Beauty & the Beast is a tale as old as time — with surprises

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Director Bill Condon was only interested in turning Disney's animated classic "Beauty and the Beast " into a live-action film if he could use Alan Menken's Oscar-winning score.

The New York Times theater critic Frank Rich even called it, somewhat controversially, "the best Broadway musical score of 1991."

Set for a March 1, 2017, release, the film stars Emma Watson as Belle, Dan Stevens as the Beast and a robust supporting cast including the likes of Luke Evans, Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci, Emma Thompson and Gugu Mbatha-Raw.

Anyone who has seen the animated film is sure to be struck by some familiar imagery in the trailer, recreated and made real in magnificent detail — like the grand ballroom and Belle's yellow gown.

Ashman died of AIDS related complications months before the animated film even hit theaters in 1991.