Beauty And The Beast: A New Approach

Beauty and the Beast is a story of French origin, related to some extent to the myth of Eros and Psyche , the classic tale from Apuleius’ Metamorphoses.

Recently, it made it to the big screen again, this time in a non-animated version. The film was directed by Bill Condon and has a cast that includes actors such as Ewan McGregor, Ian McKellen and Emma Thompson. Emma Watson plays Belle and Dan Stevens can be seen as the Beast.

Disney princesses

In the 90s, the world loved Disney princesses. Most were born in this decade, although some, like Snow White or Cinderella, were already veterans. The truth is that if we arrange the princesses chronologically, we will see the great evolution they have gone through.

Most of these princesses, especially the first, matched the image of the ideal housewife. They were young, beautiful and enjoyed household chores, reflecting the exemplary woman of the time. They all have many things in common. A difficult past (they have lost their mother or father), a stormy situation and a happy ending with their prince. It took Disney a long time to realize that they needed to renew these stories, and the changes were very slow.

The concept of beauty in Beauty and the Beast

Belle would be the first to stray a little (really a little) from the path her predecessors had marked. Belle was special, physically. She was a beautiful young woman, but she was no Snow White whose beauty was unparalleled. Her features were more like those of mere mortals. Of course, the choice of hair color, chestnut, is one of the most important in this regard. This, along with her brown eyes, would change the idea of ​​what beauty should be.

Chestnut is the forgotten color in the hair world. We don’t have to think twice to conclude that we really don’t see this hair color very much on screen. Nor is it actually sung or written about. Even in advertisements for hair dye, you very rarely see a chestnut color. In general, people use blond or black hair, even red hair (although this is the least common) if they want to represent beauty. You hardly see chestnuts.

The origin of Belle

Belle comes from a small French village, located in a place where people have little or no interest in reading. However, Belle has a great passion for reading. Because of this, she earns the nickname ‘weirdo.’ Reading allows her to escape a little from life in her village and to get to know other worlds and broaden her horizons. Belle is a girl with a thirst for knowledge.

As we see, Belle is a smart, confident girl who breaks a little with the previous Disney stereotypes. But of course we are still talking about a Disney princess from the 90s, and what is a princess without her prince? Belle would be no exception. She too would fall into the clutches of love. The goal of the film may be to show how powerful inner beauty is, but it is still about a princess who has her happy ending with her prince. A prince who was once a beast, but eventually transforms into a handsome man.

Beauty and the Beast – a new approach

There is no doubt that the intent of the 1990 film was good. The lesson we all (or almost all) learned was that beauty comes from within. Belle falls in love with the Beast for who he is, despite his appearance. I think we should see the Beast’s transformation as a representation of its true self, a reflection of its inner beauty. Beauty, in addition to being subjective, is also influenced by how one is inside.

But Disney is making strides when it comes to female representation in its latest movies. What’s so interesting about this new version of Beauty and the Beast is that the film has some small details that give the old story a refreshing twist.

Of course, the new film still looks a lot like its animated sister, this was to be expected. Visually, the similarities are unmistakable, from the costumes and choice of actors to the landscape and the castle. Plus, the 1990s soundtrack is pretty much unchanged.

True to the original

This new version has shown a clear respect for its predecessor. When film producers want to make a remake of a classic, they have to be very aware that the audience will love the existing version very much. Sometimes producers can go to the other extreme and create something completely different that has little to do with the original idea.

The new Beauty and the Beast follows the main line and adds some elements that clarify the holes in the animated version. An example of this is the explanation for what happened to Belle’s mother. Something that brings us closer to the characters and helps us empathize more with them.

At the same time, the film features a large number of dark-skinned characters who mix with the whites in a completely normal way. Some even have accents that we don’t usually associate with black people. Madame de Garderobe, for example, who is dark with an Italian accent. This clearly shows that skin color is not necessarily linked to one’s ancestry.

Likewise, we see many mixed couples, such as the aforementioned Madame de Garderobe and her husband, Master Cadenza; or Lumière, the legendary candlestick, and his beloved Plumette, who is also dark-skinned.

The character of Le Fou

In addition, throughout the film, we realize that Le Fou, whose name means crazy in French , has changed quite a bit compared to the 1990 version. In the cartoon, he was a character who lived up to his name and who submitted to Gaston. However, we now realize that his devotion to Gaston may go even further and that he may not be as crazy as he seems.

There is a very important scene where Madame Garderobe dresses three young men as women. Two of them get upset, but one of them seems to be comfortable and smiles gratefully. It’s very subtle, but important at the same time. In addition, at the end of the film we see how Gaston dances with Le Fou and they both seem very happy. In this way they normalize something that should also just be normal and reaffirm that beauty is within.

It doesn’t matter what gender or race you are. None of this matters: love goes beyond that and transcends boundaries or impositions. In my opinion, this new version of Beauty and the Beast is important. It was necessary to include all these different types of relationships in a classic movie like this, which talks about loving regardless of appearances. It is a small step, but very important and very necessary these days. If we continue down this path, maybe one day in the future it will no longer be necessary to be “beautiful” to be a Disney princess.