Disney Prince Review: Beast/Adam, Beauty and the Beast

"For who could ever learn to love a beast?"

Beauty and the Beast is a really great movie that I think shows exactly how good an animated film can be on multiple levels and is a prime example of the Disney Prince. This movie is the explosion of characters, music, and animation that sums up what the Disney Renaissance could be and why it still stands to this day as one of, if not the greatest era of Disney. Beauty and the Beast is honestly that story of characters as it's primary characters: Belle, Gaston, and the Beast play off of each other well and seek to teach us a not so subtle lesson about appearances and outsiders, and it's told not just in the characters but in the clothes. Honestly, Beast is such an interesting character and he along with Aladdin do help bring the Disney Prince to life. Since the Beast is such a big character we are going to break him down into three parts: Up to Belle leaving the first time, her leaving the second time, and finally his transformation; going over each section and what it says about him as a character.

"She'll never see me anything, but a monster."

While we see Beast in the beginning of the film, we don't really see him truly until Maurice is in his castle getting warm. The scene itself was brilliant as we saw how he moved, and after his first scene in the doorway we don't see him fully again until he meets Belle. In that first scene we see that he is used to the idea of being a beast so much that he is certain people come just to stare at him, this gives us the only bit of back history about events after the Enchantress. He is full of rage and self loathing about himself. He sees Belle as a chance to end the spell as does everyone else but despite "best" efforts, she isn't biting. He really comes off as a child more here than anyone else as he throws fits full of sound and fury but nothing else. It should be noted that he never hurt Maurice while he was there, he just sent him to the tower (where he more than likely would have died, true). He wants Belle to be the one to break the spell but he quickly gives up after hearing how Belle sees him. His rage at Belle when she is in his room about to touch the rose is viewed as I feel a violation of his space and the fact that if something happened to the rose, it could make the spell permanent before it wilts, Belle is literally playing with his humanity here. Despite this he does seems to realize that he was wrong and goes to save her. At the castle Beast acts like a child acting like an animal as he licks his injuries and the two argue again with Belle ultimately calling him out for his temper but thanking him for saving to which he says she's welcome.  

"I've never felt this way about anyone."

Beast is more interesting here because after she saves him he does change his outlook. He's never felt this way about anyone and he wants to do something for her, he has gone from wanting her to break the spell to showing her how he feels. Their dynamic changes and it honestly seems only the staff cares about the breaking the spell. Belle and Beast play in the snow, eat together, and she even teaches him to read; Belle is helping him to not only be more human but also to grow up from that eleven year old boy. When the two of them have their big night, it seems all is going well until Beast shows him her father with the mirror and Beast resolves to let her go, presumably forever as he hands her the mirror. Beast realizes he loves her and places her happiness over his own as, heartbroken, he watches her ride off as he roars into the night; choosing to remain a beast so long as she's happy. 

"Belle, it's me."

Beast doesn't say much in the beginning and it is clear that he doesn't see a point in going on as the castle is under attack and as Gaston shoots him with an arrow. As Gaston beats him down, it is only when he sees Belle again that he resolves to fight back and only when Gaston claims Belle as his does he seriously fight back to win, acting in a manner similar to when he first met Maurice. It is only when Gaston pleads for mercy does he seem to calm down and instead tells Gaston to get out. He is then elated with joy at the prospect of seeing Belle and even when Gaston fatally stabs him, he is happy to see her one last time and thinking it is better this way if he dies now. As Belle confesses her love he is transformed back into his human form Adam.

"He's kind, and gentle, he's my friend."

Beast is in an interesting character because he starts the film off horribly flawed and honestly he knows it. He was spoiled and unkind and was punished for judging someone on their looks; becoming something ugly on the outside to reflect his inner nature which I always felt was a bit of a stretch. He is angry at the world and himself, living in and around the constant reminder of his failings. There is a lot of sadness to him and it shows best in his eyes, the animators made them really expressive, they used his entire face for his emotions and he's full of simple moments, often placing his head in his hands after something bad has happened to him. I think a lot of his rage is usually directed at himself, it doesn't help that he stays in a room he has personally destroyed, he doesn't yell at nothing, something has to happen and it usually is something similar to what he did. He accuses Maurice of judging him on his looks, accuses Belle being irresponsible, and again of her hurting him as well as not listening; all things he had done to get him where he is now.

