Children’s Literature: Beauty

Disney’s versus De Beaumont’s Beauty and the Beast

Walt Disney created a career and empire based on retelling well-known fairy tales. These tales were often told by word of mouth for generations and generations before being recorded, so many different versions of the same story exist. Eventually, many of them were written down and recorded. Jeanne-Marie Leprince De Beaumont, for example, recorded a version of Beauty and the Beast. This is the closest version Disney probably based their fantastical animation on, though there are several differences between the two. Disney’s changes focus on issues of vanity. Disney also deals with marriage, love, and all in a way that involves a concise moral within the film that is not necessarily present in the story written by De Beaumont.

One of the major differences the tale starts with is the presence of the magical lady at the beginning of the film. The story explains that an evil fairy curses the beast to be a beast until a beautiful lady agrees to marry him. This is very similar to the movie. However, the slight change is made to explain why he was cursed, that it was for his inability to see past looks, as the fairy had dressed herself up as a hag and tested the beast. This slight change strongly emphasized the moral themes, explicitly revolving around vanity. They introduced a reason for being punished and created a moral to begin the story off with.

The magic mirror plays an inverse role in the movie as compared to the book. In the book, the mirror is used for Beauty to be able to see her father again. In the Movie, however, the mirror serves as Belle’s portal back to the castle as she is allowed to go back home. Before the Beast gives it to her as a gift, he uses it to check up on her, and it serves as a view into her inner life. The Beast giving the mirror to her can be a sign of his changing attitude toward her and willingness to be less possessive. This change is simple, but it was this that allowed for Gaston to steal the mirror and incite a mob to do away with the beast. The image of a mirror here emphasizes Gaston’s vanity and the town-gone-mobs’ obsession with image.

Another image picked up from the text is the image of a rose. In the story, it represents the unforgivable transgression Belle’s father commits against the Beast. It is also a symbol of Belle’s pure heart as she only asked for it not to make her sisters look bad. The rose is picked up in the movie as a representative of the passage of time. The rose takes until his twenty-first year to wilt, which is when the Beast has to find love before becoming a beast forever. The rose is an excellent symbol for love and beauty as well. Beast kept his hidden, away in a tower, he did not want to let anyone in. Yet it was beautiful, and as he opened up more and more, he found he did not have to hide anymore.

Guston is seen as a stand-in for Beauty’s sisters ' husbands. In the story, one is described as “a man of great wit, but he used it to infuriate everybody,” and the other is a “remarkably handsome gentleman, but he was so enamored of his own looks that he spent all day in front of a mirror”(40). The latter one is more definitely Gaston and Disney, who definitely highlighted this character as a foil for Belle.  Belle is portrayed as a dreamer, looking for adventure within books. While this is emphasized in the Disney version, it is adapted from a small part in De Beaumont’s story: “after finishing he housework, she read and sang while spinning.”(33) Disney’s Belle is somewhat more complicated for her dreamer quality. While it is not the most complex character, his wanderlust creates a character that is not the same as all the other local townsfolk, happy in their routine.

In the book, Beast presents Beauty with a magic wardrobe that only she can use and contains several beautiful dresses. The magic wardrobe from the book finds its place within Disney as well. Instead of just including a magical wardrobe, Disney brings the enchanted castle to life. This animation adds another layer of life to what could be a very empty and boring castle; first and foremost, the audience must be entertained!  Be Our Guest allows for a whimsical foil to the beast’s anger issues and troubled, isolated behavior. This also allowed for motherly figures such as Ms. Pots and the Wardrobe to take a role in helping Belle adjust to the drastically different lifestyle.

A difference between the two is that in Disney, there is a more explicit connection between the Beast’s attitudes and how he must alter them to prove a suitable suitor for Belle. There is a more direct intention and change between how the Beast was at the beginning and end of the movie. This is dramatically different from the book, as there is no difference between the Beast at the beginning and end of the story. In the film, some grooming changes are shown as a readjustment of temper. Even from the start, however, a sweeter side to the beast is hinted at as Belle breaks her promise and runs off into the woods, and the Beast saves her from the vicious wolves that attack. She then kindly thanks him and bandages his wounds. This goes to show that even as she is captured, he does seem to care for her well-being.

A strong message in the Disney version of Beauty and the Beast is the idea of love versus marriage. Gaston is the image of the “desirable” and wishes dearly to marry Belle. However, she seems barely to know her, respect her, or even be interested in anything about her. He seems set on marrying her because she is the only one who matches his looks. Beast, on the other hand, however clumsy or temperamental, wishes to make a connection with Belle and is quite insecure about what moves he should make. While one could argue that he is only interested in Belle because of her ability to release the spell, he does seem genuinely touched by Belle’s pure spirit and interested in getting to know her.

Disney has a charm about turning fairytale stories into lovable classics, remembered for years to come. This tale has several characters that create a vibrant conglomerate of them all. Disney simplifies the moral of Beauty and the Beast a little bit in favor of creating a more palatable and defined moral point to the story. Disney also picked up on subtle instances, such as mentioning books or the wardrobe, and added a personal twist that intensified the character and added depth. In particular, the characters seem to be a bit more complex in the movie than in the book.

Beauty specifically is very plain in the book, while being portrayed as a dreamer adds intrigue to the girl’s character. Slight improvement from the perfectly domesticated and simplified Beauty seen in the book. Disney works its magic by taking the abstract symbols used in the story and altering them to make them Disney’s own. This is seen with the mirror and the rose specifically. Both were seen in slightly altered states from book to movie. These slight differences take these simple tales to the next level in cementing coherence throughout the story. The emphasis on vanity, for example, creates a more defined moral message and life lesson.