the Beast' is a wonderful romantic musical masterpiece from Disney, a fantastic and heart-warming story of love with songs that will continue to remain ingrained in the hearts and minds of all who have a passion for Disney musicals. I am giving 'Beauty and the Beast' a high approval rating, and will tell everyone who has not already seen it, to go see it right away! It will charm you, make you laugh, make you cry, make you cheer for the true love that blossoms between Belle and Beast and you will see first hand a tale as old as time come to life before your very eyes once more on the silver screen.