- “There must be more than this provincial life!”
- ―Belle on her dreams during the opening number
Belle is the titular female protagonist of Disney's 1991 animated feature film Beauty and the Beast. She is the only daughter of Maurice, an inventor with whom she resides in a small French village. The townsfolk labeled Belle an outcast because of her free spirit. She is also a proud bibliophile, her favorite genres being fantasy and adventure. Belle's passion for fantastical stories, coupled with her outcast status, left her yearning for a life of adventure outside her small village. She unexpectedly gets her wish when she falls in love with the Beast after saving her father from being imprisoned by him.
Belle is also the fifth official member of the Disney Princess line-up.
Quick Answers
What makes Belle an outcast in her small French village?
What are Belle's favorite genres of books?
Who is Belle's father and what is his profession?
How does Belle's love for fantasy and adventure influence her character?
Why is Belle considered a 'free spirit' in Beauty and the Beast?
Background[]
Official Description[]
- Far-off places, daring sword fights, a prince in disguise, Belle longs for so much more than a "normal life" in this small, provincial town - a town where girls don't aspire to more than marrying well. Still, adventure is the last thing on her mind when she rides her horse, Philippe, into the forest to find her beloved father, who is missing. Thinking only of her father, she makes a bargain with a Beast who holds her father captive in his castle. Though the Beast now holds the key to Belle's prison, he doesn't have the key to her heart, and her yearning spirit won't be kept prisoner. But after he risks his own life to save hers, she begins to see past his appearance. She realizes that deep inside him there might be something more than she - or he - has ever dreamed.
Development[]
When production first started on Beauty and the Beast, Belle's characterization was initially slightly closer to that of the original tale, being slightly timid yet also caring. In the first draft, she also had to contend with two elder sisters who, similar to in the original tale, utterly hated her because she received more attention than them, especially regarding potential suitors. In the second draft, she largely retained the traits from the first draft, although she also had a sister named Clarice (whom, unlike her sisters in the first draft, genuinely cared for Belle's well-being) as well as a snobbish aunt named Marguerite (who would have been the movie's equivalent of Belle's wicked sisters from the original tale and first draft). However, after the 1989 storyboard reel was presented, then-Disney Chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg ordered it to be rewritten from scratch, both due to viewing it as too dark and dramatic, and because he envisioned a Broadway-like film with a "feminist twist" to the original tale. To accomplish this, he hired Linda Woolverton, who at the time had just started film screenwriting and her only other experience with Disney was writing some episodes of their various Saturday Morning cartoons. Woolverton based Belle on Katharine Hepburn's role of Jo March from the film adaptation of the book, "Little Women", and avoided using the Jean Cocteau film as a template for Belle and the film, even going as far as to avoid seeing the film. She also gave Belle a love of literature to show her open-mindedness. She also made sure to make Belle a feminist in order to have her stand apart from Ariel in The Little Mermaid, as she didn't want "another insipid princess", taking notes from the women's movement to create her character. Paige O'Hara requested that Belle, similar to Jerry Orbach's handling of Lumiere in the same film, possess a French accent, although unlike Orbach, Disney refused the request.
Personality[]
Belle reading a book.
Belle has gained a significant amount of intelligence over the years due to her love of books, which provided her with an elevated vocabulary, an active imagination, and an open mind. She is very confident and outspoken in her opinions and seldom likes being told what to do. Despite all this, she doesn't have very many friends. Her smarts and free-thinking attitude make her stand out from her fellow townspeople, who regard her as a little odd behind her beauty.
Belle is known throughout the village for her beauty, with one villager commenting that it has no parallel, but she isn't vain or concerned about her looks, although she knows it. She is only too aware that her fellow citizens think of her as "odd" and "peculiar".
Belle appears less concerned about her or others' appearances and is able to look past appearances by seeing into people's personalities. In addition, Belle pays very little attention or concern to her appearance, unlike the very rude and arrogant Gaston. This is how she manages to break the Beast's curse and bring love and laughter to the castle.
Belle is somewhat of a free woman for her time and resists being mistreated, undermined, humiliated, demeaned, or controlled by anyone, especially and specifically by Gaston. She appeared disgusted with Gaston's description of marriage together, such as having six to seven sons or rubbing his feet. Even when agreeing to live under the Beast's control, she acts independently.
