What many Americans may not know about Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (1991) is that it is not the only film about the fairy tale-Jean Cocteau’s La Belle et La Bete came first in 1946. Disney’s film is very different from Cocteau’s film in almost all aspects because they are two different interpretations of the fairy tale. The differences between the presentations of the character of Belle in the two films reveal the different perception of women between the 1940’s and the ’90s and the difference between American and French cultures. The style, plot, and dialogue in the marriage proposal scene of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, in contrast to Cocteau’s version, highlight the importance of the feminist movement in America during the 90’s through Belle’s self-dependance.
Leading up to these scenes in both films we are able to see the different personality portrayals of Belle. In the Cocteau’s French film, Belle is a meek daughter who does all the cleaning and gets pushed around by her sisters. Belle is being wooed by Avenant-a very well-off and handsome man. In the Disney film we see Belle as a smart girl who reads a lot and has dreams of getting out of the small country town that she lives in. She is pursued by Gaston who is portrayed as a hulking, meat-head type and is totally self-serving.
The characters of Gaston in the Disney film and Avenant in Cocteau’s version play a key role in understanding and defining the character of Belle in both films. Gaston is the typical “Bad Guy” antagonist-he has no good qualities and the audience immediately dislikes him. Belle’s denial of his marriage proposal shows her strong personality. Gaston is all about himself, as is evident in the proposal scene. He imposes himself as soon as Belle opens the door, and begins to strut around as if he owned the world. As Gaston proceeds to tell Belle that all the girls in town would “love to be in her shoes” he catches a glimpse of himself in the mirror. The camera cuts to a close up of Gaston checking himself out before he continues with his speech in order to emphasize his self-concerning nature. However “dashing” Gaston might be, from the beginning we see that Belle does not fall for the outside appearance of beauty. When Gaston first knocks on the door, there is a close up of Belle rolling her eyes and sighing when she finds out who is there. Belle is not impressed by Gaston’s looks or body because he is not beautiful on the inside and Belle does not need just any handsome man to make her life complete.
Avenant is like Gaston in the fact that he is only interested in what he wants and he also assumes that Belle would want to marry him. Belle is not able to say no to Avenant in the strong way as Belle in the Disney film. In contrast to Gaston, however, Avenant is not the typical Hollywood antagonist that is all bad. Avenant does have some good qualities-he helps out Belle’s family and tries to protect her. Even the names connote different feelings-Gaston is sounds harsh but Avenant means pleasant and good-looking. Yet Belle, however, also reacts differently to Avenant’s presence and his marriage proposal. Belle does not despise Avenant, in fact she likes the fact that he is good-looking. Her real reason for not marrying him is the fact that she “must stay with [her] Father”-not because she does not like Avenant. Belle’s character in Cocteau’s version is a lot less self-dependant than Belle in the Disney film. Whereas Disney’s Belle simply despises Gaston and takes care of him herself, Cocteau’s Belle is intimidated by Avenant and needs the excuse of her father to not marry him.
The characters of Belle in the two films are very contrasting and it highlights the fact that Disney’s Belle is a very feminist-type figure. Belle in Cocteau’s film is the “servant” of her family. In the proposal scene in La Belle et La Bete the first shot is of her cleaning the floor, and she is dressed like a housemaid not only in that scene but for the first half of the film. Belle is fulfilling the typical role of the woman in the household through this portrayal. In the scene she needs her brother to rescue her from Avenant when he accosts her. Futhermore, Belle is not smart enough to see through Avenant’s façade of being a handsome, dashing Prince Charming when in fact Avenant is a beast inside-as seen when he gets transformed by Diana’s arrow at the end of the movie. She only refuses Avenant because of she needs to take care of her father.
In the Disney film, on the other hand, Belle is very independent and can fend for herself. The first shot of Belle in the proposal scene is of her reading a book in her house-evidence of the fact that she is educated and will easily see through Gaston’s fake personality. The book is very important to the proposal scene and to the film because when Gaston claims that all Belle’s dreams will come true (if she marries him) he sits down and puts his feet right on Belle’s book. Belle replies, “What do you know of my dreams?”, as she picks her book up and cleans it off. Gaston tries to take over Belle’s life as he stomps on her book, but Belle knows that she does not need Gaston to attain her true goals and dreams.
Belle also is a feminist figure in the way she deals with Gaston and his proposal and how she deals with the other men in her life. Gaston tries to corner Belle at the door and get her to marry him but Belle outsmarts him by opening the door while he tries to kiss her. The camera cuts to a shot of Belle turning the handle of the door, showing the audience her ingenuity, then Gaston flies out of the house into a puddle of mud-he is totally humiliated by a woman who is half his size but double his wit. Furthermore, unlike Cocteau’s Belle who needs to stay with her father, Belle in the Disney film goes to the Beast’s castle by herself to save her father from the Beast. Belle is a lot more independent in the Disney film and does not need the help from other men; instead she uses her education and her intellect rather. Belle is a symbol of the feminist movement in America because she is the strongest character in the film.
The proposal scenes in both films are central to the plots and very important because they both set the stage for what happens later on in the film. Cocteau’s scene is important to the storyline because he uses it to foreshadow events to come and also to highlight themes and motifs that recur throughout his film. Cocteau uses the arrow in the scene when Avenant confines Belle which represents his attempt to demonstrate his dominance over Belle.
The Disney film, in contrast, also uses the proposal scene for foreshadowing and for themes but more to emphasize the fact that Belle is a strong character and a strong woman especially through the portrayal of Gaston. Gaston just wants Belle as a “trophy wife”-in the dialogue of the scene he creates a whole vision of what their marriage will be like which includes Belle massaging his feet. Furthermore the audience sees Gaston’s true character after Belle kicks him out of the house. Gaston is extremely angry and the close-up shot of his furiously distorted face along with the imposing background music foreshadow that Gaston will do anything to get Belle and get what he wants. Later on in the film when Gaston tries to throw Belle’s father in an asylum and turn the town against the Beast, the audience sees Belle standing up to Gaston and calling him the beast. Belle is unwilling to let herself be dominated and controlled by Gaston at any point in the film because of her importance as a strong female character. Cocteau’s Belle, in contrast, is a weak character that is unable to stand up to Avenant and can only run away and be protected by another man.
Belle in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast is a very important character to American culture because of her dominance over the film. Belle is truly the central character because the movie is more about Belle attaining her “dreams” than the inner transformation of the Beast. Belle dominates the film because of her importance of being a strong feminist character and the movie is about her because she finds true love through the transformation of the Beast. Beauty and the Beast was a film that put this theme of feminism on the big screen through animation in America for the first time and set a formula for many other films to follow.
