Beauty and the Beast

The animated version of Beauty and the Beast came out in 1991. I saw it first on video, and it quickly became one of my favorite Disney movies. It was Disney's first musical to be converted to a Broadway format, and I further fell in love with the tweaks to the plot and the additional songs. So I was especially excited when I found out that they were making a movie live action remake of it.

I am happy to report that the new version is every bit as amazing as the original Disney movie, even making the occasional reference to Jean Cocteau's 1946 movie:

The new movie also answered plenty of questions that the 1991 version raised. I was wondering about some of them, and others hadn't occurred to me:

• What happened to Belle's mother?
• Why did Maurice and Belle move to "this poor provincial town"?
• What is the name of this poor provincial town?
• Where did they live prior to that?
• Does Belle invent anything?
• Does Gaston have any other reasons for wanting Belle, aside from her beauty?
• Is LeFou the least bit concerned about Gaston's villainy?
• Did any villagers besides Belle object to Gaston's war march against the Beast?
• What was Gaston's occupation prior to the events of our story?
• Were ALL of the Prince's servants turned into objects?
• Was everyone in the castle at the time of the spell either the Prince or one of his servants?
• What was the dog's name (who was turned into a footstool)? Who were her owners?
• What happened to Mr. Potts?
• How did the Prince get so cruel that the enchantress has to take such extreme measures to teach him a lesson?
• What about the Prince's parents?
• What happens to the enchantress after she casts the spell?
• How does Belle get the heavy Beast onto Philippe after he's been wounded by the wolves?
• Why do the Beast's servants care so much for him? Do they blame themselves at all for the Beast's condition?
• Are all of the books in the Beast's library in English (or French)?
• How does a moment last forever?
• What is Cogsworth's first name?
• Does M. D'Arque have children? (This is not actually answered.)
• Was Gandalf ever transformed into a clock?
• Did Gandalf ever meet Hermione Granger?
• Did Obi-Wan enlighten anyone who didn't have "Skywalker" in their name? (Pun intended)
• For that matter, did Obi-Wan ever meet Hermione Granger?

• How does it look to have a snowball, dishes, rubble, mud, rubble and a falling villain thrown at you? (This is answered in the 3D version.)

• Could there be more to the poor than meets the eye? Maybe they deserve more respect than we often give them? Are they sometimes the best of us?
• Is everyone's hero necessarily heroic? What happens when our heroes disappoint us?
• Both the Prince and Gaston start out as spoiled, selfish and unkind. How can their repentance or lack thereof inspire us to become kinder and unselfish?

• What happens when the theater is almost empty because most people think there's nothing left to see, and Josh Groban starts singing your big brother's favorite song in the movie, and said big brother likes to sing, and is sitting next to you? (Hint: Josh Groban is suddenly a background singer.)

Beauty and the Beast is an amazingly well-done remake. Pro tip: stay to the end of the credits. There is no post-credits scene, but they save Josh Groban for last.

Qdoba

It started several years ago when we found a new burrito restaurant in Seattle's Oak Tree complex, and it had a bit of a weird name. We decided to try it out with a few friends, and my first time in there, I remember jokingly commenting, "Yo quiero Taco Bell." One bite of Qdoba's burritos put to rest any desire of going to Taco Bell instead.

We then discovered there was a branch right near Lynnwood's Alderwood Mall, and we became regulars. The Oak Tree branch was fairly close to church, and the Lynnwood branch was pretty close to home. Especially at the Lynnwood branch, we were very impressed with the service. Pedro comes to mind as one manager who was particularly friendly. He got to know us well, knew what we liked, and sometimes even surprised us with special deals, or he would randomly bring chips and salsa we hadn't ordered to our table. One time we had a minor fire in our house (which was quickly put out), and somehow the subject came up the next time we went to Qdoba. Pedro, not knowing the extent of the damage, offered to come help clean up! One time my parents were visiting Colorado and went to a Qdoba there. They got talking to the manager, who was mopping the floor, and they mentioned Pedro and how amazing he was. When they got back home, they went to the Lynnwood Qdoba. When they mentioned to Pedro they had gone to Qdoba in Colorado, he said, "I know." That surprised them. It turned out that the manager they had talked to in Colorado (where the chain is based) was one of the company bigwigs. He had sent a message to the Lynnwood branch, commending Pedro for his amazing customer service, and calling him a legend. Sadly, Pedro eventually moved on, but others stood out for their legendary service.

Francisco was just as amazing as Pedro. He was very friendly, and had a remarkable memory. Eventually, he moved from the Lynnwood branch to the Oak Tree branch, where he still works. Since we don't go to the Oak Tree branch nearly as much as the Lynnwood branch, we don't see him nearly as much, but I have still been amazed at his memory. He has remembered what I like to get after a year of not going to that branch! Also, one time I went to the Oak Tree branch with a fractured arm, and for the next few times we went there (several months), he would ask about it. Since we didn't go to that branch all that often, it was all the more impressive. He recently told us he still remembers his childhood address in Mexico. He has an amazing gift of memory. I was also impressed on a recent visit to see Francisco come into the restaurants with treats (I think they were slushies) for the other employees. That's a mark of a great manager.

Since Francisco left the Lynnwood branch, it has had some great servers, and some not so great. By far, Pedro and Francisco were the best at that branch, but Juan, Olga, Rufino, and more recently Caleb, have been particularly outstanding.

I have also been very impressed with the corporate office. I like to commend servers who have been particularly amazing. On several occasions, I've done that for Francisco and Caleb (the others were before I started doing that). Allison in their corporate office has always responded with promises to pass on the good feedback to the branches in question. Whenever I've had a negative experience, I've sent a message to them, and they quickly responded with an apology and an assurance that they would pass on the feedback to the branch in an effort to improve. Recently, we went to the Oak Tree branch on a day when Francisco wasn't on duty, and I had to tell the servers four times what I wanted. I got the feeling they didn't even hear me the first three times, though I was speaking loudly. As with other times, when I sent a message on Facebook to the corporate office, Allison responded and gave me a free entree on my card, in addition to promising to pass that feedback on.

Just recently, Qdoba opened a brand new branch in Lynnwood. I got my aforementioned free entree there, and the service has been amazing. Everyone welcomed us in a friendly manner, and has gone out of their way to help. The second time we went to the new branch, earlier this week, they were having their grand opening celebration. I tried the new mango mojo burrito, which is amazing. Sarah checked with us several times to make sure we were doing all right. She cheerfully answered our questions, and even brought us some freebies, as it was their grand opening celebration. As we were about to leave, she brought us coupons for a free mango mojo entree. We went back for dinner today. I got my dinner for free, thanks to the coupon! Rahwa recognized us, since we'd been to that branch all of twice before that. I was impressed. Sarah arrived while we were in line, and she said, "You're back!" I was also impressed to observe that Jake, who rang us up, was still helping customers during his meal break. He was sitting at a table eating, and he asked a nearby customer if she was doing all right. Qdoba has lemons and limes in containers by their silverware, napkins and soda machine. I like to get some to put in my drink. When I opened the lemon container, I noticed they looked dirty and pointed that out to Sarah. She immediately emptied the container and went and got fresh clean lemons. Meanwhile, I put some limes in my cup and filled it with water. When she came back, she brought the lemon container to our table and offered some to me!

Needless to say, Qdoba is an amazing restaurant. Over the years, I've had positive and negative experiences with them, but their food is amazing, and their service is usually incredible, both on the local level and the corporate level.

Five stars.