Belle willingly listens to, takes advice from, and admires her father Maurice since, throughout most of her life, he's the only person who has believed in her unconditionally. She also considers the opinions and directions of the Beast, because, like Maurice, he is able to treat her as an equal (the Beast eventually learned how throughout the course of the film). Belle also seemed to have a good relationship with the bookseller, presumably because of his encouraging her to pursue her love of literature.
Belle's compassionate heart and warm nature also embeds in an impressively brave woman that neither listens nor cares about what the other townspeople say about her. She refuses Gaston's wedding proposal and remains the only girl to resist his "charms" due to his rude, sexist demeanor instead of mindlessly lavishing over him based purely on the physical. Her most triumphant moments in the film are when she willingly trades her freedom for her father's without much hesitation and manage to stand up against the Beast at certain points. However, like any human, Belle does fear things, such as wolves, Beast's Castle, family member's disappearing, etc. The Beast also, at first, manages to make her predicament as a prisoner, never to see her father or dreams again, come crushing down in tears, especially when her captor himself is a 10 foot, easily angered monster which commands her entire life. Nevertheless, the unconditional love Belle places to those close to her, including the Beast eventually, make her strong enough to risk her life for theirs.
Belle is quite stubborn when it comes to stating and upholding her opinions and maintaining her ideas. Even though she says that she dreams of adventure, she also states that she wishes for a friend who accepts her for who she is. This is because everyone in town criticizes her for doing her own thing and can't understand her, making her feel like she can't fit in. However, even when people give her a hard time, she never changes but comes to a better understanding of herself. This makes the biggest difference when she breaks the spell and charms the Beast just by being herself.
The Disney comic New Adventures of Beauty and the Beast, set a few years before the first film's events, implies that Belle was a scientific skeptic despite her love of fairy tales. This is evidenced while she explores a part of the Black Forest before encountering an owl and thinks that there aren't any mythical creatures in there. This is also supported in the film, where she yells "this is impossible" in shock after accidentally bumping into the Wardrobe in shock upon discovery that Mrs. Potts and her fellow servants were living objects.
Belle is quite witty and uses this trait to her advantage to outsmart people. When in an argument with the Beast, Belle held her ground and challenged each of the Beast's points with a cunning comeback, such as "If you hadn't frightened me I wouldn't have run away" or "You should learn to control your temper". Each of these statements left the Beast stunned and at a loss for words. Belle managed to think of these comebacks without much thought or hesitation. When Lumiere and Cogsworth attempted to lead Belle's curiosity away from the West Wing, she challenged them by saying the West Wing wouldn't be forbidden if the Beast wasn't hiding something in it, also briefly stunning them. Belle's logic may also have helped her save Maurice by realizing that something was going on in the castle that she wanted to find out. Soon, in the West Wing, she almost discovers the Beast's true identity, though she briefly forgets it in the end.
Belle has a strong sense of character and uses this trait in a variety of ways, often to her own advantage. On Belle's first night in the castle, following the "Be Our Guest" sequence, she develops an urge to explore the castle and asks for a guide. Observing Cogsworth's "authoritative" personality, she immediately knows that Cogsworth would be the best candidate. At first, Cogsworth is quite reluctant to the idea, but when Belle says she is sure he knows everything about the castle, he agrees. Similarly, she also has a strong sense of deductive reasoning, as she deduced from the animate objects' interactions that the castle in which she was imprisoned was enchanted without anyone telling her beforehand.
She also realized Gaston's true role in locking Maurice up when the hunter says he'll prevent it if she marries him. This however was contradicted when she exposed the Beast's existence to a congregated mob, despite the high likelihood that they would turn and kill the Beast due to their current emotional state, as well as being shocked by Gaston and the villagers doing exactly that. This makes Belle feel so guilty that she resolves to stop Gaston and save the Beast, her true love.
Belle's personality transforms throughout the film. At first, she frequently dreams about a life of adventure and romance, not realizing that sometimes adventures might take a turn for the worse. As Belle begins to spend more time with the Beast and their relationship blossoms into a strong friendship, she begins to fall in love with him without realizing it.
Physical appearance[]
Like her namesake, Belle is known in her village for her great beauty, mainly her outer features, and is viewed as "the most beautiful girl in town" by Gaston. Belle has long and brown hair, most often tied back in a low ponytail by a ribbon, and possesses hazel eyes, full pink lips, rosy cheeks, duchess nose, a heart-shaped face and a sculpted figure. One of her more distinct features is the strands of hair that are constantly slipping loose from her ponytail and falling in front of her face - she is often seen brushing them back into place when nervous or trying to be polite.
