Warning: There are, of course, abundant spoilers for "Beauty and the Beast" below. Reader discretion is advised.

Most of us know the story of Belle and her Beast. If you didn't grow up with the Disney cartoon, then you've probably heard the original fairytale or some variation of it. On the whole, it's a rather simple but magical story-- a prince cursed to find love meets a smart, beautiful girl who comes to rescue her father from the prince's castle. Of course, there is the matter of the prince being a beast and living on borrowed time as he waits for his enchanted rose to lose its last petal, but never fear. Belle and the Beast always get their happily ever after.

The latest rendition of "Beauty and the Beast" is no exception. Following Disney's trend of turning all their old cartoons into live action features, this new film promises to breathe fresh life into a familiar story. I was lucky enough to see "Beauty and the Beast" on opening day, and although I'd originally hoped it would be a little edgier than the cartoon version, it was still a lovely movie. Many parts of it stayed true to the original Disney movie and gave them a little more flair, while others added some new touches to the story that, for me, made it more interesting.

I think one of my favorite additions to this year's "Beauty and the Beast" is the insight we're given into Belle's mother. As far as I can remember, the old cartoon never mentioned that Belle even had a mother, much less what she was like or what happened to her. The new movie introduces us to her as someone obviously important in Belle's life, even though she's no longer around. Belle's longing for a connection to her mother is what gets her father in trouble with the Beast in the first place, as he tries to take a rose from the Beast's garden to give Belle. We also get a brief glimpse into the place where Belle was born, and although it might not have been strictly necessary to the story, it was still an interesting element that stood out to me within all the old bits of plot.

Another new twist I enjoyed had to do with Belle herself. In Disney's past rendition, Belle's father was a whacky inventor who ended up at the Beast's castle because he'd been trying to take his latest invention to the fair. Well, it's 2017, and it's about time Belle got to expand her brainpower. The live action remake passed the inventor gene along to Belle, and although her village shunned her for it, we got to see her creativeness in action on a few occasions. Toward the beginning she invented a washing machine by tying a barrel to a donkey, and later she almost made a daring escape from the Beast's castle with the classic "throw a rope made of clothing out the window" trick. It was a refreshing addition to Belle's character, though I do wish the movie had done a little more with it. Regardless, kudos to Belle's practical smarts.

Now, there was one new aspect of the story that's stirred up some controversy since Disney announced it. Le Fou, Gaston's rather silly sidekick, has been billed as Disney's first openly gay character, and that was certainly apparent in the movie. I was apprehensive about this first, knowing the nature of Le Fou as a character and how problematic it could be to literally name the only gay Disney figure to date "The Fool." I will say that Le Fou's character was not perfect, by any means. There were plenty of other options Disney could've picked if they wanted to represent the LGBTQ+ community, and often it felt like Le Fou's sexuality was the butt of a big joke. He spent almost the entire movie pining after a straight man who he could never have, and who was abusive to him on top of that. Not exactly healthy, if you ask me.

However, I was pleasantly surprised by the way Le Fou and his story turned out in the end. In the cartoon, Le Fou never really received any redemption. This time around, Le Fou realizes about halfway through that Gaston's a little off his rocker, and by the final battle, Le Fou turns against Gaston. He also gets a cute, split-second dance in the last ballroom scene with another man, which is one of the biggest steps Disney has ever taken toward LGBTQ+ representation. Sure, it could certainly be better, but at least Le Fou got his happily ever after, too. It was about as much as I'd hoped for going into the movie, so for now, I'll accept it as a move in the right direction.

Apart from these and a few other nitpicks I had, I highly enjoyed "Beauty and the Beast." The CGI was breathtaking (if a little overdone at times), and the music had that fun, enchanting style Disney is known for. Emma Watson did a lovely job with all the classic "Beauty and the Beast" songs, along with a few new ones added to this version. I thought the casting for this movie was on-point, as well, and despite some complaints about Belle's dress I've seen on the Internet, it seemed perfectly beautiful to me.

I would definitely recommend this latest live action spectacle to anyone, especially if the original "Beauty and the Beast" tale has a special place in your heart. I'm sure Lumière would love to have more guests at the dinner table.