While watching Disney's beauty and the beast, my wife pointed out something I never noticed before...
Okay, so according to the movie, the rose will bloom until the beast is 21 and if he doesn't get a girl to love him by then he's stuck that way. He's pretty close to being 21 in the movie when it takes place, so he's about 20 years old.
But how long has been cursed? According to Lumiere "10 years we've been rusting, needing so much more than dusting"
In other words, that witch from the beginning cursed a 10 year old child.
SO who was this witch? I suspect that it was the same witch from (or possibly her sister) snow white, since she was pretty fixated on looks too.
B&B is one of my fave Disney pictures and I think Belle is perhaps one of the most virtuous Princesses, willing to give it all up to save her father and seeing the good inside the monster. This is direct contrast to Ariel, who is willing to see her entire civilization go to hell to be with some man she saw on a boat?!?
Nah, Grimhilde was more obsessed with beauty; the witch in B&B is trying to teach a morality rather than just clearing out the competition.
Come to think of it, you could make the case that the witch in B&B is in actuality Snow White! She reveals herself to have some pretty potent druid spells at a young age, it's quite probable she'd have access to Perm. Polymorph in short order, not to mention she of all people has a reason to get out there and show people how obsessing over beauty can be harmful.
It should be noted that unlike Little Mermaid where Ariel was the one who learned the moral, in B&B the Beast was the focal character that needed to learn a lesson, with Gaston as his equally arrogant foil.
In any case, the timeframes in Beauty and Beast always bothered me, too.
Sing lustily and with good courage.
Be aware of singing as if you were half dead,
or half asleep:
but lift your voice with strength.
Be no more afraid of your voice now,
nor more ashamed of its being heard,
than when you sang the songs of Satan.
It should be noted that unlike Little Mermaid where Ariel was the one who learned the moral, in B&B the Beast was the focal character that needed to learn a lesson, with Gaston as his equally arrogant foil.
In any case, the timeframes in Beauty and Beast always bothered me, too.
I'd contend that Gaston does learn the equally hard lesson of "don't be an ass or you don't get the girl."
This is direct contrast to Ariel, who is willing to see her entire civilization go to hell to be with some man she saw on a boat?!?
That's what makes Ariel wonderful. What are you talking about?
Ironically, The Little Mermaid is one of the few Disney stories where Walt Disney adapted the source material to be far darker than the original story ever was. Later on, when the Disney studio decided they wanted to make a Little Mermaid feature, they would alter the story to give it a different (and much lighter) ending, as well as making Ursula the rival for the Prince's heart.
You guys missed the importance of the Rose being under glass. The rose was supposed to decay fully on his 21st birthday, but somehow putting it under glass subverted the magic. This is why the entire wing of the castle decays instead. This is also partly glossed over in the Disney movie and why people should read the dang source material.
The beast was closer to 31 at the end of the flick, but the magic also held him at 20~21.
You guys missed the importance of the Rose being under glass. The rose was supposed to decay fully on his 21st birthday, but somehow putting it under glass subverted the magic. This is why the entire wing of the castle decays instead. This is also partly glossed over in the Disney movie and why people should read the dang source material.
The beast was closer to 31 at the end of the flick, but the magic also held him at 20~21.
I'm confused, is that bit of lore from a book or was that actually part of the movie somewhere and I just missed it?
I suppose the real question to ask, is whether or not the witch was supposed to be good or evil.
Witches in these stories tend to be like any old woman, some are benevolent, some are cruel. The difference is that witches have magical powers to serve their ends.
I don't see it as a matter of whether or not the witch is good or evil. I see it as the kid screwing with the wrong person. Compare this to a person swatting a fly, or a dog taunting a bigger dog and receiving retaliation.
Okay, so according to the movie, the rose will bloom until the beast is 21 and if he doesn't get a girl to love him by then he's stuck that way. He's pretty close to being 21 in the movie when it takes place, so he's about 20 years old.
But how long has been cursed? According to Lumiere "10 years we've been rusting, needing so much more than dusting"
In other words, that witch from the beginning cursed a 10 year old child.
SO who was this witch? I suspect that it was the same witch from (or possibly her sister) snow white, since she was pretty fixated on looks too.
[Clan Flamingo]
Come to think of it, you could make the case that the witch in B&B is in actuality Snow White! She reveals herself to have some pretty potent druid spells at a young age, it's quite probable she'd have access to Perm. Polymorph in short order, not to mention she of all people has a reason to get out there and show people how obsessing over beauty can be harmful.
In any case, the timeframes in Beauty and Beast always bothered me, too.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
Be aware of singing as if you were half dead,
or half asleep:
but lift your voice with strength.
Be no more afraid of your voice now,
nor more ashamed of its being heard,
than when you sang the songs of Satan.
I'd contend that Gaston does learn the equally hard lesson of "don't be an ass or you don't get the girl."
And I would contain you have to be alive to learn a lesson
He turns on Beast after getting his life saved and falls off the top of the castle.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
A witch. There's always a witch in these stories. Witch shows up, does this.
That's what makes Ariel wonderful. What are you talking about?
Ironically, The Little Mermaid is one of the few Disney stories where Walt Disney adapted the source material to be far darker than the original story ever was. Later on, when the Disney studio decided they wanted to make a Little Mermaid feature, they would alter the story to give it a different (and much lighter) ending, as well as making Ursula the rival for the Prince's heart.
The beast was closer to 31 at the end of the flick, but the magic also held him at 20~21.
I'm confused, is that bit of lore from a book or was that actually part of the movie somewhere and I just missed it?
I suppose the real question to ask, is whether or not the witch was supposed to be good or evil. The movie seems to insinuate that the witch was good.
However, I think she was evil, since you know - she cursed a 10 year old for calling her ugly, basically.
Witches in these stories tend to be like any old woman, some are benevolent, some are cruel. The difference is that witches have magical powers to serve their ends.
I don't see it as a matter of whether or not the witch is good or evil. I see it as the kid screwing with the wrong person. Compare this to a person swatting a fly, or a dog taunting a bigger dog and receiving retaliation.