I Just Watched the Original Beauty and the Beast for the First Time in 2024

Some initial impressions of Beauty and the Beast

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I’d like to briefly set the scene. I’m currently on Spring Break from law school. I thought I was going to be spending some time in my garden and on the hiking trails nearby, and I did do some of that before I got COVID. I’m doing fine, but definitely a bit tired and my head hurts, so I’m not particularly concerned about writing something amazing here. I’m just excited to have finally watched Beauty and the Beast for the first time, and I wanted to share some of my basic, initial impressions. Like so many of us, I can’t just read or watch something and not talk about it.

Firstly, thank you to Robin Faraway for suggesting I watch it (you should check out some of her writing — it’s so moving). I don’t remember seeing the movie as a kid. My brothers and I loved other Disney movies like Peter Pan and Robin Hood. Since my name is Peter, I would always be Peter Pan when we played pretend. The only Disney Princess movie I vividly remember watching was Cinderella. The three of us were big fans. I remember having a stuffed animal Gus the mouse. He was our favorite. Maybe we just knew a whole ton of people named Gus (us Greeks can’t avoid running into a Gus every so often), so we were excited to hear that name in a movie. I know Disney technically has Hercules, but I don’t necessarily count that as decent Greek representation. We never connected with it.

But anyway. I have no memory of ever watching Beauty and the Beast, though I knew the general story. Girl falls in love with a Beast who turns out to be a human, and they live happily ever after. But watching this now, I definitely did not know a lot of the particulars.

First off, I just want to say how amazing the music is. Even in the very opening scene, there’s this haunting music that plays as we learn about the Enchantress who cursed the Beast. It reminded me a lot of the music from Jekyll and Hyde. I haven’t heard that music since I was in the pit orchestra back in high school for that show, so I could be off base here, but it felt like it had a similar quality to it. Either way, I really liked it, and think it set the mood for the film perfectly. It’s gloomy, and haunting, but there’s a beauty there that feels so close. And from there we go into the opening song with Belle as she walks through her small provincial town, and it was absolutely fantastic. It was such a great way of showing us who Belle is and the place she wants to escape from and the adventures she dreams of. It’s on the nose, but it’s catchy and well done, and I enjoyed it immensely. The music throughout the movie remains fantastic, though the other standout song for me was the Gaston song. I thought there would be more music, but I’m glad there wasn’t. The songs felt well timed, impactful, and they were all so good.

Belle as a character is wonderful. I’ve taken a handful of “Which Disney Princess Are You?” quizzes, and I’ve consistently gotten Belle as my result. It’s so cool to finally know who she is. I had no idea she was such an avid reader. Seeing her walk through the streets reading a book, and then having the librarian tell her that she’s read a certain book twice already was very charming. I feel like so many of us can probably relate to her bookish ways. I know I’d rather spend my days with a good book than seeing people. Well, not all people. You have to have some human interaction from time to time, so I’m reminded. And her eagerness to read offers some interesting tensions between her and the other townspeople. They all think she’s peculiar and doesn’t fit in. At first, it feels mostly harmless. Everyone gets along well enough. But then, as they go to siege the castle, the villagers literally say they don’t like what they don’t understand, and I feel like if they just read a few more books and were exposed to more than just their “small provincial town,” then maybe they wouldn’t be so quick to join the mob. It reminded me of people going away to college for the first time and realizing that there are other people out there. The world is this big and amazing place filled with so many wonderful people and ways of being, and we are doing a disservice to ourselves when we refuse to even see that other people can exist. You don’t have to turn into them or change who you are, no one is saying that despite certain fearmongering from a portion of the country, but you certainly shouldn’t fear them or attack them for being different.

I also really liked Belle’s desire for adventure. That also felt very on brand for someone who reads as much as she does. So much of my own life is spent dreaming of what it would be like to travel the universe as a Jedi, or to ride a dragon with Hiccup or Eragon. I’ve also imagined what it might be like to explore a magical castle and to have an epic fantasy romance. That’s literally what being a writer is like. So I feel that I relate to Belle a lot, and I don’t think it’s odd necessarily that she’s so unfazed by the castle and the Beast and able to acclimate rather quickly. I have some issues with this particular romance (which I’ll get into), but I think it fits Belle’s character to read about these different fantasy stories and then want to act them out in her own life. I can see her falling into a romance more quickly than would ordinarily be wise.

