Ma chère Mademoiselle,
It is with deepest pride and greatest pleasure that I welcome you to Disney's winning streak.
I invite you to relax, let me pull up a chair, as Sophie proudly presents...
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
A word of warning: this is one of my all-time favourites, so the next few paragraphs may dissolve into a general love fest for this bonafide classic. I've seen this film so many times that it almost negates writing about, but I'm a completionist, so I'll do my best to analyse something, at least.
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- Belle, when did you fall in love with Beast?
- I believe I must date it from my first seeing his beautiful grounds at the enchanted forest |
From the very opening of this classic fairytale retelling, with
Alan Menken's hauntingly romantic score, underpinning the multiplane camera zoom through an idyllic glade opening on to a gothic castle, we're brought back to Disney's golden age of animation. Like
Snow White, Pinocchio, or
Sleeping Beauty before it,
Beauty and the Beast is swathed in nostalgia and magic and has a rich, cosy quality that only Disney's most iconic films can capture.
There are many ingredients in perfect balance that make this film so satisfying, but the main factor has got to be the music. Taking the reigns from
The Little Mermaid, Menken and
Ashman reach a high point with
Beauty and the Beast, penning a spectacular soundtrack fit for a Broadway show.
'Belle' is the quintessential opening chorus number, deftly introducing us to the rural storybook setting of Belle's village, as well as the beautiful heroine herself — and, of course, the aggressively handsome 'brute'
Gaston. Every line is creatively crafted to tell us all we need to know about our protagonist ('with a dreamy far off look/ And her nose stuck in a book') while the interplay of villagers mimicks the everyday hustle and bustle that Belle wants to escape.
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'Just hanging out with my Saturday squad'
The Saturday squad: |
Even when each musical number ends, Menken's instrumental score does so much to tell the story, highlighting every moment with just the right flourish, and echoing themes we hear throughout the main musical numbers. The spritely pizzicato strings underscoring 'Belle'
keep returning to signify moments of change and momentum for the character, like when her father
Maurice leaves for the inventor's fair, or later when she starts to see a change in her feelings for the Beast. The warmth of her character is reflected by her musical theme, much in the way that Gaston is paired with a bravado-filled waltz, or the Beast with the haunting and mystical score of the prelude.
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| When he suggests The Da Vinci Code for your book club |
What makes the film especially clever, though, is how the nostalgic setting, familiar fairytale, and simple beauty of Belle lull you into a much more subversive story than Disney has told before. On the surface, Belle seems like a basic enough Disney princess, who ends up marrying a prince and living out her days in an enchanted castle. However, her journey shows much more autonomy and shrewdness than her predecessors. Unlike Ariel, who falls for the dream of the gallant, handsome human man she knows nothing about, Belle has Gaston at her doorstep, and flat-out rejects him. The self-proclaimed 'most handsome man in town' leaves her disgusted, because she can see the ugliness within, and is repelled by his strapping, man-about-town persona.
Even when she eventually does fall in love with the
Beast, it's not due to his strength or valour, but the opposite — he has to display vulnerability and kindness to win her heart. Having the handsome man as the villain, and the Beast as the hero (or more accurately, victim) is a refreshing change and makes this Disney classic stand out as more than a vacuous fairytale.
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| Resting face vs when someone points a camera at you |
Having said all this, of course, there are some problematic elements. We can all cheer Belle on for rejecting Gaston (even while his
eponymous musical number is one of the funniest, most rousing songs in Disney history), but is Beast a much better choice? Firstly, let's not forget that he cast out the old beggar woman for being ugly, which landed him with the curse in the first place. Secondly, he's learned nothing for years about the importance of inner beauty, as he's made no effort to lift the curse. He then goes on to imprison poor old Maurice for absolutely no reason at all and then agrees to let Belle take his place in his castle jail, without even letting her say goodbye to her father. All of this, and he's confused as to why Belle doesn't want to join him for dinner, still thinking it's his monstrous appearance? C'mon mate, read the room.
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| 'It's looking good, now who wants to match-make the wardrobe and the oven?' |
Luckily for the Beast, he's surrounded by the real MVPs of the film:
Lumiere,
Cogsworth,
Mrs. Potts, and the rest of the anthropomorphic furniture that makes up his household staff. The chemistry between the candlestick, clock, and teapot is far superior to that between the actual humans, each performance carrying so much charm and humour that you can't help but smile as they steadfastly try to accelerate the blossoming romance between Belle and the Beast, while they bicker among themselves.
'Be Our Guest' is the glittering Vegas show we all deserve, while the legendary
Angela Lansbury's
'Beauty and the Beast' is just heart-meltingly pure. It's down to these heroes that there's ever
'Something There' between Belle and the Beast at all.
All the timeless elements of this film collide in the finale: the slapstick-filled chaos of the battle of furniture and humans, the final tense showdown between the tortured Beast and the unrelenting Gaston, that goosebump-inducing transformation scene, and finally a good old dance of jubilation, set to a choir belting out the titular song. With every sparkling beat, we're reminded why we love Disney films — there's just a magic that doesn't need explaining.
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| My feelings whenever I'm presented with food |
Villain Rating: 9/10 — If there wasn't such stiff competition, I'd give Gaston a perfect score. The tall, dark, strong, and handsome brute is gloriously hammy, has a killer song, and is the freshest twist on a villain so far. A gleeful satire of the handsome prince, who's more in love with himself than anyone else, sets the scene for a more discerning leading lady in Belle, whose rejection of his 'beauty' is oh-so-satisfying. He isn't quite Ursula level, but he's pretty close.
Best Song: Well this is a toughie. My favourite Beauty and the Beast song changes weekly, with every genius musical number from Menken and Ashman combining instantly catchy tunes with deliciously clever lyrics, but for now... I'm feeling 'Belle.' Maybe it's because every day really is like the one before right now.
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| I can hear this image |
Disney Detail: Surprisingly, there aren't any Easter Eggs in this one. However, if the final scene looks familiar to you, it's where the animators recycled the dance floor scene at the end of Sleeping Beauty and repainted the characters — Apparently, they were going over budget (those pesky computerised columns!)
Why it's a Classic: This film strikes the perfect Disney formula, putting it consistently in my top 5 films from the studio. A thoughtful, kind, beautiful heroine, a truly repulsive villain, dry humour and slapstick, a romantic setting and story, and — best of all — a score and soundtrack worthy of the finest Broadway musical. It just captures pure, timeless magic.
