Beast (Disney character)
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| Beast | |
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Beast dancing with Belle. |
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| First appearance | Beauty and the Beast (1991) |
| Created by | Glen Keane |
| Voiced by | Robby Benson (English) Emmanuel Jacomy (French) Matthias Freihof (German) Jordi Brau (Spanish) Arturo Mercado (Mexican, speaking) Walterio Perqueira (Mexican, singing) Massimo Corvo (Italian) Garcia Júnior (Brazilian) Henrique Feist (Portuguese) Kōichi Yamadera (Japanese) Jackie Chan (Chinese) Star Wars actor, Hayden Christensen (DreamWorks and Nickeloden Movies' Tom and Jerry) |
The Beast is a beast fictional character and one of the main protagonists in Disney's 1991 animated film Beauty and the Beast. As the film is based on the traditional fairy tale of the same name, the Beast is based on the corresponding character from that fairy tale. He has also appeared in two direct-to-video midquels, Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas and Beauty and the Beast: Belle's Magical World. The character appears in the Disney Broadway show Beauty and the Beast. He also appears in all three installments of the Disney/Square video game series, Kingdom Hearts, and has appeared numerous times in the ABC series House of Mouse. He is featured in Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse. The Beast also appears at the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts as a meetable character.
The Beast is voiced in all of his movie and video appearances, as well as in Kingdom Hearts, by Robby Benson.
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[edit] Characteristics
[edit] Personality
When he is first introduced, the Beast exhibits a personality equivalent of a spoiled child. He is often seen to be rude, impatient, and very easily loses his temper. It is unknown how exactly he turned out this way, but it may be assumed that he was raised by emotionally distant parents who gave their son everything he wanted so they didn't have to bother with him. At any rate, the Beast/Prince appears to be a very angry and unhappy person throughout most of the film.
As time passes, and he shows particular interest in Belle, his attitude becomes somewhat naive, he is uncertain about many things, and often tries hard to please. He also displays a child-like sense of fun, particularly when he and Belle play outside and he tries to throw a snowball at her. By the end of the film, because of the help of Belle, he has matured, his child-like tendencies vanish and he becomes quite literally, a gentleman; bold, kind and unwavering.
[edit] Outward appearance
The Beast is not of any one species of animal, but a mixture of several animals. Designer and animator Glen Keane distinguished that he used a mixture of gorilla, lion, wolf, mandrill, bear, wild boar and buffalo, for the appearance of the Beast.[1] The Beast also has blue eyes, the one physical feature that does not change whether he is a beast or a human.
[edit] Appearances
[edit] Beauty and the Beast
Formerly known as "Prince", the Beast lived in a luxurious castle in France as a conceited and bitter human. One night, the Prince's kindness is put to the test when a beggar woman comes to the castle for shelter from the freezing cold, with a single rose as payment. Repulsed by her appearance, the Prince sneers at the simple gift. When he shunned the beggar for her repulsive appearance, she then revealed her true form: as a beautiful (and powerful) Enchantress. Seeing her beauty and realizing her power, the Prince tried to apologize. But as a punishment for his cold heart, she turned him into a terrifying beast-like creature. She also casted a ghastly curse on the entire castle, transforming it into a dark, foreboding place, its lush green grounds into dangerous wolf-infested woods, and the good-natured servants into anthropomorphic household objects. Ashamed of his new appearance, the Beast conceals himself inside his castle with a magic mirror as his only window to the outside world. The rose the Enchantress had offered was an enchanted one, which would bloom until his twenty-first birthday. However, the petals of the rose would fall off in due course as it wilted and died. Should he learn to love a woman and earn her love in return before the last petal of the rose fell off, the enchantment would be broken, and he and his servants would regain human form. If he was not able to love before this time, the transformation would be permanent.
Ten years later, when Beast locks an old man in the tower as a prisoner for trespassing, the man's daughter, Belle, confronts Beast and pleads with him to let her father go, offering herself as a prisoner instead. The Beast accepts, under the condition that she remain in the castle forever. Belle agrees, and Beast takes Maurice to an enchanted carriage that returns him home. Beast ends up frightening Belle so badly with his violent demeanor that she flees the castle into the wolf-infested forest. Knowing that Belle would not survive in the forest, the Beast pursues her and fights off a pack of wolves when she is attacked. Exhausted and badly injured from fighting, the Beast passes out in the snow. Beast comes to appreciate Belle when she tends to his wounds and strikes up a friendship with her.