Throughout the film, Belle wears various outfits depending on the occasion:
Her primary outfit is a medium-length cerulean blue sleeveless dress with a white long puffy-sleeved shirt with a puffy collar underneath, a white apron around her waist, a white petticoat, and dark brown ballet flats with darker brown (gray in the midquels) soles on her feet. Her hair is tied in a low ponytail adorned with a blue ribbon. When she goes to the Beast's castle, she wears a dark blue cloak with a yellow button. Belle's hair is loose twice in the film, the first time when the ribbon on her ponytail is torn off by one of the wolves when she was knocked away by her horse Philippe, and the second when she removes the ribbon before finding the Beast during his fight with Gaston. She is seen without her apron in most of the first film, except at the end during The Mob Song. When she was exploring the West Wing, her shirt's sleeves were rolled up and she wasn't wearing her apron.
The day that Belle was gifted the castle's library, she wore a light green dress (similar to the color scheme of Ariel from The Little Mermaid) with Juliet sleeves and a darker bodice, a matching hair ribbon, a white petticoat underneath the dress and black ballet flats, and outside when she was tending to Philippe and Sultan she added her traditional dark blue cloak.
When she was reading to the Beast, Belle wore a pink dress with a rose bodice (similar to Aurora's from Sleeping Beauty), a matching hair ribbon, a white petticoat, and red ballet flats and when she was outside teaching the Beast to feed the birds she added a red cloak with white fur trim.
Her most elaborate and iconic outfit is a golden ball gown with a simply designed bodice, wrapped off-the-shoulder sleeves, a wide-hemmed and floor-length skirt made out of an octet of triangular panels that has sashes draped all around it, long and yellow evening gloves, round yellow earrings, a multiple-layered and white petticoat with scalloped edging on the hemline and yellow high-heeled shoes. This is the outfit she wears while sharing her first dance with the Beast in the "Beauty and the Beast" sequence, and their second dance after the curse is broken. With this outfit, she puts some of her hair in a neat bun that is held by a golden hair band, but the majority of it trails down her neck in a beautiful and flowing motion that resembles a ponytail.
In Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas, Belle wears a long deep red winter coat with a white fur collar, belt, and folded sleeves while wearing her primary outfit with short brown gloves and brown boots with white fur cuffs. At the end of the film, set after the curse was broken, Belle wears a deep red rose dress which resembles the color of a red rose with light yellow bell-bottoms at the sleeves and deep red roses-like decorations with green leaves, a matching hair ribbon, a pearl necklace, a light yellow lining connected to her bodice and the end of her dress skirt, a deep red bow on the waist back of her dress, a white petticoat, and deep red high-heeled shoes.
When she was thrown in the dungeon after the Beast saved her from drowning, Belle wore a brown blanket around her blue and white dress, and her hair was wet and messy with loose strands.
Overall, when she first enters the Beast's castle, her outfit wasn't adapted to the castle, but as the film moves on, her outfit started progressively shifting to more formal and elegant dresses, signifying her growing more attached to the castle and its inhabitants as the Beast reforms into a well-behaved gentleman.
Abilities[]
- Peak-Human Agility: Belle displays a few notable athletic abilities despite having spent her life in the village. She can ride her horse, Philippe, at quite stunning speeds with ease and skill, such as in the Black Forest when she managed to outrun the wolves for a time and even causing one wolf to veer into a tree. During the opening song, while reading her new book, she skipped over the village children's skipping rope, and she also managed to effortlessly sweep aside a water downpour from gutters that was about to hit her, deflecting it onto a nearby signpost, all without even looking up from her book, implying that she was keenly aware of her surroundings.
- Peak-Human Strength: Despite her slim figure, Belle seems to have considerable strength. She may have lifted the Beast, as evidenced by the Beast being placed onto Philippe's back, although this was never shown on-screen. Later on, she was able to pull the Beast up onto a balcony. In addition, she also was revealed to have rescued her father from the elements and presumably place him onto Philippe while he was still unconscious. Both the Beast and Maurice are each presumed to weigh considerably more than Belle, making her rescue of them quite a feat.
