Beauty and the Beast is a beloved film based on a French fairy tale that is remarkably similar to another animated Disney classic. Released in the early 1990s, Beauty and the Beast is a celebrated film from the Disney Renaissance, and continues to be recognized by audiences and critics alike for its accomplished storytelling, animation, and soundtrack. The film is based on the fairy tale written by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, La Belle et la Bête, and revolves around the complicated love story between a cursed Beast and a young woman named Belle.
It’s nearly impossible not to find oneself absorbed in the magical world established in Beauty and the Beast. From the humorous, anthropomorphic characters that help draw Belle and the Beast closer together, to the romantic musical number performed by Angela Lansbury’s Mrs. Potts, there’s a lot of praise to be given to Beauty and the Beast and the way it brings Villeneuve’s original story to life. However, a handful of details in La Belle et la Bête were changed in the animated film, including Belle’s family life, which bears a lot of resemblance to Disney’s Cinderella.
Beauty & The Beast Including Belle’s Sisters Would’ve Made It Too Much Like Cinderella
Belle’s Sisters In The Original Story Look Down On Their Younger Sister
Throughout the years, the story of La Belle et la Bête has changed, being shortened and removing a few details about the main characters involved. In the original version by Villeneuve, Belle, known as Beauty, is the youngest of 12 children living in a mansion with their widowed father. Beauty has six brothers and five older sisters, the latter of whom are incredibly cruel towards her. The sisters’ spiteful atтιтudes towards Beauty are described as acts of jealousy and selfishness.
In La Belle et la Bête, as is the case with Beauty and the Beast‘s Maurice, Beauty’s father stumbles upon the Beast’s castle one night and takes shelter during a snowstorm. Before the merchant leaves the next morning, he takes a rose from the Beast’s garden —fulfilling a promise made earlier to Beauty— and to make it up to the upset Beast, he agrees to send one of his daughters to live in the castle. Though Beauty’s brothers offer to fight the Beast to prevent this from happening, her resentful sisters wish to see her go.
In Cinderella, the тιтular character’s family situation is quite similar. Cinderella finds herself living in a single-parent household after her father dies, and she’s left to be raised by her stepmother. Causing problems for Cinderella are her evil stepsisters, Anastasia and Drizella, who do all they can to ensure Cinderella never steps out of her servant role in the household. Despite Anastasia and Drizella’s bothersome antics, Cinderella keeps a positive atтιтude. Beauty similarly moves through life with her head held high in spite of her sisters’ malicious doings.
Why Beauty & The Beast Works Better With Belle As An Only Child
Belle Is Made A Stronger Character Without The Interference Of Siblings
Belle has many shared characteristics with the protagonist in Villeneuve’s story, including her position as an outcast in society and her kind heart. However, the character works best as an only child in the animated Beauty and the Beast. Not only does the decision to make Belle an only child allow the film to stand apart and avoid inevitable comparisons to Cinderella, but it also allows Belle’s desire for adventure to be better written and the results of her character arc to be more satisfying.
The lack of siblings in Beauty and the Beast allows Belle’s desire for independence to be more realistic.
In addition to the budding romance between Beauty and the Beast‘s тιтle characters, the movie is largely about Belle’s yearning for a break from her mundane routine in the village. In Villeneuve’s story, after the family’s mansion burns down, Beauty is determined to adapt to life in the countryside and help provide for her family. The lack of siblings in Beauty and the Beast allows Belle’s desire for independence to be more realistic, and shapes her into an inspirational character for young kids to look up to, following the standard established by the princess characters seen in Disney’s prior movies.
