Beauty and the Beast (2012)

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Beauty and the Beast is a gorgeous and enchanting fairy tale, to be sure, but Disney packed a lot of subtle social commentary on small town small mindedness in there. The people in the village Belle lives in dismiss her as "odd" for being an intelligent and bookish woman, fear the Beast because of his appearance, and worship the loutish Gaston, the very epitome of a musclebound meathead - and toxic masculinity.The latter character, who seemed like a thinking woman's worst nightmare when the film first came out, is now even more creepy, because his continual harassment of Belle reeks of Me Too. This makes him a hundred times more horrifying than more traditional Disney villains like Ursula or Malificent. Evil witches are only in fiction. Gaston clones are everywhere.Ultimately, the film's message is the triumph of open minds over closed ones, and that even society's so-called rejects can hold their heads high and triumph in the end. I can't imagine a more positive message to convey to kids.

Beauty and the Beast features remarkable animation, fun musical sequences, and a timeless love story and romance that holds up to this day.

At the time the live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast came out last year I haven't seen the original animated movie. I was a huge fan of the remake until the Nostalgia Critic's review destroyed it for me because he was right about almost everything and he made me realize many of the remake's flaws and he opened my eyes. Fortunately I've seen a lot of movies during the past year and I'm not that easily impressed anymore.So today I saw the animated original, which is much better than the remake from the very introduction scene. In the remake they say that the enchantress erased all memories about the residents of the castle from the minds of the people who loved them so he became forgotten, which is a hideous way to fix a plothole. This line does not exist in the original, which I liked very much. I'll get back to that later.From the moment the "Belle" song started I started to realize just how much better this movie is. The dialog in between the strophes makes more sense, Paige O'Hara can actually sing (she's just one of many characters whose singing is much better, not only the singing is, but so is the instrumentalization of the songs, especially "Be Our Guest"). In the remake the three alike-looking girls who fell for Gaston sing dreadfully and so does Emma Watson) and there's better camera focus on the characters who are currently singing (and the score is better in the original. It's not bad in the remake though.). Another thing that's better in this scene is that Belle doesn't get her books from a church, but from an actual bookseller because it makes absolutely no sense that a church lends non-religious books to people in the village. The sheep sitting next to Belle and biting her book is just one of many little moments that add to the movie that gives it the magic the remake doesn't have. It also makes sense how they animate Gaston. It's very odd that so many girls in town would fall for the live-action Gaston who is really not as attractive as the remake wants him to be. This movie doesn't have as much unnecessary zoom as the 2017 B&B does. Why did they use it in the new movie? Because Belle didn't stand out from the crowd because she wasn't the only one wearing blue like in the original. And I still don't have any idea why they zoomed in so much on Gaston in the new movie.Gaston is much more of a dick in the original and it makes perfect sense that Belle is afraid of him because he's a stalker. In the new movie he's just some really annoying douchebag. Gaston's plan on how to become Belle's husband is much better in the original. Instead of getting her father locked up in an asylum so she would even marry Gaston to get him out of there, the writers of the remake decided to insert a boring scene where Gaston and Lefou follow Maurice halfway to the castle until, and there's no explanation why, Gaston changes his mind, ties Maurice to a tree so Belle has no one left but Gaston... That's his "plan" in the remake. Even Lefou's crush on Gaston is much more apparent here. Disney made such a big deal of it in the marketing of the 2017 remake, so it's pretty pathetic that they hardly got it right. In the original Gaston is much ruder and more violent towards Lefou so the fact that he's still on his side makes his crush much more apparent. In the remake Lefou even turns against Gaston in the end.Another chemistry that works much better in the remake is the one between Lumière and Cogsworth. Little moments like Lumière burning Cogsworth's arm are not in the remake. They make the original so special. Yet another moment from the 1991 version that is not in the remake is Belle's father doing all kinds of everything with Cogsworth when he first meets him. It's funny. It's adorable. In the remake they don't meet at all, the only time Belle's father meets any of the enchanted objects in that movie is him sitting at the dinner table, Chip moving towards him, saying that his mum forbade him to talk to strangers, Belle's father saying that it's alright and immediately running away from the castle. That's all we get in the remake, no fun, nothing. It's really not that great that Belle's father is afraid of the enchanted objects in the remake because there's so much chemistry in the 1991 version that make for great moments.Why is Belle's father a horologist in the new movie? It's not necessarily a bad thing but it's just an unnecessary change. The scene in the remake where we first meet him is really boring despite being much shorter and the original scene makes him much more adorable and interesting. His invention in the original (that doesn't appear in the 2017 version) is really nice, too. In the remake he's just a scatty old man. The way he gets to the castle in the 2017 B&B makes much less sense as well. I really don't like that they cut the signpost, the bats and the cliff from the new movie.In the original Chip made it possible for Belle, her father and the whole castle to be saved and he freed them before they were brought to the asylum. All of that has been cut from the remake where Belle and Maurice have freed themselves.In the remake the beast is really nice and friendly, which is the opposite of what he's supposed to be. In the original they got the beast right. In the beginning he's frightening and evil. In the remake the beast looks cute and beautiful, which was a huge mistake.Another character who's so much better in the original is Belle. In the remake she knowingly puts the whole castle at risk. In the original she doesn't know that the only way to redeem the castle is loving the beast in return. She doesn't learn that until she gets it over with. In the remake however she learns it about halfway throughout the movie, so she shouldn't hesitate trying to do something to fall in love with the beast. But that's exactly what she does, she spends so much time with the beast as if she had a lifetime.Another character that the remake turned into a lunatic is the enchantress. The remake added a whole sequence to the movie where we see the families of the residents of the castle return after the castle has been redeemed, which means the enchastress has kept families apart for ten years! This is why this movie didn't say that all memories about the people who live in the castle have been erased from the minds of those who love them, it's because those people didn't exist in the 1991 B&B!As you can see, the remake destroyed literally every single one of these amazing characters.There's so many more great moments I could point out that aren't in the remake, like the first scene in the library of the castle. There's so much nice buildup in the original and it makes for a really beautiful scene. And of course no comparison of the two movies may avoid mentioning the horrendous "adaptation" of the date night. In the original we see the enchanted objects planning and preparing it, we get a song about them looking forward to being human again, we see them washing the beast and cutting his hair and we see Belle and the beast having dinner. What part of this remains in the remake? Nothing. All they do is dance to "Tale as Old as Time" (which they renamed to "Beauty and the Beast" in the remake for no reason at all) for three minutes. The whole sequence is magical in this movie, but in the remake they cut so much of it that none of that magic remains. Yet another scene that's just so much better in the original is the scene where the villagers attack the castle. In the original it's fun and entertaining, in the remake it's overly serious and trying to be suspenseful. The final confrontation between the beast and Gaston is much better, too.The animation is great. However, I have hardly seen any of the Disney fairytale classics. The only one I've seen is the Lion King and I saw that one years ago, so I can't compare the animation to the other Disney classics, but all by itself the animation looks really good. And this movie doesn't have any terrible CGI like the remake does.The main problem with the remake is that it's a whole 38 minutes longer than the 1991 B&B, which is astonishing considering how much is cut from it. There's so many unnecessary additions in the new movie that destroy the pacing. The very few things the remake does better than the original is the fact that the enchanted objects look better and more alive, I really like "Evermore", the "Be Our Guest" scene looks gorgeous and the remake has a very beautiful end credits sequence.The only flaw I'm having with the original is that I still wonder why the dog is enchanted. The dog didn't do anything wrong at all.The remake is not a remake, it's like a re-imagining by someone who hasn't seen the original in 25 years and hardly remembers anything. This movie however is great. Please see the original if you haven't, it's so magical. Please do NOT see the 2017 remake. And please send Disney an e-mail telling them to stop destroying their old classics in the live-action "adaptations".