- Peak-Human Stamina: Belle also appears to have tireless reserves of stamina and considerable resilience to cold, likely due to her young age, able to survive fording icy water for a short period of time (in Enchanted Christmas, she proved to be a capable swimmer when she rescued Chip), and she can walk back to the castle having given her cloak and Philippe over to the injured Beast after the wolves were driven off. In the Marvel Comics serial, she even managed to withstand the cold long enough to tell Chip about how she and her father went to the fair and won the first prize before passing out, just as Beast ultimately managed to trace her location via holly bushels hitting him when she let go of them.
Appearances[]
Beauty and the Beast[]
Belle in Beauty and the Beast.
Belle is a beautiful young woman living in a small unnamed village in France. She first appears at the beginning of the film (after the prologue) as she emerges out of the cottage she lives in and heads to a bookstore in the village, aware that the villagers are noting her peculiarity and how she doesn't fit in with the rest of them due to her love of books and withdrawn nature. At the bookstore, Belle returns a book she has borrowed and takes the one she perceives as her favorite. While heading back home to the cottage, she is pursued by a handsome but narcissistic hunter named Gaston, who eventually stands in her way. Gaston takes the book from Belle, drops it into a mud puddle, and tells Belle to get herself out of reading and pay more attention to "more important things" like him. Just then, an explosion comes out from the basement of her cottage, prompting Belle to run back home.
Descending into the basement and coughing her way in, Belle finds her father, Maurice, who is about to give up on his latest contraption that he has built. Belle faithfully tells her father how she has believed he will get the machine working, win first prize at the fair, and become a world-famous inventor. Inspired by his daughter's beliefs, Maurice re-works on the machine, and once he thinks he has done fixing it, he gives it a test run. To both Belle and her father's surprise, the test run goes successfully. Belle waves goodbye to her father and wishes him luck as Maurice, riding on their horse Philippe, goes off to the fair with the invention.
The following day, Belle is happily reading when she hears a knock on a door. She uses the periscope, only to find that Gaston is on the porch, much to her dismay, but nevertheless lets him in. Gaston then dirties Belle's book for the second time and reveals that he wants to make her his little wife and the mother of six or seven handsome little boys; Belle is disgusted by this idea and slips away from Gaston who continues to approach her. As Gaston has Belle cornered at the door and is about to plant a kiss on her, Belle opens the door as she swings around, causing Gaston to fall forward into a large mud pond outside. Belle then throws Gaston's boots out in front of her door before closing it and waits for him to leave. After the furious and humiliated Gaston storms off, Belle goes outside to feed the chickens, shocked in disbelief at how Gaston has asked her to marry him. Not wanting to be the wife of that boorish, brainless man, she runs off into an open field, where Philippe finds her, still hitched to the trailer carrying Maurice's invention, but without Maurice. Seeing Philippe without her father, Belle pleads for Philippe to take her to where her father is after unhitching Philippe from the trailer.
"Take me, instead."
Belle rides Philippe through a dark forest to a mysterious castle in the possibility of finding her father. She finds her father locked away in a dungeon and begs the master of the castle to free him due to his poor health, offering her own freedom in exchange for her father's, over the latter's protests. When the master agrees on the condition that she has to stay with him forever, she asks the master to step into the light, revealing himself to be a hideous Beast. Although Belle is terrified by the Beast's visage, and Maurice pleads for her to reconsider, not wanting to lose her in becoming the Beast's prisoner in his place, she promises to remain as the castle's prisoner and the Beast fulfills his end of the bargain by immediately releasing and sending Maurice back to the village in an enchanted palanquin. The Beast is deeply moved by her beauty and affection towards her father, and can't help but feel touched by her boldness and bravery, as well as feeling some remorse for not allowing Belle to say her goodbyes to her father whom she may not see again. The Beast then shows Belle to her room where she is initially terrified by the décor and gargoyles. He allows her to go about the castle but warns her not to go into his lair, the West Wing, which he cryptically labels as forbidden. When the Beast brings Belle to her room, he orders her to join him for dinner before slamming the door shut and storming off. Belle throws herself onto her bed and breaks down in tears over being separated from her father forever and trapped in the scary castle by the Beast.
Later, Belle is visited by Mrs. Potts and Chip; she is shocked and surprised that a teapot and a teacup are alive (the Enchantress who turned the prince into a beast also transformed his servants into household objects) that she backs into a Wardrobe, who is also alive. She accepts tea from Mrs. Potts, and after the teapot and the teacup leave, the Wardrobe decides upon a dress for Belle to wear for her upcoming dinner with the Beast, but Belle declines just as Cogsworth - the head servant who was turned into a mantle clock - arrives to inform her that dinner is ready.
The Beast is enraged upon learning from Cogsworth that Belle isn't joining him for dinner, storms over to Belle's room and bangs on the door, ordering her to come out to dinner. The two then have a heated shouting match which results in the Beast finally granting her wish to be left alone again. Back in his lair, the Beast is shocked to find that Belle still grudges him for his mistreatment of her and Maurice, causing him to doubt if he will ever break the spell. Meanwhile, a little later, Belle, feeling hungry, emerges out of her room and makes her way to the castle's kitchen, where she meets Cogsworth, his assistant Lumiere, and Mrs. Potts, who all agree to feed Belle (despite their master's protests) and entertain her with a marvelous musical number.
Belle discovering the enchanted rose in the West Wing.
After the dinner show, Belle applauds the entertainers and servers for putting on a spectacular performance. Having figured out that the castle is enchanted and wanting to see more of the castle, Belle asks Cogsworth to show her around. Belle comes across a staircase leading to the West Wing during the tour, but Cogsworth and Lumiere stop her and coerce her from going into the room she is forbidden to step into by showing their library; however, her curiosity of the West Wing gets the better of her. Taking advantage of a brief distraction from the two servants, Belle enters the room and discovers it's beaten down, ransacked and sickly. There she sees a torn picture of a young man and a glowing rose. She takes the glass off the rose and tries to touch it. Just then, however, the Beast arrives and is furious at Belle for disobeying him. Belle tries apologizing, but the Beast screams at her to get out while destroying some of his own furniture in the process. Terrified as well as having had enough of the Beast's ferocious temper and the castle itself, Belle escapes the castle (rushing past Cogsworth and Lumiere) and runs away. When the Beast calms down, he realizes his mistake too late and hangs his head in guilt and shame.
In the woods, she and Philippe encounter a pack of frightening and savage wolves, who then pursue her and the horse. The wolves quickly catch up as Belle falls off Philippe, while Philippe gets his reigns snagged by a tree branch, trapping him. Belle seizes another tree branch and uses it as a weapon to defend herself and protect Philippe, but a wolf bites the branch when she attempts to hit it, rendering her helpless and defenseless in no time. Just as the wolves close in and are about to attack her, the Beast intervenes and attacks the wolves, rescuing Belle and forcing the wolves into retreat after flinging one of them, possibly the alpha, into a tree hard enough to knock it out, if not kill it, by breaking its spine on the trunk, frightening the other wolves into fleeing in fear. However, a wolf managed to injure him in the process before they flee in terror of his wrath. Coming to realize that the Beast has saved her life, Belle chooses to help the Beast - who has collapsed from exhaustion and his wounds - back to the castle over running away. While she tends to the Beast's wounds, the two then get into another heated argument about who was at fault (including Belle violating the Beast's warning to stay away from the West Wing), with Belle winning the argument by ordering him to control his temper, overcoming her fears and conquering his ferocious temper. She then thanks the Beast for saving her life, to which the Beast, realizing the good deed he has done while noticing her kindness, starts feeling good inside himself.
Belle expressing her comfort and love for the Beast during their ballroom waltz.
As a token of his appreciation, the Beast, at Lumiere's suggestion, shows Belle the castle's enormous library, which strikes her interest so much that he gives it to her as a gift. In return, Belle helps him act more like a gentleman, and the two eventually form a healthy friendship, bonding over meals, reading, and playful outings in the snow. Over time, the Beast falls deeply in love with her but fears that she will never love him in return. On a special night, however, an evening date is conceived, and the two eventually fall in love, though neither verbally express their feelings. After a waltz in the grand ballroom, Belle expresses the longing for her father and wishes for a way to see him once more. The Beast tells her that there is a way and shows Belle the magic mirror he had used previously, which is capable of showing anything the user wishes to see. Belle asks the mirror to show her father, and it reveals Maurice to be lost and sick in the woods trying to find his way back to the Beast's castle, apparently dying, a sight that shocks and worries her. With no choice, the Beast grants Belle freedom for the safety of her father. As a way to remember him, he hands her the mirror, which she accepts before thanking him for his kind gesture and departing in haste, changing back into her civilian clothes from her ballgown and riding away on Philippe as the Beast lets out a mournful howl as he watches her depart.
