Beauty and the Beast

I hadn't seen the original 1991 Disney film, so I approached the new version of Beauty and the Beast as a blank slate, but also full of anticipation, as similar films from recent years like Cinderella and Maleficent have intrigued and enchanted me immensely. After watching it, I can safely and wholeheartedly say that they have succeeded in creating a supremely magical film full of beautiful scenes, lovely songs and diverse characters. I also appreciate the inclusion of racial and even sexual minorities. A likeable tale playing with all colours and sounding all notes that definitely won't get lost in the average. (04/02/2017)

It will probably be a hit and little girls will like it, but I have a feeling that the world would function without any problems without the live-action version of Beauty and the Beast. Emma Watson is great, the special effects are opulent, and the production design is fantastic, but due to its excessive running time, the film starts to lose its breath in the middle and doesn't have much to tell. Yes, there are the familiar songs, but half of them are only there because they were in the animated version. And the cute talking furniture stops being entertaining after a few minutes, and when the candelabras, teapots, and clocks take up the entire space in front of the camera, it becomes quickly tiresome. A huge digital mess. But it is still a proper romantic fairytale that actually offers exactly what you expect from it. Cinderella has more likeable characters, The Jungle Book is funnier and more thrilling, but I probably never expected more from a live-action Beauty and the Beast than what we got in the cinema. So in the end, it's probably okay. And Luke Evans is amazing. (05/15/2017)

I'd been meaning to go see Beauty and the Beast. Just for Emma. But somehow I found myself in a theater watching a dubbed movie. And that half killed the movie for me. I have no idea how it would have been in the original, but I had a hard time with most of the songs in the Czech version. Otherwise, I have no major complaints about the film. The filmmakers stuck pretty closely to the source material, the cast is great, and the effects are pretty good too. (04/17/2017)

I can't help but feel that making a remake of an animated film that is already good and just giving it a visually stunning live-action adaptation isn't enough for me to be truly excited about the film. Beauty and the Beast is not a bad movie, but it's not a great movie either. Plus, the story just ends badly. He should have stayed in animal form. (06/05/2017)

Beauty and the Beast is the kind of musical in which the songs do not enhance the already very simple story, but rather slow it down. And there are loads of them. Visually, however, it is a really beautiful movie, with a retro charm in the style of the original The Wizard of Oz, and with the prettiest princess, Emma Watson, who looks like she was born for this role. A small spoiler: what I will remember the most from this film is the moment of shock when Ewan McGregor, Ian McKellen and Emma Thompson appeared on screen simultaneously, and I realized that instead of their voices, I had been listening to song dubbed in Czech for two hours. It is hard to refuse a Prague's IMAX ceremony premiere invitation, but that was really the last time I will ever go to see a dubbed film. Nevertheless, the movie has excellent 3D animation (that snow!) and its format is also perfectly suited to IMAX. (03/15/2017)