In their recent run of live action re-makes, Disney has set the bar pretty high. Even when creating reboots of classic movies are hard to pull off, Disney has managed to impress their passionate fans with each film. Their most recent film, “Beauty and the Beast” provided more magic for the next generation of fans.

With strong casting and great scenery, Director Bill Condon was somehow able to make this movie live up to the extreme hype. Although there were some critics, it’s 7.9/10 review on IMDB.com and it’s audience score of 86 percent on RottenTomatoes.com proves that the vast majority of people enjoyed the film.

Although many of the secondary characters had strong performances, Emma Watson was a star. For years, it was hard to look at Watson and not think about Hermione Granger from the “Harry Potter” series. However, it may be Belle who becomes Watson’s career defining role.

Along with Watson, Josh Gad added another strong performance to his Disney resume. Back in 2013, Gad voiced the lovable snowman Olaf in “Frozen.” This time around he plays the quirky and comedic LeFou. LeFou is Gaston’s (Luke Evans) loyal sidekick.

Being the comedic relief for most of the movie, Gad does a great job at bringing light to some of the darker themes in this family movie. He tells jokes for the kids and throws in an innuendo or two to make the adults in the audience giggle. That is also a nod to the dialogue which followed very closely to the original film.

One of the biggest knocks on this movie was on Disney’s “forcing” of inclusiveness. People complained that Disney tried to slip race and sexuality into the film when it wasn’t necessary. It didn’t seem that way when watching the film. It was clear that those themes were present, but it didn’t take away anything from the quality of the film.

Remember, the children watching the film aren’t paying much attention to race or anything of that nature in the film. They just want to sign along with “Be Our Guest.”

One of the best parts of the film was the music. They kept all of the original songs in the movie, which is something that many fans were nervous about. Thankfully, the cast did them justice and were able to re-create Disney magic.

The “Be Our Guest” scene was done tremendously. Lumière (Ewan McGregor), did a wonderful job with the main vocals while the color and visuals took over for a few fantastic minutes. In one of the most integral part of the movies, the entire cast and crew came through.

An under-the-radar performance was the one of Ian McKellen’s Cogsworth. The best friend of Lumière, Cogsworth provides humor and kindness to the band of cursed furniture.

Nick De Semlyn of Empireonline.com put it best.

“Those who predicted this wouldn’t hold a talking candle to the animated original will be pleasantly surprised. The tale may be as old as time, but it’s retold with freshness, brio and flair.”

If you haven’t already seen it, “Beauty and the Beast” is a great date movie. Full of laughs and childhood nostalgia, it allows a new generation to become exposed to one of the best stories in Disney’s history.