Beauty and the Beast (2017)
★★ — Beauty and the Beast (2017)
Disney's live-action remake programme was running at full steam by 2017, with Cinderella (2015) and The Jungle Book (2016) having already proven the commercial logic of revisiting the studio's animated back catalogue. Beauty and the Beast takes its most direct cue from the studio's own 1991 animated film, itself a loose adaptation of the traditional French fairy tale, rather than reaching back further to Jean Cocteau's celebrated 1946 version. Bill Condon, whose previous credits ranged from the measured Kinsey (2004) to the final two Twilight instalments, directed from a screenplay by Stephen Chbosky and Evan Spiliotopoulos. Shot largely at Shepperton Studios in England, the production carried a $160 million budget and ultimately became one of the highest-grossing films of that year, clearing over a billion dollars worldwide with considerable ease.
Good old summer holiday. Watching all these soulless remakes with the kids lol. Another beloved animated classic, another glossy, soulless live-action remake, and Beauty and the Beast is one of the most hollow yet. Everything here feels meticulously calculated: the photorealistic CGI beasts, the lavish ballroom recreation, the note-for-note replay of the original’s songs and scenes. It looks expensive, yes (every doorknob and rose petal rendered in obsessive detail) but it’s also lifeless, stripped of the warmth, charm, and hand-drawn magic that made the 1991 version so special. Emma Watson, as Belle, is professional and well-intentioned, but she simply can’t carry a film like this. Her performance is flat, overly earnest, and lacking the spark or imagination the role demands. She delivers lines like “I just don’t fit in” with the same stiff sincerity she uses in UN speeches, well-meaning, but dramatically inert. The chemistry with Dan Stevens’ CGI-heavy Beast is nonexistent, their romance feeling more like a series of scripted segments than an emotional journey. The supporting cast do their best with what they’re given, but even their vocal charm can’t save the film from its own rigidity. The new songs add nothing, the expanded runtime only highlights how little story there actually is. It’s not offensive, just forgettable, a hollow echo of something that once had heart. Another box checked in Disney’s remake factory, made for profit, not passion. And with Watson at the helm, it never even gets the chance to breathe. Soulless, safe, and sorely lacking in magic.
Rating: ★★ | Year: 2017 | Watched: 2025-08-01
Where to watch (UK)
Stream: Disney Plus
Rent: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Buy: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Physical: Amazon UK
Affiliate disclosure: Movies With Macca may earn a small commission on purchases or subscriptions started via these links. It costs you nothing extra.
Related on Movies With Macca
More from Bill Condon: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (2012)
More with Emma Watson: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011) · Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) · Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010) · Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
More from the 2010s: Wonder (2017) · Beautiful Boy (2018) · The Witch (2015) · What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
More family: Alice in Wonderland (1951) · Wonder (2017) · Kirikou and the Wild Beasts (2005) · Anastasia (1997)
More fantasy: Viy (1967) · Alice in Wonderland (1951) · Mononoke the Movie: The Phantom in the Rain (2024) · Mononoke the Movie: Chapter II - The Ashes of Rage (2025)
