An often surprisingly dark and inventive adaptation of the famous Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont story, with a plethora of exciting visual trickery and visual effects – particularly the beast himself, which walks the fine line of being equally charming and repulsive. Filled with unforgettable images – the candles held by human arms, the living statues, the castle itself filled with foreboding shadows – this endearing fairytale manages to overcome some slippery moments, particularly near the end, to become an endearing classic.