BEAUTY AND THE BEAST SPOILER ALERT:

Friday night was lit.

Thanks to Lumière.

The highly anticipated live action version of Beauty and the Beast made its debut last week, calling all Disney fans to their nearest movie theater and, thanks to the casting, most of the Harry Potter fandom.

The new film stayed true to its older counterpart: No characters were cut, scenes were minimally altered, and the music was nearly identical to that of the original. Overall, the original story was not totally obliterated. Thankfully so, as the original will always be better.

But, for the love of all that is good, Harry Potter seemed to somehow creep its way into the background.

Number 1: The very first glimpse of the castle in the opening. The castle is beautiful, but it looked so, so much like Hogwarts. The whimsically mysterious architecture screamed magic, and the dark, eerie aura didn’t hurt either. Due to weather discrepancies, the area surrounding the Château also proved to be enchanted (Forbidden Forest, anyone?), and it could’ve been full of giants, or unicorns, or mandrakes, or who knows what (maybe even You-Know-Whos). Even the dining room looked like the Great Hall, with its long tables and tall stained glass windows. The ballroom scene was also uncannily similar to Hermione’s Yule Ball scene. This brings us to Number 2….

Belle’s. Freaking. Dress.

Oh my gosh. Her dress. So pretty.

Moving on, Belle’s dress, though still gorgeous, had a few similarities to Hermione’s Yule Ball gown. Forgive the language of the less fashionably inclined, but the skirt of the gown was layered, like the Yule Ball gown. The sleeves were also capped, enhancing the similarities. If only the dress had been pink instead of blue (sorry, gold) and the skirt a little less ‘poofy’, Belle might as well have been with Victor Krum (who could probably be considered a beast himself).

On a completely different note, LeFou’s duty to Gaston was ridiculously similar to Peter Pettigrew's loyalty to Voldy. Their relationships seemed to be based on fear and some form of obsession, neither of which are present in good friendships. The two of them, Pettigrew and LeFou, also seemed to mimic each other’s appearance: both were short, and stocky in appearance, with some stubbly facial hair and mousy expressions. Their insecurities, whatever they may have been, lead them to cling to people with an overwhelming amount of unnecessary power.

Wow, that got dark fast.

On a lighter note, another similarity there was Emma herself. She has done so much since the ending of the Harry Potter movie series, and probably should be recognized for those awesome actions. The new Disney generation will know Emma as the intelligent, quirky Belle, but to all those Harry Potter Fans, she’s still the smart and surprisingly sassy Hermione they grew up reading about. So, Belle, you were amazing and everyone wishes you well in your new fairytale world, just remember: Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home.