The live action Disney movie, “Beauty and the Beast” came out in theaters Friday, March 17. The sales of the movie set records with a total of a $170 million opening. I have been waiting for this movie for so long because as a child, Belle was a Disney character I admired. She was my favorite Disney princess because she was very selfless, independent, and taught important lessons such as to not judge people based on how they may look or be perceived. So, when I heard they were recreating the movie, I knew I had to see it opening weekend.

The movie’s plot is based on a prince that is cast under a spell by an enchantress and turned into a beast due to his selfishness, greed and tendency to judge others by their appearance. He is promised the spell will be broken when he loves someone and that same someone returns the favor. After the beast holds Maurice, Belle’s father, hostage, Belle finds him and decides to take his place. During her stay, she learns to care for and love the beast for who he is and eventually, breaks the spell.

Overall, I would give the movie a 5/5 stars. The actors and actresses did a fantastic job with portraying the characters accurately and well. Emma Watson was perfect for the role as Belle because she takes after in some areas, such as her beliefs and feminism, as well as one of her hobbies as reading. I also enjoyed the acting of Luke Evans as Gaston, Belle’s admirer,  and Josh Gad as LeFou, Gaston’s friend. They provided a very humorous feel to the movie and I especially enjoyed the scenes during the song “Gaston”. I like to laugh a lot, so having these characters in the movie along with some comedy here and there provided a light mood and some bonus points from me.

There were quite a few differences between this movie in 2017  and the original movie in 1991. The original movie never went into depth about Belle’s mom besides the fact that she was absent in her life, but in the live action movie, they revealed the mystery of what happened to Belle’s mom. It’s revealed that she caught the plague and Maurice had to flee with Belle to a village in order to protect her. This difference benefited the new movie though because it helped clarify some questions that I had and painted a bigger picture. Another difference is that in the original, the beast is portrayed as a character who is naturally selfish and has been that way his whole life for no specific reason. However, in the modern movie, it is explained that the beast is the way he is because of his mother’s death when he was a young boy, causing his father to raise him like himself and resulting in the beast’s impoliteness and greed.

Even with these differences, they definitely helped the movie and improved it in ways I wouldn’t have ever thought of. Beauty and the Beast has always been a childhood favorite of mine, and this new version of it is added to my list of favorite movies.