Over the next few days, Beast and Belle spend more time together. Acting on Lumiere's astute suggestion of what would thrill an avid reader like Belle, Beast presents Belle with his massive personal library as a gift for helping him, and even organizes a private ball for himself and Belle. Belle is impressed by his ability to appear and act like a gentleman. After dancing for a while, Beast asks Belle if she is happy, and she responds positively, but says that her happiness would be complete if she can see her father again. In response, Beast takes Belle to the West Wing and shows her his magic mirror, telling her that it will let her see whatever she wishes. To her horror, Belle sees that her father is stranded in the woods, and possibly falling fatally ill in the cold. Beast, taking Belle's feelings into account before his own, decides to let Belle leave to aid her father. After a tearful goodbye, Belle leaves the castle, and Beast breaks down, falling into despair once again. When one of the servants asks him why he let her go, the Beast finally acknowledges his feelings in words. "Because... I love her."
However, later on, someone comes to the castle, but not Belle. Instead, it is a lynch mob who have come to kill the Beast, led by a man who was vying for Belle's feelings: Gaston. Though Beast is prepared to let them come and murder him, the servants think otherwise, and valiantly defend their master by fighting the mob. However, Gaston had already escaped from the battle to look for Beast. Gaston eventually finds Beast, and starts his merciless torture by shooting the Beast in the back with an arrow and tossing him onto the lower levels of the castle roof. Believing he has lost Belle forever, the Beast has no desire to escape; but upon seeing that Belle and Maurice had returned to the castle gates, the Beast finds the will to live in her return. He faces Gaston and begins to fight back. The Beast defeats the hunter and literally holds Gaston at his mercy by holding him by the neck above a chasm. Gaston begs for mercy, and the Beast spares him, knowing that it is no longer in his heart to kill anyone. Belle then comes to the West Wing balcony, and Beast turns his attention to her, climbing up to her. However, mercy proves to be a weak point when Gaston follows and stabs Beast in the back with a dagger. Beast then shows no more mercy and swings his arm backwards, causing Gaston to fall from the roof. Despite being handed over his death by a mortally fatal stab wound, Belle's love for him is somehow able to both revive him and transform him back into a human. The next day, a ball is held to celebrate their victory.
[edit] Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas
In the midquel, which takes place not long after the Beast rescued Belle from the wolves, much to Beast's frustration, Belle wants to celebrate Christmas and throw a real Christmas party. Beast hates the idea of Christmas, for it was the very day ten years ago when the Enchantress cast the spell on him and the entire castle. While Beast sits most of the preparations out, a treacherous servant plots to have Belle thrown out of the castle: Forte the Pipe Organ, since he is far more appreciated by the Beast while under the spell.
Unknown to Beast, Belle writes him a special book which he doesn't see until later on. She also meets Forte later on in a chance meeting. Forte tells her that Beast's favorite Christmas tradition was the Christmas tree. Belle becomes frustrated, for no tree she has seen on the grounds has been tall enough to hang ornaments. Forte lies to Belle, saying that a perfect tree can be found in the woods beyond the castle. Reluctant to go against Beast's orders that she never leave the castle, Belle leaves nonetheless in order to find the perfect tree. When Belle doesn't arrive to see Beast's Christmas present to her, he begins to suspect that she isn't there at all. When Cogsworth, having been ordered to retrieve Belle, explains that the household cannot find her, Beast becomes enraged. He goes to Forte to ask for advice, and Forte lies that Belle has abandoned him. Beast confronts Belle in the woods and saves her in time from drowning, since she fell through thin ice.
Still believing that Belle disobeyed him by leaving the grounds, Beast throws her into the dungeons. But when Forte goads him into destroying the rose to end his suffering, Beast finds Belle's book in the West Wing and reads it, coming to his senses and realizing that all Belle wants is for him to be happy. Releasing Belle from the dungeon, Beast prepares to join in the Christmas festivities. But Forte doesn't give up and even goes as far as to attempt to destroy the entire castle with Beethoven's 5th. Fortunately, Beast finds him in time and destroys his keyboard with Franz Schubert's Symphony No 8. Losing his balance (and his pipes), Forte falls from the wall he is leaned up against and is silenced forever. When the whole castle is turned back into humans, the Prince and Belle give Chip, Mrs. Potts' son, a book to read, which he loves. As the Prince and Belle come out to the balcony, he gives her something: a rose.
