Well, the "IIRC" is the point, isn't it? It would have died and been forgotten if it weren't for Disney. Not all stories, even the ones selected by Disney, need to live forever. Granted, Disney will try to make them last forever (with good success) but they don't NEED to. And they shouldn't in some cases. But yes, in this case Disney isn't going to go that route.
What they're really trying to do is to squeeze more money out of characters that have been successful, of course. However, I'm not convinced it's the RIGHT thing to do. Why not make new movies about places that are actually diverse rather than forcing it into unnatural settings? Or at least change the setting of Beauty from France to, say, Houston: go West Side Story with it!
Really: is it truly appropriate to show people who appeared to come from different cultures all happily assimilated into a white/French culture...? It employs diverse actors, sure, but is that REALLY the right message? Wouldn't it be more appropriate to see traits from different cultures rather than expecting the French one to dominate? I say they made a surficial change that looked good on the surface but that they weren't really doing anyone any favors in the big picture.
Anyways, given their past it's good to see them trying and there are certainly bigger problems. I just disagree with that style of modernization.
I would say Hamilton did something similar, but better: they added characteristics from different subcultures rather than just different faces for the sake of different faces. There was more of a point being made...although it worked better on some levels than others.
So, your issue with a movie that features a witch who transformers a person into a monster and his servants into furniture is the cultural accuracy?
---
Annoy a Conservative, punch a person who shares Nazi ideals. (Clarification provided exclusively for Revelation34 who was having trouble distinguishing context)