Belle and her father live in a
simple, French provincial town. While the town lives its normal, everyday life,
Belle and her father Maurice are noted for their peculiarity. Belle always has
her nose stuck in a book, and most of the townspeople seem to think she’s
strange. Belle is also particularly beautiful, and has attracted the unwanted
attention of Gaston, a boorish and narcissistic military Captain who has the
admiration of many of the local ladies. Gaston swears that he will marry Belle.
She’s not interested, and so he will try to find a way to make the marriage
happen.
Meanwhile, Maurice is captured by the
Beast, a prince who has been cursed to take a horrific form on account of his
unkindness; the curse will only be broken if the prince can learn to love, and
earn love in return, and his time is running out. The Beast agrees to free
Maurice if Belle stays with him, and Belle chooses to make that sacrifice. As
Belle and the Best start to develop feelings for each other, Gaston decides
that his next course of action is to storm the castle and kill the Beast.
(PLEASE NOTE SPOILERS AHEAD THE
REST OF THE WAY)
The Adoption Connection
Belle and Maurice moved to this
small town some time ago; Belle knows that she and Maurice left her mother
while her mother was sick, but she doesn’t know any more; and Maurice can’t
seem to tell her why it happened. At one point, Maurice said that he lost his
wife, and he can’t bear the thought of losing his daughter. Eventually, Belle
learns what had happened; her mother had contracted the Plague, and told
Maurice to leave with Belle before Belle caught the sickness.
Some viewers might share the
experience of having a missing parent and not knowing why. It appears to have
been helpful for Belle to understand the reason for this aspect of her
childhood.
The Beast lost his mother as a
young boy, as well.
Strong Points
Several of the main characters get
more backstory than they had in the original – we understand not just that the
Beast had been an unkind prince – but we find out why. We find out what
happened to Belle’s mother. But many of the songs are very, very close to the
songs in the original animated film, so it will have the nostalgia element for
many.
Several people take responsibility
for not stepping in to help stop a young boy from being turned cruel by his
cruel father.
Although Belle does not remember
her mother very much, Maurice does tell her that her mother was “fearless.” It’s
a good word for Belle to carry, and she in turn acts fearless later in the
film.
One character offers very sage
advice, “People say a lot of things in anger; it is our choice whether to
listen.” Sometimes it’s hard not to believe hurtful things that have been said,
but it might help some children to hear that it’s OK to not believe everything
an angry person has ever told them.
Challenges
The Beast is pretty scary, and
might frighten some young children.
It seems unfair that the
enchantress who punished the prince by turning him into a Beast also extended
her curse to everyone that lived in the Beast’s castle.
When Maurice tells Gaston that
Belle will never marry him, Gaston knocks Maurice unconscious, and ties him to
a tree, intending to leave him there for wolves to eat him. Gaston explains
that, if Maurice dies, Belle will have no one to support her, and that will
make her more likely to turn to Gaston. He has already told Belle that women
who don’t marry before their fathers tie turn into beggars. Maurice escapes and
returns to accuse Gaston, but Gaston has him locked up, and will send him to an
asylum unless Maurice gives over Belle’s hand in marriage.
Gaston shoots the Beast three
times, including twice from behind after the Beast had shown him mercy. It’s
surprising, sad, and could be frightening for kids who’ve experienced violence.
The townspeople are unkind to
Belle because she’s different from them. At one point, they throw her clean
laundry onto the street.
Some kids might have a hard time with
scenes involving Belle’s mother’s sickness and death. One of the kids I watched
with was also frightened by the appearance of the plague doctor, who wore a
frightening birdlike mask.
One of Gaston’s friends is
conscious-stricken but ultimately lies, saying that Gaston did not try to kill
Maurice.
Recommendations
The new version of Beauty and the
Beast feels to me like the 2015 Cinderella remake. It’s live-action, but
quite familiar. It’s a musical, but it’s got dark, sad, and scary parts. I recommended 2015’s Cinderella for kids ages 10 and up, and suggested that
parents should be present when their kids watch it. I’ll stick with the same
recommendation for this one; it’s got some sad and scary parts that might be
too hard for some younger viewers; kids 10 and up will probably be fine, but it’d
be best for parents to be there to help their kids process some of the hard
moments, and the theme of parental loss. The 11-year-old that I watched this
with suggested that it might be good for 8 or 9 and up, but that younger kids
might find it scary.
Questions for Discussion
Why couldn’t (or wouldn’t) Maurice
tell Belle what had happened to her mother? How was it helpful to Belle to know?
What made the Beast so cruel? Why
do you think Gaston was cruel?
What could have turned Gaston into
a good guy?
When has someone shown you grace?
Belle liked to read, and that made
her unique. What are some ways that you’d like to be unique?
What are your favorite stories?
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