[edit] In other media
[edit] Kingdom Hearts series
Beast appears as a major Disney character in the bestselling video game series Kingdom Hearts.
- Kingdom Hearts: During a time in which the spell had not yet broken, Beast's home is attacked by Heartless led by Maleficent, and Belle is taken captive. Determined to stop at nothing to rescue Belle, Beast goes as far as to exploit the power of darkness and risk his own life to transport himself to Hollow Bastion, where Belle is being held captive with the other six Princesses of Heart (Snow White, Cinderella, Jasmine, Alice, Aurora, and Kairi). Upon arriving in Hollow Bastion, Beast is confronted by Riku, who challenges him to a duel and easily defeats him. But Beast is saved at the last minute by Sora, Donald and Goofy, who are looking for Kairi. Allying himself with Sora, since Donald and Goofy have temporarily joined with Riku due to a Keyblade incident, Beast fights the Heartless and protects Sora while they work their way into the Hollow Baston castle. Entering the castle, Beast, Sora, Donald and Goofy fight their way through until they encounter and defeat Maleficent, who transforms into her dragon form and challenges them once again, only to be defeated once more. The four heroes find Kairi, but the circumstances cause Sora, Donald, Goofy and Kairi to leave Hollow Bastion, and Beast states that he will not leave without Belle. Later on, Beast encounters Sora once again when he returns to Hollow Bastion to lock the Keyhole. During their second search, Beast and Sora find Belle, who embraces Beast and presents Sora with the Divine Rose Keychain. Beast is also present when Sora encounters Xemnas in Hollow Bastion in the Final Mix version of the game.
- Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories: Here, Beast is merely a figment of Sora's memories. He is once again separated from Belle, courtesy of Maleficent, but once more, Beast defeats Maleficent with Sora's help and rescues Belle.
- Kingdom Hearts II: After Sora defeats Ansem, all the previously attacked worlds are restored, including Beast's Castle. Afterwards, Beast and Belle return to their home to carry on with their lives. However, the peace is shattered once again when Beast is approached by Xaldin of Organization XIII to do his bidding. Xaldin was determined to manipulate Beast into becoming a Heartless. If that happened, Beast would not only become a strong Heartless which Sora would have to destroy and feed to Kingdom Hearts, but also leave behind a powerful Nobody for Xaldin to use as he wished. Manipulated and controlled, Beast is forced to allow the Heartless into the castle and lock the entire servant staff in the tower, with Belle too scared to intervene. Beast starts mistreating Belle. When Sora, Donald and Goofy arrived, they are encountered by Beast, who attacks them without hesitation. Sora wins the battle, and Beast comes back to his senses thanks to his servants who were released by Sora. Xaldin appears to flee. Later on, during a ball, Xaldin returns and steals the rose, throwing Beast into a depression and causing him to ask Belle and Sora to leave his castle. However a pep talk from Sora spurs him back into action. Xaldin confronts them and sends his Nobodies at them. They fight the Nobodies off, but Xaldin escapes to the castle drawbridge with Belle and the rose. Belle manages to escape from Xaldin's clutches with the rose, and Xaldin is then killed by Beast, Sora, Donald and Goofy. Belle gives Beast the rose but he is more relieved that she wasn't hurt. Beast then bids a grateful farewell to Sora, and returns to a normal life with Belle, until the spell is finally broken and Beast turns back into the Prince at the end of the game. Beast's Limit attack for Kingdom Hearts II is Twin Howl, where he and Sora violently shake the ground together.
[edit] Broadway musical
The Beast appears in the Broadway Musical adaptation of Disney's Beauty and the Beast, originally portrayed by Terrence Mann.[2] Other actors who have taken on the role include Chuck Wagner (1997),[2] James Barbour (1998), Jeff McCarthy (2004), and Steve Blanchard.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ Dave Smith. (1998). Disney A to Z: The Updated Official Encyclopedia. 52.
- ^ a b Beauty and the Beast at IBDB.com. www.ibdb.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
- ^ Haun, Harry (July 31, 2007). Playbill on Closing Night: Beauty and the Beast — A Roaring Success. www.playbill.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
