"If it's not baroque, don't fix it." Beauty and the Beast 2017.

Like many hard-core Beauty and the Beast fans, I spent the last year in emotional turmoil, switching back and forth between excitement and dread. When I first found out Disney had a live action remake of my all-time favourite in the making, my initial reaction was indignation.

How on earth were they going to improve on perfection? Were they or were they not going to include that naff filler, 'Human Again'? Who could they possibly find to play a convincing Belle?

And, as snippets were reported here and teasers were released there, I continued to view the whole thing with trepidation while simultaneously counting down the days like a child waiting for Christmas. Did I hate the idea? Did I love the idea? Who knows? I just know I had a lot of feelings about it!

But last week I finally got the see the film I'd been both longing for and dreading.

Photo: Disney

Within the first few minutes I got a strange sensation of de-ja-vu. It was so similar to the Beauty and the Beast I know and love and yet entirely different. It was almost as if I'd walked into a house I'd lived in for 25 years only to find someone had filled it with all new furniture. It was oddly familiar and yet unfamiliar at the same time.

That said, there's no denying it was visually stunning. The colours, the landscape, even the choreography all had a quaint charm and, for all the unexpected additions to the script and storyline, I was quickly engrossed.

Emma Watson was the perfect choice for Belle. Not only is she an excellent actress, totally capable of pulling off the role, but she's naturally likeable. Her singing, on the other hand, leaves a lot to be desired. Or, at least, that's what I have to assume since it was so covered up with autotune there was little of her actual voice left. It was so sickly sweet it sounded as if her vocal chords had been slathered in honey. I think it would have been a wiser move by Disney to bring in a professional singer, just like they did in Pocahontas, Cinderella, and Aladdin.

Photo: Disney

Another weakness in the film that has oddly been heralded as some kind of genius and necessary addition was a sub-plot centred around Belle's mother. The off-topic ramble that included the story of how Belle's mother died lasted all of five minutes and jarred with the rest of the plot. It almost felt like it had been thrown in as an afterthought as a way of distinguishing the remake from the original. As the wise Cogsworth once said, "If it isn't baroque, don't fix it."

After all the controversy surrounding the announcement that Lefou would be Disney's openly gay character, I was surprised to find his 'gay moment' was a blink and you miss it, three second clip of him dancing with another man. I must acknowledge Josh Gad's excellent performance as Gaston's comical sidekick though. He was every bit as good as Lefou and he was as Olaf...and that's saying a lot.

Photo: Disney

As well as the beloved favourites, Be Our Guest, Gaston, Beauty and the Beast etc, the film included a host of new songs. I particularly enjoyed Evermore, sung with tear-jerking passion by Dan Stevens. I was completely and utterly engrossed and hanging on his every growl.

Despite a few odd tangents and omissions (hello, they missed out the best line: "crazy old Maurice, eh?"), it was a beautiful remake that had obviously been put together with love and respect for the original. With an excellent cast that I don't think could have been improved upon, laugh out loud moments and that air of Disney magic we all know and love, I couldn't help falling in love with my favourite film all over again.

For more Disney magic, check out my Beauty and the Beast inspired makeup tutorial over on my youtube channel: