Beauty and the Beast has sure become one brilliant star among the Disney princess movies. However, instead of calling it a princess movie, a prince movie would be a better tag for it. When we look back on typical Disney princess movies, we will find that they usually start from a girl confined by her current environment. Usually she is conflicting with this environment and has a seemingly impossible wish in their mind. Then after adventures and struggles, she finally makes her own way and gets herself a prince. This trophy like nature of prince has been an important element for those movies. But in Beauty and the Beast, it is a different story. The main plots of character’s adventure and challenges happen not only on Belle, but also on the Beast. The Beast is trapped in the emotion of self-abasement because of his appearance and fate at the beginning, and this negativity makes him despair, pessimistic, and full of autistic hostility. However, Belle’s entrance gives him a glimmer of hope, giving him the motivation to change himself. He tries to make others happy, tries to get closer to Belle. While Belle’s acceptance slowly breaks the ice in his heart, the Beast finally achieves the most beautiful change in the film, which is to love others. These plots demonstrate the thorough process of change the Beast takes when facing a twist in his life, his obstacles, and finally, a lesson he learned that changed himself entirely.  For Belle, she has her own adventures and challenges. She is different from all in the provincial town at the beginning because of her intelligence. For this, she is alienated and wishes to be freed from this town. This wish is reflected as the unrealistic dream to meet the prince charming and have an unprovincial life. Fate gives her a chance to realize her dream, except that the prince becomes the Beast. However, this desperate situation does not defeat the kind and brave Belle. And more importantly, as Belle get closer and closer to the Beast, she is gradually attracted by this clumpy but soft Beast, and gradually realizes what she really wants is not the lighthearted freedom brought by prince charming, but true love with someone she values. That is why when the Beast turns back to the prince, Belle’s first action is to check if he is still the Beast she knew.

 

Compared to other classical Disney princess movies, Beauty and the Beast is a quite unique one. It is no longer a story for one princess, but a story for the princess and the prince. Only this time, the princess charming arrives and saves the enchanted prince from his misery, and together, they learn the beauty of love and becomes the unique and important part for each other.