Comic from here
Disney's Beauty and the Beast was my first love, and it got me interested, later, in the history of the tale, and that led to the history of fairy tales themselves, and ultimately to this blog among other things. I find this comic funny and am able to laugh at things while simultaneously loving them.
May I just point out though, that fairy tales are often criticized for being too simplified and black and white. Disney's BATB (not the original French tale) shows a rare thing in that a character is able to change, but this isn't the first time I've seen it criticized for promoting abusive relationships. Either the critics don't believe characters are capable of changing, or that the Beast shows sufficient evidence of doing so in the span of the family friendly cartoon. Personally, I think the fact that he allows Belle to leave, thinking she'll never come back and that he's sealing his doom as a monster for life out of love her her, is plenty of evidence.
But I'm biased, and I first saw this movie when I was 4, and therefore have never been very objective about it.
How true this is. Early watched movies stay in the mind all our lives.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that when the Beast lets Belle go, he is demonstrating genuine love for her as well as a dramatic change in the way he views and treats others. I was 8 when I first saw this movie, and like you have loved it all my life, so I could be considered biased as well... But it *is* a 90 minute cartoon, after all. Anyone who expects it to chart all the realistic minutia of a person's change of heart is frankly looking for something to complain about. It's not about glorifying abuse--even though it takes some time for the Beast & Belle to fall in love with each other, he stops yelling at her and throwing things around very soon after she arrives--like the very first night, right? So abusive behavior isn't actually part of how their relationship develops, IMO.
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