Review of Beauty and the Beast (1991) by Jenny B — 05 Aug 2014

(Spoilers...? In case you somehow haven't seen this?) Gods, I love this movie. Even as an adult, I've watched it again and again. The first time in adulthood (after not seeing it for 10+ years) that I watched it again I was hesitant, worried that it would all have been some nostalgic childish addiction that only had value because I was 8 years old at the time... I was pleasantly surprised, as the animation was still gorgeous, the plot still enjoyable (if simplistic and straight-forward), and the characters endearing. I still remember seeing this as a child, in the theater, and crying uncontrollably at the end when the beast "died". Then being glad that he came back to life, but disappointed that he changed back into the prince afterwards. Even at the ripe age of 8, I knew there was something deeply wrong with a movie (Disney... this is a recurring problem) with a story whose focus is supposed to be "love people for who they are, not what they look like"... and yet still in order to have the "happy ending" requires everyone to look beautiful on the outside. Call me idealist. Whatever, it's how I felt and how I still feel about it. Although I've actually held the tale (especially the actual original story, but that's not what we're reviewing here) closer to my heart as I've grown up and seen a deeper, more metaphorical interpretation for the theme -- that being that how we see people changes as we get to know them (the "beast" becoming a "prince" in Belle's eyes), and that getting to truly know and care for others inevitably also changes us (the Beast becoming a nice guy instead of a selfish spoiled prick who throws tantrums when he doesn't get what he wants). Overall, it really is a stellar movie.

Some might claim Belle suffers from Stockholm syndrome, but let's not forget that she left to escape without hesitation at the first sign of violence, and she would've succeeded too if it weren't for those meddling wolves. Cuz she wasn't about to put up with that BS, "promise or no promise" (aka, sending the message to young girls and those battered wives out there, "married or no married" *applause for Disney*). Then she only comes back around to giving benefit of the doubt when Beast stops being a prick -- and permanently so. He only got 1 chance -- one -- to prove himself after his violent outbreak, and he only got that chance because he literally almost died saving her ass. They make a big deal out of Beast "letting her go" later in the movie, mostly because it was a big deal for him emotionally, not as much because it was a big deal for her -- she proved pretty early on with the wolves incident that she could leave whenever she wanted if she decided to. After all, she had the horse the whole time, and could've left at a safer time of day -- like, daytime.

Also, obviously, the beast himself grows as a character/person, which is really the driving story here. He's the one who changes and learns and grows the most, and while the events mostly seem centered around Belle, she doesn't develop much, aside from realizing that her dream world of fairy tales isn't all it's cut out to be. The whole thing is on fast-forward of course cuz it has to keep the attention of children, but there's an obvious montage of time passage and development of feelings/depth of care between our 2 heroes.

The villain (invented for the movie and not at all present in the original story) Gaston is one-dimensional and shallow, as most children's story villains are. The epitome of all that is "good looks aren't everything" and the anti-intellectual womanizer jock who, kind of like the beast at the beginning, doesn't do well not getting what he wants. Except he never does anything redeeming to outgrow these mentalities and only spirals deeper and deeper into villainy, as he apparently can't take "no" for an answer. This is even though he could have any pretty girl in the town, apparently including having all 3 of a set of sexy blonde triplets all over him if he wanted. (What stereotypical villain who over-values looks isn't all over the idea of sexy twins or triplets, even if they still want the heroine too? I mean, he basically totally ignores the golden-haired, huge-boobed triplets the whole movie. Forget cocky villains over-concerned with looks... What *anybody* wouldn't be all over that? It's a major hole in the character, but eh, kids' movies.).

The servants all being household objects is a creative twist on the usual invisibility curse from the original story. It's easier to keep up with since you can, you know, *see* them if they aren't invisible, provides more opportunity for humor on it's face, and is probably a lot less creepy, really. You wouldn't know it if invisible servants were watching you bathe or sleep until they moved/bumped something/interacted with an object. Talk about eek! Lumiere and Cogsworth put on a humorous love/hate friendship thing that reflects the stereotypes about France and England. And Belle's dad is just... wacky. That's all there is to it. Although he's greatly redeemed from the original story, where it's *his* idea to give his youngest, most innocent daughter over to the beast in exchange for his own life/to save his own old ass, because of course girls were crap/property/currency back in the day.

Last but obviously not least, the animation is GORGEOUS, with an almost fluid quality to it and beautiful colors. There's attention to detail and mood-setting in all the right ways/places, all the way down to the beast getting more comely as his demeanor changes (literally, he looks more combed), and Gaston getting more edgy lines and dark shadows around his eyes as he falls deeper into evil-ness. The beauty of this movie was what made me want to be an animator, but alas, I invested all my practice into drawing and now hand-drawn animation is almost totally a thing of the past, in the short couple of decades it's been since then.

It's not a perfect movie, but then again nothing is perfect, and it's definitely close enough for me. A true classic and a keeper for sure.