I think the other character who I really enjoyed was Gaston. Don’t get me wrong, he’s the worst, and I was mildly hoping Belle would shoot him at a number of different points. Once I get my law degree, I would happily defend Belle in the ensuing trial. I just think the writers and animators and the actor did such a fantastic job of making Gaston the absolute slimiest, horrid, disgusting man known to humankind. I love seeing him fail and fall into that pond of mud when Belle manages to push him outside. The Gaston song was a perfect encapsulation of everything wrong with him. He’s this supposedly honorable man everyone in the town looks up to, and yet in a wrestling match where biting is probably not allowed (I don’t know for sure, I don’t wrestle), no one bites like Gaston. It’s an absolute ridiculous song showing you just how ridiculous this guy is. He has moments of pure creepiness, and I love that the writers chose to show that he doesn’t have any redeeming qualities. Nothing makes up for the way that he acts in this film. The way he pursues Belle isn’t what a man should do. If someone says no, you move on. He’s a small, silly, buffoon, and he deserves all the respect that his song gives him — none. We love watching toxic masculinity battered down as much as it is here.

And yet, I think the writers sort of missed the mark when it comes to the other main male character, the Beast. He’s cursed for not helping an old woman who didn’t appear beautiful, and supposedly the curse can only be lifted if he learns to love someone and that someone loves him back. But the person he loves is Belle, and I feel like for a potentially superficial man, falling in love with Belle probably isn’t difficult. And it defeats the purpose of punishing this man for refusing to help someone who isn’t conventionally beautiful. It reminds me of that scene from Barbie where Barbie says she’s not stereotypical Barbie pretty, and the fourth wall is shattered as the narrator lampoons the filmmakers for trying to make that point while casting Margot Robbie. The Beast isn’t learning to help anyone, he’s just lusting after someone with that “stereotypical Barbie prettiness.”

And then that point is further undermined by the fact that he doesn’t really help anyone in the film. The townspeople are not the best, for sure, but rather than beat them all up and send them packing for the rest of time, maybe invite them in and share some of your wealth? The opening song shows us that it’s hard being a villager, and that things are expensive and people can’t afford to live comfortably. Meanwhile, this guy, Mr. Beast, has all the servants he could ever ask for, a huge castle, and plenty of wealth for everyone. Sure, they attacked your castle, but why does the story need to end there? The only person he helps is Belle, but again, that’s because he desires her, not necessarily because he’s seen the error of his ways and is a selfless, kindhearted, guy. I’m not a fan of this Beast fellow. He’s also just kind of terrible, and Belle shouldn’t fall in love with him just because he rescued her from the wolves. I get it, rescues are romantic, especially for someone who loves fantasy stories, but the Beast also has repeatedly yelled at her, kept her as a prisoner, and threatened her, and I think he needs to put in a whole lot more work before Belle forgives him.

That said, I do like the idea that Belle is able to see goodness where other people can’t. While I think this romance is flawed, I think Belle still comes out of this movie feeling like an intelligent and caring character. I don’t think the Beast deserves her necessarily, but I like that Belle can see this faint glimmer of decency in him and chooses to rescue him. She could have abandoned him out in the snow, but she’s too good of a person to do that.

I also found most of the inhabitants of the castle to be charming. I think I missed the part where they suggested that they were all human servants at one point, because when they all turned into humans I was so befuddled. COVID brain, I guess. Maybe you just miss some of the finer details when you’re sick. But I feel so bad for them having to live as décor all because the Beast isn’t a great guy. You’d think there would be some solidarity there between the enchantress and the staff, but apparently that’s not the case. I thought most of the servants were really charming, Mrs. Potts and Chip especially. Lumiere was great…but whatever was going on with him and the feather duster felt super uncomfortable. I haven’t seen the live-action version yet, but I’m hoping that’s cut from it. And Cogsworth was alright.

I’m starting to fall asleep, so I think I’ll end it here. I really like the character of Belle and think she’s great. I love the dad, the castle, the depiction of the townspeople, the utter destruction of Gaston (so glad he fell off that tower), and the music. Oh, and Gaston’s sidekick who literally waits in the snow for Belle and the Dad to return was fantastic. The animation was also fantastic. I’m not a fan of the Beast.

Those are my initial impressions. I’m looking forward to the live-action movie. I know people complained about Emma Watson being Belle, but after seeing how bookish Belle is, I can see why Emma was cast. And I’ll never not be a fan of Emma. But what did you think of the movie? Are there any other Disney Princess movies I should watch? I’ve seen Pocahontas (no interest in re-watching it), Cinderella, I think I’ve seen The Little Mermaid and Mulan (though I’m not sure), and I know I’ve seen Princess and the Frog (only one I’ve seen in the theater). Let me know in the comments!

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed. Consider checking out my podcast, “Determination, Deliberation, and Dragons.” My friends and I workshop original stories, analyze books and films, and interview authors and other creative people.