On the Eve of Beauty and the Beast

I'm sitting here on the eve of the live action Beauty and the Beast opening night, listening to the soundtrack (which is surprisingly available before the movie, but whatever), and my brain doesn't know what to do with itself.

It hears voices and registers that Hermione Granger is talking, but then suddenly she starts...singing...which isn't all that bad, actually. It's just that my brain is having trouble registering that Hermione Granger;

a) is singing these classic songs, not Paige O'Hara

b) can actually sing pretty good (after all, singing isn't especially stressed at Hogwarts)

I will give you fair warning, I'm probably going to make a lot of Harry Potter jokes in this post.

Let Me Be Honest...

Beauty and the Beast was never my favorite of the Disney classics. It was too scary when I was little. I have much fonder memorials of Cinderella, Snow White, and The Lion King (and have to admit, I was slightly disappointed by the 2015 live action adaption of Cinderella, although they got the dress right, so I can't complain too much). 

But, I am a fan of Emma Watson's (questionable choices or not, the girl's got talent). This is a relatively new development, I'll admit, that started right around the time I watched Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (or was it Prisoners of Azkaban?). Admittedly, my Harry Potter binge of 2016 was not the first time I'd seen Emma in a movie. I'd actually seen Noah on opening day (yes, she's in that), and Perks of Being a Wallflower a few months before my Harry Potter binge. 

Am I admitting to going to see Beauty and the Beast for Emma Watson?

It gets worse.

Not only am I excited for this live action adaption of Beauty and the Beast, but...

...I am the proud owner of reserved seats at the almost midnight premiere tomorrow night (10:30pm Thursday the 16th, to be precise).

And I may or may not have bought those tickets 3 weeks ago.

Not only that, but I also have plans to see it again with another group of people on Saturday.  

So, yes. I am going to see this because I'm a fan of Emma Watson. I think she's a very talented young lady. I don't agree with a lot of her recent decisions, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy her acting in a movie.

Well, mostly....

Okay, okay, I'm not super excited for this movie just because Emma Watson's in it. 

Luke Evans is in it, too, and I'm very much Team Bard the Bowman! (If you have no idea what I'm talking about, go watch The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug and The Hobbit: There and Back Again.)

And Sir Ian McKellan.

And Ewan McGregor. 

And Emma Thompson.

And Stanley Tucci.

So, basically, Gandalf, Obi Wan Kenobi, Nanny McPhee, and Ceasar Flickerman all got together for a musical, and it's the best thing I've heard all year.

(We're not going to talk about Dan Stevens, or all the hearts he broke by leaving Downton Abbey in such a tragic manner....one broken heart of which was mine.) 

But, I'll admit, just as Belle slowly falls for Beast, I gradually fell in love with original 1991 movie. It was a gradual rediscovery that the story really wasn't as scary as I remembered it. The songs are catchy. The story has a good message (not judging by outer appearances). And, admittedly, the little detail of Belle being "imprisoned" in the palace did factor in.

There's something wonderful about this movie; I don't know why I didn't see it there before (see what I did there?).

But even as I'm excited for new live action adaption, I began to think about it, and the thought crossed my mind...


Why Do We Love This Story So Much???

Yes, it has a great message.

But, Belle is a prisoner.

At least she starts out that way.

And to prove this point, I have gone out of my way to take this screenshot from the trailer.

Which basically means that we can translate Belle's gradual affection for the Beast as glorified Stockholm Syndrome.

And once you think about that, the story takes a dark turn.


Belle as the Victim

Granted, she trades her freedom to get her father out of the Beast's prison.

Granted, everybody in the palace seems to go out of their way to encourage the relationship in order to break the spell and all.



But, seriously, if you need to get someone to love you (and learn to love them in return), is locking them in a tower really the smartest move?  Not really.

We never said the Beast was smart.

Should the servants/furniture have told her the plan?  Debatable.

Still, if you need a girl to fall in love with you (and you need to learn to love her in return), then why would you tell her she's a prisoner and can't ever leave your castle?

Let her go home, then send invitations to her and her father to come stay for dinner and use the library.  Just saying.

Well, whatever.  They were in a hurry. The Beast was almost 21 (their deadline).

Either way, the likelihood of Belle naturally falling in love with this, admittedly ugly, boorish individual (who also happens to be holding her prisoner on some level or another) is unlikely.

Unless, it's Stockholm Syndrome.

Stockholm Syndrome is where a prisoner or hostage forms certain psychological bonds with his/her captor/abductor.

Like where a beautiful young lady is held as an eternal prisoner in a foreboding castle in the dark and creepy woods but still falls in love with her captor (who happens to be a hideous beast), whereby breaking a spell/curse that has enchanted the captor and his entire household for the last 10 years.

Basically, Beast and the rest of the gang totally took advantage of the feelings of an impressionable young village girl to achieve their goals of not being cursed/enchanted for the rest of eternity.

Or this whole story is a commentary on Stockholm Syndrome and the irrational psychological whatnot that causes a young impressionable girl to fall madly in love with her captor (who happens to be a hideous beast), and how "true love" can change even the most hideous beast into a handsome prince in the perspective of one such young impressionable captive girl.


Belle as the Heroine

Or, of course, it's entirely possible that Belle is just a kind-heated person who willingly sacrifices herself to free her father, goes out of her way to help the Beast recover from his wolf-bite wounds, and eventually actually forms actual feelings for the Beast because she chooses to look past his outward appearance and terrible manners and helps him learn to love and be a decent individual, whereby breaking the curse/spell/enchantment that have effected the inhabitants of the castle for the last 10 years.


(My apologies for the very long sentence.)


She goes out of her way and sacrifices her dreams of "adventure in the great, wide somewhere" to help break the spell, whereby releasing him from an eternity of being this hideous monster surrounded by talking teacups.

There are a lot of plot holes.

The curse doesn't make sense in the first place.

But, the message about not judging someone based on first impressions and outward appearances is still there.

The classic Disney motif, that true love conquers all, holds true.

That's the story that attracts us.

That's the story we love to watch over, and over, and over again.

That is the story we love.