Title - 'Beauty and The Beast' Date Released (UK) - 9 October 1992Average Rating at Time of Review - 8.0Position in IMDB's Top 250 at Time of Review - #250Directed By - Gary Trousdale & Kirk WiseStarring - Paige O'Hara, Robby Benson & Jesse CortiPlot - A young woman whose father has been imprisoned by a terrifying beast offers herself in his place - unaware that her captor is actually a prince, physically altered by a magic spell.As a child, I never got around to watching classic animated Disney movies such as 'Snow White', 'The Little Mermaid' and the rest. Over time, I have even trying to rectify this. However 'Beauty and The Beast' was one I'd never intended on watching. I saw the 2017 version of the film and by all accounts that was essentially a shot-for-shot remake. When speaking to people about that film, there were a few opinions that it was made as a money-grab and people should just watch the original. I, on the other hand, was all for the remake as it allows a new generation to enjoy this story.Upon watching this version, it would appear that the naysayers of the 'Beauty and The Beast' remake were correct. Despite being a shot-for-shot retelling of the tale, the new version is missing a lot of the magic that this film retains - and that's exactly how it should be in a film where enchantresses and magical roses are integral to the plot. PROS: The Animation - The animation in this film is incredible, especially for its time. There were a few background animations that's weren't entirely smooth when there was a lot happening at once, but when two characters are on screen together it looks great. Those scenes, in animated form, really add to that magic I was just talking about. The Cinematography - The colour scheme in this film is used to great effect and is capable of telling a story by itself. Someone with no clue pertaining to the plot could watch this movie on mute and still understand the characters intentions and development. The Music - I strongly advise against watching it on mute, however. When watching musicals, I usually find there's one song that doesn't work or one song that I'd skip over if I was listening to the soundtrack. That is not the case here and, given that the soundtrack takes up 25 minutes of the film, that is quite an achievement. Every song feels like it has a purpose in the film be it: telling a part of the story (via outside characters watching the two protagonists), shedding light on a characters intentions or simply adding to the magic feel of the film. Every song is excellently performed and the animation allows for all kinds of possibilities when putting them on screen.CONS: The Beast - Not The Beast himself, but rather his character development. It very much exists but it feels very rushed. One moment The Beast is taking Belle prisoner and the next he is in love with her, with not much time allowed to show that love grow besides one song covering the course of a day. This is a Disney film however and despite the agelessness of the story, it is targeted at children, so it is understandable why they did this. That does not make up for the lack of emotional investment in their relationship though.The Ending - Here is a great story about loving what's inside and not judging a book by its cover and that's a message that people young and old can take away from this film. That message is kind of dampened at the end however, when The Beast turns into a handsome prince. Again, I understand why this was done and I enjoyed seeing characters like Mrs. Potts, Chip and the other enchanted items return to their human forms - I just feel that 'Shrek' delivered this message in a more memorable wayWatching this film has been an important experience that I'm glad to have had. It has shown me the difference that animation can have on a story, so much so that it made me realise what the newer version could have and should have been. This 'Beauty and The Beast' feels a lot more magical, is definitely more fun and I am far more likely to watch it again thanks to its beautiful soundtrack and engaging animation. I believe that if any generation wants to experience this tale, this is the telling they should choose. "If it's not Baroque, don't fix it!" - Cogsworth