After returning to the village with her rescued father and nursing him back to good health, Monsieur D'Arque, the head of the village's mental asylum, arrives to arrest Maurice because of his claims about the Beast. It's soon revealed that Gaston was in on the asylum's arrival, in hopes of forcing Belle to marry him in exchange for her father's freedom. Belle refuses, and Gaston goes ahead with taking Maurice to the asylum. Thinking fast, Belle seizes the mirror and begs for it to show her the Beast, then turns the mirror to the villagers to reveal his existence, proving Maurice's sanity. Unfortunately, as she assures the intimidated crowd that the Beast isn't dangerous, Gaston senses Belle's romantic feelings for the creature and teases her for being in love with a monster, with Belle angrily responding that Gaston is the real monster, making him snap in a furious rage. Out of spite and jealousy, Gaston seizes the mirror from Belle, declaring that she is just as crazy as her father and convinces the villagers that the Beast is a threat, rallying a mob to kill him. Shocked, Belle tries to stop Gaston from going through with his plans, but he perceives that she is against him and has her and Maurice locked in their cellar to prevent them from warning the Beast. Just then, after the mob's departure, Chip (who stowed away in Belle's satchel) uses Maurice's wood-cutting invention to free them, allowing them to rush to the castle on Philippe.
Belle arrives at the castle while Gaston takes on the Beast and attempts to stop the former from hurting the latter. The Beast, seeing Belle return, summons up the strength to fight back while Belle rushes into the castle and up the stairs. Arriving at the balcony, she calls to the Beast and reaches out for him to take her hand. Just as the Beast takes hold of Belle's hand, and they embrace each other, a jealous Gaston fatally stabs the Beast in the back, causing the Beast to jerk backward in pain, which then causes Gaston to lose his balance and fall to his death and Belle saves the Beast from the same fate and pulls him up onto the balcony. The Beast smiles at seeing Belle, who ensures all will be well with their reunion at hand. Unfortunately, the weak Beast with his last breath can only express gratitude over seeing Belle one last time before he dies in her arms. Belle begs him not to leave her and, sobbing over the dead Beast, admits her love for him mere seconds before the last petal falls from the enchanted rose.
Belle succeeds in breaking the spell, thus returning the master to his true, human self.
As Belle continues sobbing over the loss of her love, shimmering beams of light fall onto the Beast. The Beast's body then begins to float in the air and is enshrouded in a fog. The amazed Belle witnesses the Beast's forepaws, hind-paws, and furry head are respectively restored to the hands, feet, and head of the Prince, now healed from his fatal wound. The Prince then turns to Belle, who initially looks at him skeptically, but then recognizes him from the torn portrait's blue eyes. The Prince and Belle share their first kiss, a kiss of true love, which subsequently breaks the additional spell placed on the castle and its inhabitants: the dark, gloomy castle is restored into its original, shining state, all the Prince's servants are transformed back into humans, and the Black Forest surrounding the castle is transformed back into the beautiful forest it was before. The film ends with Belle and the Prince dancing in the ballroom with her father and his servants watching happily. A stained-glass window of her and the prince is also depicted on the castle.
Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas[]
Belle in Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas.
A midquel taking place during the winter segment of Beauty and the Beast; this is the story of Belle's attempt to bring back to the castle the one ceremony the Beast hates most: Christmas. At the point the movie is supposed to take place, Belle still considered herself a prisoner in the castle and wasn't truly friends with the Beast at that point, though she had begun to accept him. This takes place not too long after she was saved from the wolves and after the Beast gave her the library as a gift. She had started to warm up to the Beast a little and was more willing to reach out.
Belle is first seen walking through the castle in a pleasant enough mood when she runs into Chip, Lumiere, Cogsworth, and Mrs. Potts. Belle asks Chip about today, and he doesn't know. She informs him and the others that it's the day before Christmas, to which Lumiere quickly cuts off before encouraging her to go out on the castle grounds.
At Chip's suggestion, Belle decides to go ice skating. After grabbing a pair of ice skates and a coat from the rack, she heads outside, where she finds the Beast just walking around. She bids him a good morning which causes him to lose balance on the ice and fall. Belle goes to check on him, and the two get into an awkward conversation about him slipping.
