Numbuk wrote:
Beauty and the Beast is interesting. It was on the verge of being canned until the decision was made to bring in Alan Menken and Howard Ashman to infuse the movie with some music, since their doing so with The Little Mermaid was a big success. Ashman wasn't too happy about it, he preferred his other project: Aladdin. But, he relented. He and Menken (who is composing this remake) cranked out the classics we know and Ashman eventually came around and was said to be very proud and happy with what they accomplished (he died before the movie hit the theaters).
I also find it interesting if you look at it objectively. Firstly, the prince is cursed with Beastliness simply because he was a selfish *** to an old beggar woman. Here's the thing though, he was 11 years old when he answered that door (possibly younger). What 11 year old kid actually thinks before they speak? Especially one brought up spoiled and rich? He was cursed and essentially doomed simply for being an ignorant child. How do I know how old he was? These two lines: "The rose would bloom until his 21st birthday..." and "Ten years we've been rusting, needing so much more than dusting."
Then we have what is essentially "Stockholm Syndrome: The Movie." On top of which, there's a lesson that the movie teaches that is "If your boyfriend is prone to rage fits, abusive, violent, and constantly threatens you, then you're not loving him hard enough. If you love him enough, he will change!"
Then there's Gaston (who, I'm sorry, Bard is not "Barge" sized enough to play him). The "bad guy" of the movie. In a town where everyone thinks Belle is a cook, he's the only one who accepts her and likes her (and it's not like he didn't have other options, he could easily have had *triplets* if he simply snapped his fingers). And while he is a bit of an overconfident doof, he at least respects her. He never threatened her and even handled rejection without fits of rage (the Beast cannot claim the same). Gaston knows that Belle's father essentially could be a potential danger to her and has even invented things like the Murdertron-2000 in their basement (that doesn't even work right and is prone to explosions). So when he sees him rambling about a fictional monster, in his mind locking him up is what is best for her. Sure, maybe using that to sway Belle's mind about marriage wasn't the smartest thing to do, but it was still better than "You will be my prisoner forever and I will violently yell at you whenever I feel like it!" When the beast was revealed? Gaston simply saw a threat that needed to be dealt with. He only had two people's accounting of the thing, Belle's and her father's. The father seemed very concerned. And if this monster was willing to take prisoners, and be uncompromising in doing so, then that seems like something that any hero would want to take down in any other story.
So, yeah, the movie is very interesting. I like it, but there's definitely some crazy Disney ninja moves you need to do in your brain to accept it all.
Gaston has the best song. However, he's a (literal in one scene) pig and the Beast is just so full of emotions and misunderstood. All men will change if you just love them hard enough.
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