Disney's Beauty and the Beast reboot gets mixed reviews

The reviews for Beauty and the Beast are in, and they're mixed - varying from glowing to scathing.

Disney's live action reboot of the 1991 animated classic has been described by some as "needless", "awkward" and "bland", while others have praised the film as "entrancing", "irresistible" and "crazy-beautiful".

The film, which hits theatres here later this month, is being praised by some for its faithfulness to the original, with critics saying its visual splendour provides a satisfying platform for the fairy-tale.

The Guardian commended Emma Watson's performance, calling her a "demure, doll-like Belle" who maintains an "even-tempered dignified romantic solitude". Slate described her as "perfectly cast".

The New York Times said the film "looks good, moves gracefully and leaves a clean and invigorating aftertaste," and that its "classicism feels unforced and fresh".

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However, some have criticised the film for remaining rooted in the past and not adding anything new to the original.

The Hollywood Reporter said that while the film is visually stunning, "the whole experience was actually a little bland, lacking in depth and so effervescent as to be almost instantly forgettable".

Consequence of Sound described the film as lacking in "surprise, or invention," saying it is "like a second verse, sung a little louder and just a little bit worse".

Indiewire criticised the film's nostalgia, saying, "the film feels dangerously stuck in the past at a moment in history when yearning for the good old days is a political statement."

Beauty and the Beast is released in New Zealand on March 30.