To think the Beast is actually an abusive prick?

[twattymctwatterson]

Somehow managed to never see the cartoon version of Beauty and the Best. Watching it with my daughter now. So the Beast kidnapped Bele's dad, coerced her into staying with him, shouts, smashes furniture and is basically a prick. If Belle was posting in Relationships I'd be telling her to LTB

[haveacupoftea]

I know of a woman who had the song from B&B playing as she walked down the aisle at her wedding 😂 any subliminal messages there do you think?

[Atenco]

I couldn't cope if you started on the Lion King

Uuf, where do I start. The fact that all the baddies are Puerto Ricans?

It used to be really hard for me to keep my mouth shut when I took my dd to a Disney film.

[PuppyMonkey]

Jeremy Irons is Puerto Rican?

[ProudBadMum]

Scar is Puerto Rican? 😂

[pieceofpurplesky]

I loved it. I also wrote my dissertation on fairy tales and the role of women.
In this film version Belle is a strong woman who rejects the advances of the handsome hero because he has a brain. She is not kidnapped by the beast. Her father is imprisoned for theft and she voluntarily takes his place.
Other than shouting at her when she discovers the rose the beast is not abusive. From the start Belle wants to
Meet someone who has a similar mind and she finds this with the beast. Despite her voluntary imprisonment she finds freedom within her confines. She falls in love with his mind and their similar desires.
She returns with her own free will and the story is resolved. I loved the bit where she asked him to grow his beard back as it was the beast she loved - his eyes being the thing she kept looking in to.
In Angela Carter's version (book) at the end Belle turns in to the beast and the two run free and wild forever.
This version is much nearer to the stories in folklore.

[pieceofpurplesky]

She had a brain!

[ShoutOutToMyEx]

The Lion King is Hamlet.

Is it?!? I never knew!

That and the aforementioned Aristocats are my favourite Disney movies.

[ImFuckingSpartacus]

Uuf, where do I start. The fact that all the baddies are Puerto Ricans?

Er, what now? Explain!

[JDelanysCleanHorse]

Brilliant analysis piece.

Also it is the household/staff who are pushing for the spell to be broken. For most of the film the beast has given up.

I also love that they have answered the question of why the people in the village never noticed a huge castle in the local forest.

[Dreadfulidea]

Fairy tales are meant to be dark. They were never children's stories.

I'm more upset by the amount of people that think Disney is the source of children's stories. Moralistic, anthropomorphic twaddle with hideous oversung tunes.
As a child I saw a French version of The little Meramid that was utterly wonderful including the part where every step on her new legs caused her pain and she dies and became the light that glints of the sea. Much better than Ariel screeching at all and sundry.

[deadringer]

Pieceofpurplesky you wrote exactly what i thought about the movie so thanks for that. I saw it today with my 3 dds age 8,13 and 18 (all proud feminists) and they loved it. Please someone explain the porto rican thing, as pp said Jeremy irons played the main baddie in the lion king and whoopi Goldberg was his main sidekick i think?

[sophr2017]

The Lion King is very loosely based on Hamlet or influenced by. It isn't Hamlet.

Well said piece!

[gluteustothemaximus]

I really don't see this at all?!

Maybe I'm naive. But this is all I see...

Prince doesn't do a kind deed as he doesn't see past the 'ugly' woman in need. So he gets turned into a beast with a curse. Surely this is about not seeing beauty/ugly but just a person in need? He needs to learn to love and be kind, to break the spell.

Belle, strong, intelligent woman who reads books and is a little 'different'. Doesn't want the life mapped out for her, or to be the 'little wife' of gaston (who is a pig). That's good, right?

Her father is imprisoned, and she offers to take his place, because she is kind and loving. The beast behaves badly as he's been stuck as a beast for years, and will likely stay that way forever, so I guess he's got a temper for those reasons.

As he gets used to her presence, he behaves more normally, starts to do kind things. Show her his library, as she loves books. She teaches him to read. etc etc. They start to have feelings for each other as they get to know each others minds - not looks.

These are all good things? Not judging a person by their looks, but by their actions?

He sets her free, because he loves her. Abusive partners don't do this. I know.

Belle comes back to warn him/save him. She loves him.

I really don't see all the other stuff at all. In fact, I see the opposite.

[OVienna]

I hate the Beauty and the Beast story.

[BabychamSocialist]

I just personally think it's hard to treat parts of Beauty and the Beast as real and worrying (like their relationship) in a film that also has singing teapots and clocks. I mean, come on.

[sophr2017]

Babycham, exactly 😂 I grew up on Disney and can assure you I have never had any unrealistic expectations from my teapots or candlesticks!

[FernetBranca]

I love the "side order of lecturing": that's exactly what happens here (have a literature degree and a 13 year old DD)

She and I went to see it last night. Actually what we were talking about afterwards was the tiny gay sub story. She was very interesting on the perceived need to make it unobtrusive for the US fundamentalist market (she reminded me how the fact that one of the Star Trek crew had a gay partner had been edited out of the overseas editions). We thought it was nicely handled, FWIW and that Josh Gad had played the role very well.

She was also the one who mentioned Stockholm Syndrome (and also pointed out that Belle was basically Hermione - fearless and bookish). Interestingly I said that I thought Luke Evans was more of an obvious Disney Prince and she said they are always a bit colourless like Dan Stevens.

(Not saying my work here is done, but she's shaping up nicely )

[MammaTJ]

I will be going to see it with my adult daughter and my 11 year old daughter. The fact that we are having a girly evening together, spending quality tome with each other actually shoves any negative messages it might have into the undergrowth!

My DD1 is married to a lovely man, who goes to work all day, then comes home and looks after their baby, or cooks dinner and clears up.

My DD2 is a brown belt in karate, age 11 and wants to be a sensei to fund her way through uni to become a paramedic.

My girls are doing ok in spite of Disney!! My voice is stronger!!

[Softkitty2]

Everything is abusive nowadays. Its a kids film just let it be..

[RebelRogue]

Fernet you have an awesome kid!

[Ihavefriends]

I loved Once Upon a Time on Netflix for it's feminist spin on the fairytales

I hate most Disney morals, but think generally things are improving. "You got engaged to someone you just met that day?!!" for example.

I would like to hope they've updated the basic plot a little.

[flapjackfairy]

Love your post sophr2017!
Still giggling x

[RebelRogue]

Ihavefriends i love the spin in frozen that the seemingly nice handsome prince is actually the bad guy.
I also love love love Brave! Not a prince in sight,unless to be mocked, she competes for her own hand and wins and most importantly the focus is between the clash between generation,tradition and yes even internalised misogyny and expectations!

[flapjackfairy]

And glute i totally agree with all you have said . V well put !

[lljkk]

Beauty & the Beast 1980s tv show was good.