Warning: Spoilers ahead for Disney's remake of "Beauty and the Beast."

Disney's live-action remake of "Beauty and the Beast" makes a lot of changes from the original story, for better or worse. One of the best ways the movie builds upon the original material comes from an unexpected pair of characters: Gaston and his sidekick LeFou.

Both Gaston and LeFou were both given more background and overall character depth, while bringing more contemporary comedic moments into the 18th century France setting.

Their boosted characters were helped greatly by Luke Evans (Gaston) and Josh Gad (LeFou). Evans and Gad are both stellar actors who come from theater backgrounds, so they had the vocal chops to back up a great sense of comedic timing and improvisation.

The new Gaston is more than just a ruthless hunter, though he still uses antlers in all of his decorating. Now he's also a solider, which adds a new dimension to why people in town revere and respect him despite his less-than-pleasant attitude.

But Gad's take on LeFou is where the rewrites in this "Beauty and the Beast" version really shine. And no — it's not because director Bill Condon said LeFou is Disney's first openly gay character. In fact, if Condon hadn't mentioned that in an interview, you probably would have missed the few small moments that alluded to LeFou's sexuality.

Instead, the new LeFou succeeds for a simple reason — he feels like the only character in the movie who is aware they're in a remake of a classic. It seems apparent to us that Gad knew he needed to make small nods to the original buffoon-like LeFou while creating a more realistic portrait of a person.

Condon told Vulture about LeFou's unique role in this remake: "He also is the one meta voice in the movie; he's the one with that sense of irony that's so prevalent in American comedy."

For example, watch the scene Gad shared on Good Morning America which starts around 30 seconds into the video below:

"Belle is the most beautiful girl in the village," Gaston says. "That makes her the best."

"But she's so ... well read," LeFou replies. "And you're so ... athletically inclined."

This was the movie's first look at Gaston and LeFou, and Gad's physicality along with the delivery of the line make for the perfect introduction to this new and improved LeFou.

In addition to being more sardonic and witty, Gad's LeFou is more uncomfortable with Gaston's cartoonishly evil plots to marry Belle. LeFou is constantly trying to keep Gaston's rage at a minimum, and often questions whether or not Gaston's morals are in line with his own.

During an interview with Good Morning America, Josh Gad said LeFou was definitely different in this iteration of the classic movie.

"He's complicated," Gad said. "And he's got pathos this time, which is what I loved about it."

If you thought "Be Our Guest" and the titular "Beauty and the Beast" song would be your favorite in this remake, think again. By the end of the movie, I was part-surprised and part-disappointed to realize that "Gaston" and "The Mob Song" were the two best adapted musical numbers.

Gad excelled during his lead in the anthem dedicated to Gaston, especially since his choreography included running around and paying the village bar-goers to compliment Gaston (again, adding to the reasons why so many people appear to love Gaston even though he's clearly a jerk).

Gad also improvised the final line of the new "Gaston" song, where he begins spelling "G-A-S-T-O-N" before realizing that since he's illiterate he actually doesn't know how to spell anything, let alone his pal's name. You can listen to the audio version of "Gaston" on YouTube, though you'll have to use your imagination when it comes to Gad's great choreography.

Luke Evans also holds his own throughout "Gaston," with impressive vocals and a great show of bravado. By the end of the movie when it's time for Gaston to lead the villagers on a mission to kill the beast, we were sold. Evans delivers the "KILL THE BEAST!" line with perfection, and the entire "Mob Song" was one of the few adapted songs that delivered on emotion, hype, and nostalgia.

But again, even while Evans was nailing Gaston's arrogant attitude and convincing the townspeople that murder was the only solution to the problem at hand, LeFou was visibly concerned about the plan. He believed that locking away Belle and Maurice was counterproductive to Gaston's ultimate goal of marrying her (which, I mean ... duh. But it was refreshing to see another character in the movie aware of it).

And by the end of the movie, LeFou is fully disillusioned with Gaston. Thanks to Mrs. Potts (who doesn't know Gaston and therefore shouldn't be giving advice about him but whatever) telling LeFou "he could do better," the friendship/romance comes to an end and LeFou begins fighting on the side of the castle. And in the final ballroom scene, he gets a male dance partner — which is the "exclusively gay" moment Condon was referencing.

LeFou and Gaston's relationship along with their updated sense of humor and banter are exactly the kinds of changes Disney should be focused on for these remakes. Take a previously one-dimensional character, and add those shades of grey.

We hope this lesson carries over for the 19 live-action remakes Disney has in store for us. In the meantime, we remain disappointed that Belle and the Beast weren't the stars they should have been — but that discussion is for another time.

"Beauty and the Beast" is in theaters nationwide starting March 17.