Beauty and the Beast is one of Disney’s ultimate classics, but frequently leads to confusion about the Beast’s intended age in the film. In the animated tale, we follow Belle, a young girl, and a prince punished for his arrogance by being turned into a Beast. At the heart of this cherished story lies a crucial dilemma — the Beast can only break his curse and become human again if he learns to love and earns true love in return. Despite the enchantress’s seemingly harsh punishment for the young prince, it laid the groundwork for one of Disney’s most beloved films.
While Beauty and the Beast generally offers a well-constructed story, rewatching the film uncovers its minor, unexplained plot holes. Interestingly, the Beast’s real name is never revealed in Beauty and the Beast, nor are the details of his parents. This initially makes the Prince quite a perplexing character, and is one of the things that does not make sense about Beauty and the Beast. However, given this, it’s not surprising that his age would not be explicitly stated either. Nevertheless, several clues within the film and its broader context point to the Beast’s age.
Beast Is Supposed To Be 21 In Beauty & the Beast
There Are Multiple Clues That Confirm The Beast’s Age
Needless to say, the clearest indicator of the Beast’s age is the flower that came under his possession from the Enchantress. The curse dictates that the rose will bloom when the Beast turns 21, which is probably the most striking indicator of his age within the film. Of course, the curse is lifted when Belle returns to him, and breaks the spell before the last petal falls, which would mark his 21st birthday. This is more reasonable since “Be Our Guest” reveals “10 years, we’ve been rusting,” meaning the curse would have begun when he was just 11 years old.
Information about the Beast isn’t limited to the source material and other clues and details exist elsewhere. Beauty and the Beast‘s animator, Glen Keane, confirmed the Beast’s age. In the book, Disney’s Art of Animation: From Mickey Mouse to Hercules, Keane described the Beast as “a twenty-one-year-old guy who’s insecure, wants to be loved, wants to love, but has this ugly exterior and has to overcome this” (via DisneyFanon.) The Beast’s temper hides his inexperience with the world and how to express his emotions, because the enchantress robbed him of essential life experiences by the time he turned 21.
Why The Beast’s Age Makes Beauty & the Beast More Complicated
The Prince Was So Young And Vulnerable In Beauty & The Beast’s Story
The Beast’s age of 21 brings up some interesting questions within the Beauty and the Beast narrative. The Prince’s initial appearance in the film suggests he’s older than 11, leading one to wonder why the Enchantress cursed the Prince in Beauty and the Beast in the first place, and why he seemed to be on his own. The prologue with the stained-glᴀss and painting in the West Wing depicts the Prince as an adult, which complicates matters. While his behavior does align with a spoiled pre-teen, the idea of him being an 11-year-old when the curse began might make the consequences feel more mature than might be expected.
Not to mention, the Beast’s true age completely complicates the narrative, forcing us to consider why an 11-year-old would even be in a position to turn away a stranger. Beauty and the Beast does not explicitly mention or describe his parents, but if the Prince is only 11, it raises questions about why he would have been alone in the tower. Though his staff were present to look after him, it seems improbable they’d have allowed an 11-year-old royal to greet a stranger by himself. This seems to be even more the case given that the Prince was royalty.
Source: DisneyFanon