In regards to his relationship with Belle, it really is one of Disney's great romances. His attempts to get Belle to love him come from a desire to turn back into a human but honestly Belle helps him actually BE human. She seems to be the only one to consistently call him out on his behavior but at the same time be his friend. Beast learns to laugh, have fun, READ, and to essentially stop being a jerk and it's those things; being a better person and taking an interest in her that wins Belle over. He even changes his movements along with his clothes, walking more on two legs and wearing more adult clothes like a shirt. The clothing even changes with his character, going from a simple cloak and torn pants to not torn pants and a shirt accompanied with a cloak and he even cuts his hair. By the end of it, he has resolved to stay a better person even without Belle in his life though he doesn't seem to have that will to live. In a lot of ways, Belle became his rose, except where the rose was a way to turn him back, Belle was a way to make him better.

Paralleling Beast obviously is Gaston who doesn't try to get to know Belle and imposes his will on everyone but doesn't look like a monster, he's actually sort of the town hero. Gaston's attack on Beast in a lot of ways resembles Gaton's interactions with Maurice, someone picking on someone who can't/won't fight back. In a lot of ways, Gaston is possibly what a young Adam would have become but possibly even worse as a whole. Their dynamic reminded me a lot of the relationship between Frollo and Quasimodo in Hunchback of Notre Dame, they are more than what they look like on the surface and once you get to know them you see something that shows you who the real monster is.

It is rather fitting that Beast essentially dies to return to being Adam, resolving to die in Belle's arms rather than continue to living as a monster though I would argue that he was "Adam" the moment he let Belle go to her father. Even that wouldn't be true as we saw in Beauty and the Beast, Belle's Enchanted Christmas that Adam was a spoiled child, short tempered and every bit the kind of child children are warned about being. Adam was a monster and Beast grows past that. He isn't even called Adam in the movies which I think may have been a result of the staff calling master and Beast having no reason to call himself by his name. We could argue again that Adam was what he was going back to which is why no one told Belle his name or that to Beast, there was either no difference or he was too ashamed.

Honestly, I would view Beast as an amazing character and the first great Disney Prince. He shares the title, something not done in previous films; he has a good deal of screen time, has dialogue, his own story, a musical number, everything that makes a character, he has it. He and Belle become the Superman and Lois Lane of Disney in my opinion, an amazing power couple that play off of each other so well because they come into the film as equals who leave an impact on one another as people.

A Bit More?

Honestly, Rumple from Once Upon a Time isn't a good comparison right away to the Beast, the two have vastly different circumstances and if not for the fact that Belle is involved with him and that Rumple refers to his Dark One persona as the Beast it wouldn't even make much sense. The reason I chose him was because of something he tells Belle in an episode about how even though Belle made him a better man, he's still not a hero. Rumple has resolved to love Belle, to try and be a better person but he will still do what he feels is necessary to achieve his goals, as he tells Belle she made him a better man, but not a different one. I think this is interesting because we really don't see exactly how much Adam has changed and maybe he still has a temper, and is a bit spoiled in some ways, just better at keeping it under control.

Ponder Point

A major criticism of Beauty and the Beast is that Belle has Stockholm Syndrome. Emma Watson recently commented on this in an interview, I mentioned it in my own Disney Princess Review for Belle, and Lindsey Ellis touched on it lightly in her own reviews. I'ts honestly a debunked theory in itself as Belle is totally in control of her situation. Very early on she refuses to eat with him, ignores his declaration that she doesn't eat, and even goes into the West Wing after specifically being told not to go there and even leaving. She argues with him, bites back, and patches him up as well as setting examples that he follows. Beast though comes off as a prisoner, trapped in a castle changed by a magic spell with only a rose to remind him of what he has a done and what he must do to be human again. Belle doesn't fall in love with Beast until he shows he isn't a monster but he honestly falls for Belle after she saves and thanks him after the events in the forest. On another note, does Belle know about the details of the enchantment? We know that she does know the castle is enchanted but did she know about Beast's intentions (let alone the staff's) to get her to love him? The only ones she could ask would be the staff and honestly; as nice and as fun as they are, I don't think they would have told her. Remember, they wanted Belle to fall in love with Beast so they could be human, they tell Beast to invite Belle to dinner, they make sure she doesn't leave the castle, defend his bad behavior to her, they want to be human and they will do whatever they can to make it happen.

Next time we are going to the desert to watch a film that feels like a letter to the 80's as we find a Diamond in the Rough.