The original Disney animation is firmly a classic. They did use computer animation for the ballroom scene, which was considered a massive breakthrough in animation at the time. This new version is pervasively photorealistic computer animation, well done (with a few quirks which few will notice). The hand-drawn classic being being so famous, much of this one had to follow the same musical score, though there are a couple new songs worth revisiting.
To wit: this version is a faithful remake of the prior Disney foundational classic, featuring much of the same musical pageantry. It just takes the hand-drawn excellence and brings it into photorealistic rendering.
As for your mention of “Russian Ark”:
I watched that twice - once with my wife (who fell asleep 3 times), and once alone listening to the director’s commentary. It was a tour-de-force (single take, 2000 actors, extremely dynamic set), yet staggeringly boring. Today’s Beauty And The Beast is far more engaging.
Thanks.
I’m not the audience for this film.
I may someday see the 1946 version (preferably in a movie theater and projected from film, your mind is affected differently by strobing still images in rapid successions than by video) and may still watch Russian Ark some day.
I doubt I would sit and watch the whole pencil test version of Beauty and the Beast but I have seen some pencil test segments (cut/unfinished) from Snow White.