Disney released a new spin on the tale as old as time last Thursday. The new live action Beauty and the Beast is crossing the $400 million mark in box offices after only a little over a week in theaters. The movie tells the story of a young, ambitious girl named Belle who lives with her father in a small town.

Her love of books and intelligent nature cause the people of the village to view her as odd and even get her in trouble, but despite this she chooses to remain positive. After a series of events involving her father’s life, Belle finds herself a prisoner of a Beast in an enchanted castle. Eventually she becomes familiar with the kind hearts who inhabit the castle, even the Beast, whom she learns to love.

Though the movie has been highly praised, there was controversy regarding a few of the characters. It began when director Bill Condon announced that “LeFou” would be portrayed as gay. The news came as a shock to some and was even banned from being shown in select theatres across the world, however, others were not affected by it. Throughout the movie there are hints at LeFou’s sexual orientation, including him having a crush on the antagonist, Gaston.

Another part of the movie that received criticism was the inclusion of a cross-dressing character. During the fight scene, Madame de La Grande Bouche (who is cursed in the form of a dresser at the time) attacks three men by dressing them as women. While two of them run in fear and embarrassment, one of the men takes a moment to admire himself. In the end of the movie, we see a brief cameo of this man and LeFou dancing.

There definitely is “something there that wasn’t there before” in the new rendition of Beauty and the Beast. But, the question still begs, “What is the big deal?”  “It strays away from what the original story line was.  Of course it is a more modern take on the story, but it is just such a controversial topic that everyone has their own strong opinions about,” sophomore Lilly Minnich explained, “you can’t please everyone and that is just the way it is going to be.”

Disney was doing their best to adapt the story to the world we live in today, and you have to give them credit for their effort. Tory Willis acknowledged this, “I think people made it a much bigger deal than it is. I think it was awesome of Disney to do and it shows how much society and the industry are growing.”   

When you are a large company like Disney, you have to make strategic moves that keeps all sides happy. The business has already been one of the slowest to include LGBT characters in their productions. Taking that jump was risky but necessary to bring the classic into the present. It is understandable that people would be hesitant towards the addition. After all, we all grew up with certain characters who we got to know and love. No one should be criticized for their acceptance of the characters, just as no one should be criticized for not supporting it. Josh Gad, who plays LeFou, shared his message to everyone on the subject, “I think that that theme is as relevant today as it was when Beauty and the Beast was first written 300 years ago,” he added. “So that’s what I hope people take from it.”

The movie included a scene where Belle was teaching a young girl to read. When people realize what she is doing they immediately put an end to it. Girls receiving an education was at one time a controversial topic, as well. Together we worked through that, and hopefully together we can navigate this as well.

There is a quote in a song from the movie when the village people are on their way to slaughter the beast, “We don’t like what we don’t understand, in fact it scares us…”  This line, a part of the original musical,

has remained relevant all this time.  Your stance on the subject should not stop you from seeing this movie.  It not only did the original Beauty and the Beast justice, but soared beyond all expectations.  The movie includes everything from brilliant acting to incredible CGI effects (computer-generated imagery). A lot of good people worked long and hard to please you, so if anything, let that be the factor that decides for you.