****
Dir: Bill Condon (PG, 123 mins)
After the box office bonanzas that greeted its live action remakes of Cinderella and The Jungle Book, Disney continues to plunder its back catalogue for remakes. The 1991 animated classic was nominated for an Oscar for best film, had superb tunes and charm to boot, this looks set to repeat the original’s success, but watch out for Ewan McGregor’s French accent. Emma Watson stars as Belle, the spunky independent young woman who ends up in the castle of Dan Stevens’ Beast, a Prince cursed never to regain human form. Yes they fall in love, yes there’s the songs, yes the CGI looks superb, but the original accomplished all of this too. A fine supporting cast has fun, from Luke Evans as the vain suitor Gaston to Kevin Kline as Belle’s father, Emma Thompson and Ian Mckellen add their voices to the servants/teapots and clocks and Ewan McGregor has a stab at Be Our Guest à la ‘Allo ‘Allo. This take on the fairytale will no doubt transport you as it adheres to its roots and morals, but has this been made too close to its animated cousin? Thoroughly entertaining though this no doubt will be, let’s hope this tale as old as time has some tricks up its velvet sleeve.
Opens Mar 17