Beauty and the Beast

[WeirdRaptor]

Seriously, no one's made a topic about this? You guys are dropping the ball.

Alright, some thoughts: I liked it. It was a somewhat lengthened remake of the 1991 animated version that was mostly concerned with expanding on ideas presented from the original. I believe it did a magnificent job of doing that, as well as making Belle more of a proactive character rather than just a girl who wants to read. The songs are all back, with a new spin on all of them, as well as some new songs, which I also liked. Unfortunately, some of the singing isn't as good as it was in the animated version, but at other times it was on par, and a few times even better.
The new cast is excellent. Watson and Stevens are charming as the two leads and have a lot of chemistry with each other. Evans was GREAT as Gaston. He was so charming and bombastic that he brought a smile to my face even when he was being a total douchebag. And of course, Kevin Kline was brilliant by proxy of being Kevin Kline.

Expanded ideas: we're told why the entire castle staff was also enchanted along with The Beast. It's because they did nothing to prevent him from becoming a horrible, spoiled brat.
Gaston is the local town hero because he's also a war hero and a local protector of the people. It's implied that he was an okay guy once upon a time, but has since let his popularity to go his head.
They also give more context for why the village was so judgmental and unreceptive to Belle's status as a reading, thinking woman. We're never told what YEAR the film takes place in, but it's at a time when people are still dying of The Plague, and there's even a Plague Doctor in the film at one point. So that right there says a lot about the time period.
There are others, but I won't spoil them.

Any thoughts from you guys?

[Littlefoot fan 1990]

I did like the casting choices for the human characters, such as LeFou, Gaston, Maurice, Belle; and of course the beast, although, he was only human temporarily at the beginning and at the end when the curse broke.

However, the people chosen to voice the household objects was mediocre at best; at least, in my opinion. Mrs. Potts was okay, I guess; but, I still prefer her voice actress from the animated version; same goes for Cogsworth, Chip and LumiËre with their voice over artists.

I liked how Maurice was a bit leery of the household objects in the live-action version; from what I remember, his animated counterpart didn't seem to be freaked out by the household objects since they gave him a warm welcome.

I also liked how they brought back some of the songs from the animated film; such as Belle, Gaston, Something There, Beauty and the Beast and the Mob Song. I think that Emma Watson is a pretty okay singer; then again, her animated counterpart was a great singer as well.

All in all, the animated version gives me more of a nostalgic feeling since it's the version I watched during my childhood and I still get teary eyed during the kiss Belle and the prince shared right before the curse was lifted and all the objects turned back into humans and the footstool was turned back into a dog. And when the end credits version of the song is being sung, it's a tearjerker for me as well. Although, the live-action version was pretty good.