Mixing old school charm with a present-day pride in ensuring that everyone is part of the fun, the latest fine-tuning of the fairytale ups the romance, comedy and action, keeps those favourite numbers front and centre, and throws in a few new ones too. As gloom-buster date movies go, it does just as much as La La Land, but the singing is way better.
From Watson to the walk-ons, the casting is perfect, with all of the characters more compelling thanks to the - no pun intended - fleshed-out plot. It’s just as much of a joy to realise that glued-to-Gaston sidekick Le Fou (Frozen’s Josh Gad) knows full well what team he’s on this time ‘round as it is to report that clock-and-candelabra double act Cogsworth and Lumière ship a tonne of snarky wisecrack gold via Ian McKellen and Ewan McGregor. Something there that wasn’t there before indeed.
