A tale as old as time comes back to the big screen in Bill Condon’s “Beauty and the Beast.”

The story is still true as it can be with all the same characters and songs from the classic movie plus some new features that create a whole new layer to the Disney world.

Follow the beauty Belle (Emma Watson) once again as she saves her father Maurice (Kevin Klein) from the hideous Beast (Dan Stevens) and finds an unlikely love in a castle cursing all those in it.

Belle is no longer a damsel though, she’s now an empowering village girl who isn’t afraid to tell the arrogant Gaston (Luke Evans) ‘No!’ and risk her freedom for what she loves.

I found Belle so much more likable than the original. Her charisma, intelligence, and fearlessness made her a heroine that partnered so well with the fearful and hopeless Beast, along with making their love all the more endearing.

Right from the start, the movie made me their guest as I sat back and marveled at the new rendition to a story I loved.

Each song was revamped and made it a struggle not to jump up and sing along to the classics I heard as a kid and sit dumbly at the new numbers that were never second best.

One number in particular that stood out the most was the new ‘Be Our Guest.’

Lumière (Ewan McGregor) is my favorite character in “Beauty and the Beast” and his portrayal of the song gave me such a sense of nostalgia at the familiar plates and spoons dancing, I felt like I was seeing it for the first time since I watched the cartoon on VHS.

A selfish prince in his castle is cursed by a witch and turned to a beast, Belle wants more in her village, Maurice tries to get her a rose and is captured, Belle takes her father’s place and slowly falls for the beast.

I thought going into the movie, I would get a story identical to the original, and for a while the movie seemed to do just that.

Towards the middle of the movie when Belle is wandering the castle some new elements came into play, such as new songs and comedic scenes between her and the Beast.

I’m so glad as it added depth to some previous scenes in the classic I thought little on as a kid and made me realize there was something there that wasn’t there before.

Something I found very unlike the Disney classic was the darker themes.

No one’s quick like Gaston, or as brave as Gaston, and especially not darker.

His fanatic love of war and torture methods raised a few eyebrows in the theatre as a new scene is added in which Gaston ties Maurice to a tree to be eaten by wolves when he refuses to give Gaston his blessing for marrying Belle.

However, the dark elements did not take away from the mystical feel of the story. With all the iconic movie scenes, the overall feel remained the same as the classic: magical.

I’m not a person prone to crying often, but when the iconic ballroom scene played I found myself in tears.

Magical was the only way I could describe it. As soon as the golden dress appeared on screen I was sure I was in love with this movie.

There is one particular instance which occurs when the Beast grasps Belle around the waist and lifts her into a spin. The spin continues round and round the ballroom and the tears welled almost instantly in my eyes.

The dress, the golden chandelier above, the Beauty and the Beast song blasting; the whole effect of it all was honestly and truly one of the most magical scenes I’ve ever seen in a movie.

For a huge Disney fan, this movie went above and beyond my standards. I went in with some expectations and left with any expectations I had shattered like the Beast’s spell. The music and scenery brought this old story to life more than I thought possible.

I give this movie five out of five stars.

I’m usually very skeptical on movies, but this one I could not be more sure of. Remaking a classic is hard to live up to, especially Disney, but “Beauty and the Beast” truly is a tale as old as time, but never loved more.