Film

Beauty and the Beast

Name: Beauty and the Beast
Genre: Family, Fantasy, Romance
Released: 2017
Cast: Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Kevin Kline, Emma Thompson

Other titles called Beauty and the Beast: the 1946 film, the 1987 series (CBS), the 1991 film.

Disney's 1991 cartoon rebuilt in flesh, gold leaf and CGI fur, with Emma Watson's practical, book-loving Belle opposite Dan Stevens' motion-captured Beast. It's a note-perfect, slightly reverent remake — the songs, the candelabra, the ballroom waltz, all present and accounted for. Good for a cosy family night or anyone who wants the nostalgia rush rendered in expensive, slightly uncanny detail.

TMDb rating

3.5

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love a musical fairy tale rebuilt with lavish, theatrical production design and warm, familiar songs, and don't mind that the story hews closely to the animated original you may already know.

Skip it if you want a fresh reinterpretation or a brisk runtime; at just over two hours, it stays faithful and leisurely, and the digital spectacle can feel more polished than surprising.

What it asks of you: Settle in for a long, unhurried film of nearly two and a half hours, with gentle pacing, a light and cozy mood, and steady attention to its many songs and set pieces.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Cinderella2015

Kenneth Branagh's live-action Disney remake from the same studio playbook — sumptuous costumes, a game cast, and real emotional weight given to a story you think you already know by heart.

But It's earnest almost to a fault, with none of the wit or subversion some viewers want from a fairy tale.

Enchanted2007

A cartoon princess literally falls into modern New York, and the film has enormous fun poking at every trope Beauty and the Beast plays completely straight, while still landing the romance for real.

But The comedy is broad and the 2000s references are starting to show their age.

Into the Woods2014

A starrier, thornier musical that throws several fairy tales into a blender and asks what happens after 'happily ever after' — sharper and sadder than anything Disney usually risks.

But Sondheim's score is dense and talky; if you wanted simple sweetness, this will feel like homework by comparison.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Beauty and the Beast

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Shape of Water2017

Same core myth — an isolated woman drawn to a captive, non-human creature — pushed into a wholly adult register, sensual and melancholy rather than sweet and sung.

Guillermo del Toro's Oscar-winner takes the beauty-and-beast myth and plays it as an adult, sensuous, R-rated fable, with a mute woman falling for a captured amphibian creature in Cold War America.

But It's tender but also strange and occasionally graphic — very much not a film for the kids in the room.

The Phantom of the Opera2004

Same bones, different costume: a monstrous, gifted outsider hides his face and falls for a woman who might be the one person who can see past it, all set to a lush, oversized score.

But The romance is more gothic and possessive than fairy-tale sweet, and the singing style is very much operatic-pop.

Aladdin1992

Another entry in Disney's live-action remake run, with Will Smith's Genie stealing the show and a similar mix of nostalgia, spectacle and new songs bolted onto the old ones.

But It leans even harder into CGI excess, and the original animated version casts a long shadow over it.

Maleficent2014

Angelina Jolie turns a Disney villain into a wronged, complicated woman, giving the studio's fairy-tale machine a genuinely dark, revisionist spin instead of a straight retelling.

But It rewrites Sleeping Beauty's plot so heavily that purists may find it barely recognisable.

The Little Mermaid2023

Halle Bailey anchors another lavish live-action Disney remake, this one trading castles for coral reefs but keeping the same formula of beloved songs rebuilt with modern effects.

But The underwater CGI divides audiences, and some songs feel stretched to fill the extra runtime.

Ella Enchanted2004

A lighter, jokier fairy-tale romance with Anne Hathaway cursed to obey every order she's given — silly, upbeat, and a good pick if you want charm without the grandeur.

But It's aimed squarely at a younger, less demanding audience and the humour is broad.

Mirror Mirror2012

A campy, candy-coloured Snow White with Julia Roberts having a ball as the vain queen — pure fairy-tale comfort food if you just want something pretty and undemanding.

But It's the slightest film here, more diverting than memorable, and the jokes don't always land.

Beastly2011

Same fairy tale, dragged into a contemporary teen-movie genre and a much trashier register — proof the curse-and-cure engine works even at its cheapest and silliest.

A trashy, gleefully modern teen version — vain rich kid gets cursed, has to win love while looking monstrous — that strips the story down to its high-school bones and has fun doing it.

But It's cheesy, low-budget by comparison, and plays the whole thing with a straight face that invites giggling.