After putting on her skates, Belle begins skating, inviting the Beast to join her. The Beast is initially reluctant, but Belle shows him the basic steps of skating, and eventually, he starts trying.
Belle watches as the Beast gets better at skating, much to her amusement. With his improvement, the two started skating together. Things seem to go well until interference from Fife causes them to slide into the snow after he grabs the Beast's cape. Belle and Beast emerge from the snow, and Belle cheerfully makes a Christmas angel. She shows it to the Beast, but he sees his own monstrous shape in the snow, gets enraged by it, and storms off in a fury. As he goes, Belle doubts if she should keep trying to reach him as it seems he is now worse than he was before, though Mrs. Potts tells her not to lose heart.
Later, Belle walks with Chip through the halls and asks him about the Beast's grumpy disposition. She is surprised when Chip tells her that the Beast is always that way, even at Christmas. She's even more surprised when Chip asks her about Christmas, telling her about the great traditions that occur on the holiday. One tradition she mentions, presents, gets Chip excited, and she tells him that everyone receives a present on Christmas, including the Beast. Chip asks Belle what she plans to give the Beast, and she doesn't really know him well enough to know what he would want. At Chip's suggestion, Belle decides to give the Beast a handmade storybook. As she makes it, she hopes that her story will help the Beast overcome his sorrows and pains and, hopefully, they will understand each other better. After she completes the story, she picks up Chip, confident that the Beast will like his gift, and assures him that they will have Christmas in the castle.
Later, Belle is washing dishes with the enchanted objects in the kitchen, where Cogsworth immediately rejects the notion of having Christmas because of the Beast forbidding it. Belle responds, saying Christmas can't be forbidden by anyone. Cogsworth tells her that Christmas is a painful reminder of the Beast's past and that bringing it back would only torture him even more, but Belle believes that it would actually do him some good. Cogsworth continues to reject, but Belle, Lumiere, Mrs. Potts, and Chip bring up the Christmas feast, with Belle mentioning cranberry sauce. Eventually, Cogsworth agrees, and Belle suggests decorating the castle. Lumiere tells her that he knows someone who can help.
With Lumiere and Chip in hand, Belle travels up one of the castle towers to the attic. There, she and the two are greeted by a series of enchanted Christmas decorations lead by a Christmas angel named Angelique. After some flirting, Lumiere introduces her to Belle as the castle decorator. He then tells about their plans for a Christmas celebration, but Angelique refuses, not wanting to get disappointed again. Belle pleads with her help then, for they need her help to decorate the castle before Christmas, but Angelique still refuses, saying that nothing will change, but Belle thinks it will.
After several attempts to get the Beast to agree, the Beast finally approves of the idea and allows Belle to prepare for Christmas, though he still bears a grudge, for Christmas is the day the Enchantress cast the spell on him and the castle residents.
Belle goes out into the woods with advice from Forte to get a suitable tree for Christmas, but she falls into thin ice and almost drowns. Fortunately, she is rescued by Beast, who is enraged at her because Forte told him earlier that she was trying to escape from him again.
Belle is then thrown into the dungeon to rot by an angry Beast who accuses her for her betrayal. Cold and demotivated, Belle was almost about to break down into sadness, until the Beast's servants, including Angelique, visit her in the dungeon to comfort her, while they sing a song to cheer her up. The Beast then finds the book that Belle had written for him earlier in the West Wing and decides to release Belle, and they both continue to prepare for Christmas. But Forte doesn't give up there, even going as far as to attempt to bring the whole castle down with Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 in order to prevent the spell from breaking, as it can't if everyone is dead. Fortunately, the Beast stops him in time by crashing his keyboard to pieces, causing a furious Forte to tear himself from the wall he was anchored to and crash to the floor, dead. Sadly, the Beast mourns the loss of his old friend, and Belle comforts him.
Later, Belle, Beast, and the castle servants proceed with the Christmas celebrations just as planned, much to the former's happiness.
The viewers are soon taken back to the actual Christmas taking place, and Belle is presented with a gift from her husband: a rose.
Belle's Magical World[]
Belle in Beauty and the Beast: Belle's Magical World.
