Movie Review: Beauty and the Beast 3D

Beauty and the Beast tops my list of favorite classic Disney movies, along with Aladdin, Lion King and the Little Mermaid. That era of Disney Movies came around the time when I was a kid and were some of the best Disney produced.

When I heard that Beauty and the Beast was returning to theaters I was ecstatic, but when I heard it would be in 3D, I became wary. Would the 3D ruin one of my favorite classics?

As it turns out, the 3D ended up being so subtle I didn't even notice it was there half the times. Even in the scene at the bar when Gaston and the men are singing about his prowess, one of these scenes in which I thought the 3D would be the most noticeable, I didn't see it at all. I could only see that there was 3D applied to the movie when I took off my 3D glasses. Then there were more lines on the screen that if I were wearing the glasses.

This for me is perfectly fine as I am not too impressed with 3D; I thought the movie was fine the way it was originally created. What does 3D add to it? For me I find 3D gimmicky and adding it to this movie didn't improve anything for me.

What made more of an impression on me during the movie more than the 3D was actually the script. When I was a child I was more enthralled by the visuals. I'm sure I followed the plot, but only as an adult do I catch all the witty writing.

At the end of Gaston's song, where up this this point everyone has been singing about how great Gaston is:

ALL: My what a guy! Gaston!!!!!!!

Gaston and Lefou deviate from the flattering comments to spill some truth: 

BOTH: No one plots like Gaston, takes cheap shots like Gaston
LEFOU: Plans to persecute harmless crackpots like Gaston

I ended up laughing throughout most of the movie and it wasn't all for the writing either. Sometimes the horse, Phillipe would just have these priceless looks on his face. For example, when Belle runs away and ends up surrounded by wolves, just after the Beast saves her and collapses, Phillipe has this look on his face that says "Oh my god, what just happened?!"

It's very interesting for me to go back and watch movies I saw as a child and compare my initial experience with an adult perspective and an analytical mind. Sounds like a project! Now I want to go back and watch some other classics!

I know I have The Little Mermaid on the DVD shelf. I think I'll start there--look for my review!