I can proudly say that Bill Condon has successfully brought the Disney classic Beauty and the Beast to life.  He has tried several new concepts in this movie. Initially, I expected an live-action adaptation like Maleficent but was surprised by a musical, true to the original version. The musical aspect, which was not originally in the film project, lengthened the movie from 84 minutes to 130 minutes. Although the fantastic sound effects caused the movie to become more rich in color and liveliness, some parts of the movie may bore the audience. So if you do not prefer musical movies, then this is not one for you. Not only are there musical effects, the actors truly embodied the characters. The computer graphics used in the Beast’s appearance were so realistic, it seemed as if Dan Stevens (the Beast) had magically transformed into a Beast.

Beauty and the Beast posits many messages to its audience in this new adaptation. Emma Watson’s performance transformed Belle into an even stronger and more fearless woman. She dresses and acts like a tomboy, which is pretty odd in the 1750s, illuminating true woman power. How Emma Watson digested the character as a strong and independent woman was inspiring and gave a strong feminist message. However, unfortunately, the film’s inclusion of homosexual characters has generated some controversy  since the release. Beauty and the Beast is the first Disney movie with  homosexual characters, such as LeFou and other ensemble characters. Therefore, countries such as Russia, and some Muslim-majority countries want Disney to delete the scenes that contain homosexuality, but the company refuses to do so. After watching this movie, I found out that although some places in the world may still be conservative,  most of the world is becoming more open to accepting these LGBTQ ideas.  Ultimately, Bill Condon did a great job in re-imaging and transforming the movie despite some minor disappointments.