After months of hearing about this new 4DX Theatre experience, I finally got my tickets to see “Beauty & the Beast” hoping that the scene with “Be Our Guest” would include a lot of scents of croissants and freshly baked goodies. Sadly, it didn’t.

At $30 a ticket, the price may seem a bit steep but it is the novelty you are paying for. You are able to reserve your seats ahead of time and there is an option to turn off the water spray (but why bother). The movements of the seats were not jerky but incredibly smooth and flowed great with the film without taking you out of it. Air blew in your face at the right times but the water felt forced. When it was raining, a spritz of water hit your face and then that was it.

The scents of baked goods I was so excited for never came and was the ultimate let down. In the beginning “Bonjour” scene, I was hoping to smell some fresh baked bread. Then “Be Our Guest” even was lacking. There were no smells at all! Was the smell machine broken? Seriously, I am still disappointed about this! Otherwise, I think the experience is definitely worth the higher price tag to try at least once in your lifetime.

As for the film, let me start by saying I was never a “Beauty and the Beast” fanatic. It was
alright. Even at a young age, I could not understand loving a man that hit your father then locked him up. Sure, maybe we could be friends at some point down the line. Also, bestiality much? Anyways, I digress.

Overall, the film was good – not as great as everyone seems to be raving online about but good enough that I find a trip to the theater worth it. Visually, it is a stunning film with amazing set designs. It is a pure feast for the eyes. 

I was a bit underwhelmed with the costumes. That white gown Belle wore in the final scene was pretty gorgeous (Disney Store has it available in kids sizes, I tried to fit in their larg
est and only got 75% of my legs in). Her yellow dress was just okay to me. I preferred her blue dress.

There were two short songs forced into the film that did not fit with the others. Why didn’t they just use “Human Again” or one of the other great musical songs? These two just felt really disjointed and made me cringe at times.

The cast, however, is pure perfection. Every actor and voice was amazing. Gaston played by Luke Evans felt like he was plucked right out of the cartoon. Josh Gad as LeFou is adorably lovable. Ewan McGregor, Ian McKellen, Emma Thompson, and Kevin Kline were perfectly cast. I cannot even name them all because everyone was so perfect. Then there’s Emma Watson, who just cannot do any wrong at this point. This cast is the creme de la creme of casts. Just for the cast alone, I highly recommend seeing this film. 

What did you all think of the film?

#TeamLumiere #TeamLeFou