It looks like Disney has another monster on its hands – a monster movie hit.
“Beauty and the Beast” opened Friday and is a charming, heart-warming and spooky delight. Emma Watson is sweet and feisty as Belle. Dan Stevens is the big bad Beast who finds love and redemption. Luke Evans plays the evil Gaston, a guy even scarier than the Beast.
The Disney film is based on the 1991 animated movie, which eventually became a Broadway play. I guess that makes the current “Beauty and Beast” kind of an entertainment hybrid.
Here is a video of the trailer:

https://youtu.be/nGwBDchDLPg
The PG-rated movie has captured and preserved the best parts of the original film. Indeed, computer animation brings to life such favorites as Mrs. Potts (Emma Thompson as the teapot), Lumière (Ewan McGregor as the candlesticks); Maestro Cadenza (Stanley Tucci) and Cogsworth the clock (Ian McKellen).
Gifted opera singer Audra McDonald is Madame Garderobe; Josh Gad plays Gaston’s sidekick LeFou, and Kevin Kline is Belle’s father. Add the luminous score by Alan Menken, Howard Ashman and Tim Rice and you have the magic that makes a fairy tale come alive again.
Something else is also apparent in the new film. It’s another sign that movie musicals (see “La La Land”) are in vogue. “Beauty and the Beast” also pays homage to the musicals of years past.
Early on, Belle is singing on a mountain range as the camera pans the scenery around her. It’s a scene reminiscent of Julie Andrews in “The Sound of Music.”
“Gaston,” is a big, rowdy production number that brings back memories of “Oliver.”
“Be Our Guest,” is filled with dynamic animation and choreography, a stunning visual display that would make Busby Berkeley proud.
Then, in one of the film’s turning points, Belle and the Beast waltz around the dance floor kind of like “The King and I” as Mrs. Potts (Emma Thompson) softly sings the title song.
The plot remains basically the same. Belle lives in a little village and takes heat for learning how to read and wanting to expand her world.
Maurice, her father played by Kevin Kline, gets lost in the woods and winds up a prisoner in the Beast’s castle. Belle goes there to save him and before long is held captive by the Beast.
Emma Watson is best known for her work in the “Harry Potter” film. Here, she plays the bewildered ingénue with naïve grace and bold determination.
Dan Stevens, the handsome prince who was turned into a Beast, somehow manages to convey emotions of warmth and sympathy under all that make up.

Luke Evans as Gaston starts out as a self-centered goof but turns into a crazed, scorned lover out for vengeance.
In the end, it all comes down to a brutal battle between Gaston and the Beast for Belle’s hand. Along the way candlesticks dance, clocks smile, and a little teapot and her cup find happiness in the big castle on the hill.

We shouldn’t be surprised.
In “Beauty and the Beast,” happy endings are contagious.