While it is true that Belle chooses to stay in the castle, she does so out of devotion to her father rather than affection for her captor. It may be fashionable and convenient to invoke, but in terms of the plot this argument holds no water. What seems like a genuine unlikely romance that succeeds against all odds is in fact an unfortunate psychological trauma, to which our heroine is condemned forever. Belle is initially repulsed by the Beast, as any sensible person would be, and only falls in love with him as a result of being imprisoned by him. The line of argument goes something like this. The big question that's always raised regarding Beauty and the Beast is whether or not the film promotes Stockholm syndrome - the psychological phenomenon in which hostages express empathy, sympathy or affection towards their kidnappers over a prolonged period. More esoterically, Gaston's character design owes a fair deal to that of Brom Bones in The Adventures of Ichabod & Mr. The montages in 'Be Our Guest' look back to Fantasia, as do the dancing mops in 'Human Again' (which was cut from the original release). There are big nods to Snow White in the opening scenes, with Belle's interaction with the animals mirroring that of her historical counterparts. There are numerous scenes which draw on the company's back catalogue and invoke past glories, but unlike the wilderness years these references are driven by a desire to celebrate the past and integrate the present, rather than just film up the frame. This new-found confidence of Disney is plain to see throughout Beauty and the Beast. But it is extremely faithful to the spirit of the story and plays it straight, taking all the magical elements at face value. The version presented here is hardly the most faithful to the original fairy tale (though such terms are problematic, considering the many different versions of all the classic stories). They are masters of taking a pre-existing, often reputable source, and channelling its darkness in a way that younger audiences can appreciate. In my review of Atlantis: The Lost Empire, I spoke about Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise being far more accomplished dealing with adaptations than they are with original stories.
Even after 22 years, it still stands proud and untarnished as the perfect jewel in Disney's second crown. It would take something really special to finally convince critics that Disney was well and truly back - and that special something was Beauty and the Beast. Their tactics of releasing films in quick succession suffered a setback when The Rescuers Down Under slipped under the radar, where it has remained somewhat ever since. Disney spent much of the 1980s figuring out exactly what kind of stories they wanted to tell and how they wanted to sell them, and after many failed but interesting attempts, they finally hit lucky with The Little Mermaid.īut even with Mermaid's critical acclaim and box office success, Disney's return was by no means solidified. One was a move back to the fairy tale and fantasy territory that had underpinned the Golden Age, and the other was a more confident and forthright approach to production and promotion. The Disney Renaissance was underpinned by two major shifts in Disney thinking.
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