Beauty and the Beast | Taking Your Kids and Why You Should Go

Beauty and the Beast has always been one of those Disney movies that I would watch sometimes when it came on. I must admit, it was never on repeat for me. I know I am probably weird. Well. when I was given the chance to view it before its release and I asked my daughter did she want to go, she more than screamed with excitement.

We were in for a treat! If you remember the animated tale of Beauty and the Beast, you know it is the story of a young woman whose father has been taken prisoner by a  beast and she offers herself in his place, unaware that her captor is actually a prince, who is physically altered by a magic spell.

Well this movie  is a live-action re-telling of the  animated classic which takes the classic characters from the tale and transforms them for a contemporary audience while  staying true to the original music and adding new music along the way. I sat down the in the IMAX theater at Navy Pier and popped on my 3D glasses, as the music sounded I was captivated.

Why I Love Beauty and the Beast (Spoiler Alert)

I am giving a movie review here, so if you are planning to go see this and don’t like spoilers, you may want to stop reading.

I absolutely fell in love with this movie. I don’t know what happened, but I watched this movie in complete awe. From the singing to the dancing, to the overall storytelling, I loved every minute. I want to see it again.

Beauty and the Beast was updated, yet it stayed completely true to the original story. It is a musical, lets be very clear about that. The cast started singing from the beginning to the very end. So if you aren’t fond of musicals, this may not be for you. It is actually one of the things that kept me smiling. My daughter and her friend were singing before the movie started and it reminded me of how much I love musicals.

More Modern

The characters were very well developed for more modern day, but not overdone.

I loved that Belle was so independent, but that wasn’t the main focus of her character. She was also very smart. There is a scene where she is bullied by the other villager for trying to help a little girl learn to read.

Gaston is this handsome man that all the women in the Village want to marry and he wants nothing to do with them. He is actually very rude and disgusting to them. He tells his right hand man, LeFou that he doesn’t want someone that makes a fool of themselves for him. I thought that was interesting to have his character speak out about not wanting the ladies that were making complete idiots of themselves and Belle on the other hand wanted nothing to do with him.

I wanted so many times to nudge my daughter and talk to her, but I was to caught up in the story-line and so was she. It is definitely a conversation piece for young girls after the movie.

LeFou’s  character showed a lot of attraction towards Gaston. Younger kids may not pick up on the gay gestures but my daughter did,  she is thirteen and thought is what funny. I was a little shocked at Disney, but after second thought the movie appeals to a broader audience other than just kids.

We understand more about Belle’s and the Beast’s childhood. If you are looking for a complete story you will get it all here. There will be a few tear jerking moments.

It is definitely a darker tale than the animated one. Remember I am writing from the perspective of the parent of a teenager. If you plan to take a child under the age of 10 keep in mind that this is not your average Disney movie. The “beast” may be scary to younger viewers and there are scenes where he is attacked, stabbed and at one point shot.

Final Thoughts!

The Little Mermaid is still my favorite animated Disney movie, but this is hands down my new favorite Disney movie. We all loved it. My daughter wants to go see it again and really I do too. We thought it was funny, sad, entertaining, the music is amazing, and just absolutely beautiful. Emma Watson and the entire cast completely bought the story to life. Disney did an amazing job. I loved the tale as always, and to be honest I think I appreciated the love story more at this age than I did when I was  a child. I felt so many emotions listening to songs and understanding their story. It is an absolutely beautiful movie.

Should you go see it? YES

Should you take your kids? ABSOLUTELY

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST opens in theatres everywhere this Friday March 17th!