Beauty and the Beast

*Spoilers Ahead*

Disney’s Beauty and the Beast from 1991 was one of my favorite childhood movies. The songs, the pretty dresses, the talking furniture, I loved it all. So when the new live action Beauty and Beast came out, I made sure to go see it. Several people I know had gone to see it before, all of them with mixed reactions. Some said it was better than the original, while others argued it didn’t even come close. After going to see it myself, there were several things I loved about the new version.

One of the things that I found most interesting in the new remake was the added backstory for some of the characters. In the old one, there wasn’t much explanation given to what happened to Belle’s mother, but the new movie provided an explanation, along with moments of foreshadowing. In the beginning Belle (played by Emma Watson), asks her father to tell her about her mother, receiving the answer that she was fearless. Later in the movie we discover that Belle’s mother died of the plague in Paris, something Belle discovered with the Beast (played by Dan Stevens), making a touching moment.

The music in the film was one of my favorite things as I was looking forward to seeing the iconic numbers of Be Our Guest and Beauty and the Beast. However, the song that really caught my attention was Gaston. I loved the back and forth of Gaston and LeFou, as well as the foreshadowing in the song. I also enjoyed hearing some of the new songs in this version, including Evermore and How Long Can A Moment Last?

But what I liked most about the remake was seeing characters, specifically LeFou, given more depth. In the original movie, he’s little more than a comic relief sidekick with no thoughts of his own. However, in this new version, LeFou (played by Josh Gad), definitely had his own thoughts and opinions. In a few instances during the movie he is seen disagreeing with Gaston (played by Luke Evans), which didn’t happen in the original. I also really liked that near the end of the movie, he switches sides and turns against Gaston.

Overall, I personally think that the new Beauty and the Beast was great, although I’m still not convinced it’s better than the original.