In this movie, Belle is the only human character. She meets three new enchanted object friends, named Webster, Crane, and Le Plume, and is about to solve problems in all four segments. The film serves as a sequel to The Enchanted Christmas, taking place before Gaston's death. Because the segments of the movie were originally intended to be used for a TV series, Belle had a slightly darker complexion than usual. Only this time, she is shown to be very different from she was later in the chronological story. She is more naïve, stricter, and still defiant of the Beast's rules, while being easily be brought down by the things that go wrong in the castle.
In the first segment, "The Perfect Word", a falling out between Belle and Beast leads to the banishment of the aforementioned servants, Webster, Crane, and LePlume, forcing Belle to rush out and rescue them.
In the next segment, "Fifi's Folly", it's Lumiere's anniversary with Fifi, yet he doesn't know the proper way to confess how he truly feels. Belle assists him by taking the role of Fifi and practicing what he's going to do for their date. Fifi sees the two and believes Lumiere is leaving her for Belle. Eventually, all is straightened out.
In "Mrs. Potts' Party", Belle strives to cheer up a depressed Mrs. Potts, whom she has notably come to look as a motherly figure, though the rivalry between Lumiere and Cogsworth causes trouble. This segment was also included in Belle's Tales of Friendship.
In the fourth and final segment, "A Broken Wing", Belle finds a wounded bird and takes it in. She spends most of her time hiding it from Beast originally until he grows to like. After a while, another problem brews as the bird is healthy once more, but Beast wants to keep it for its singing. Belle convinces him to let it free. In the end, they become closer, and their intense romance buds anew.
House of Mouse[]
Belle in House of Mouse.
Belle made cameo appearances in many episodes of the House of Mouse television series, usually seen wearing her peasant outfit (though she did wear her gold dress in Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse and "Dining Goofy").
In "The Stolen Cartoons", Donald Duck accidentally served Lumiere as Belle's evening meal, much to the latter's confusion.
In "Mickey and the Culture Clash", Belle attempted to read a book that Mickey was balancing on his head, but her hand was slapped away by Mortimer Mouse. She then asked what the commotion was about, and was informed by Clarabelle that Minnie was looking for someone more sophisticated than Mickey. It was the only time she spoke in the show.
In "Ask Von Drake", Belle was seen sitting with Beast during Disney character head count.
In "Jiminy Cricket", when Jiminy mentions the possibility some characters may not have children, the camera pans to Belle and Beast. Belle can also be seen in recycled crowd shots, cheering alongside Mrs. Potts and Chip.
Belle also appeared aside Beast in Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse, and in some crowd shots in Mickey's House of Villains.
In the series, Ariel's voice actress, Jodi Benson took over as the voice of Belle, although Paige O'Hara did reprise her role as Belle in Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse.
Sofia the First[]
- “Princess Sofia! Your amulet brought me here to help.”
- ―Belle to Sofia
Belle in Sofia the First.
Belle made a guest appearance in the episode "The Amulet and the Anthem".
She teaches Sofia that actions speak louder than words when apologizing about her bragging as it didn't break her croaking curse by singing "Make It Right".
In "Forever Royal" when Sofia is battling Vor inside her amulet, Belle appears to Sofia in spirit form along with all the other princesses who have been summoned to help Sofia in her times of need, and they encourage her to be brave and strong for they all believe in her.
Belle is voiced by Julie Nathanson in the episode, who had assumed the role from Paige O'Hara in 2011. According to O'Hara, she is still capable of voicing Belle, but has to "vocalize soprano for hours on end" to achieve Belle's youthful tone.
Ralph Breaks the Internet[]
- “And best of luck finding your song.”
- ―Belle's goodbye to Vanellope
Belle with Rapunzel in Ralph Breaks the Internet.
In Ralph Breaks the Internet, Belle appears alongside the other Disney Princesses as netizens in Oh My Disney. Working as a cast member, Belle and the princesses meet-and-greet with net users. On one particular day, the backstage room of the princesses is infiltrated by a glitch named Vanellope von Schweetz; Belle is seen reading a book when Vanellope arrives (promotional material shows it is titled "The Provincial Life", a shout-out to her first song from the original film). Belle jumps into action in defense, believing Vanellope to be a threat, and arms herself with her book. Belle lays down her defense when Vanellope claims to be a princess as well. When Pocahontas asks Vanellope what kind of princess she is, Belle and Rapunzel ask her if she has ever been kidnapped or enslaved. Though she has not, Belle (along with other princesses) relates when Vanellope reveals that she does not have a mother.
Shortly after, the princess becomes enamored with Vanellope's "gown", and switch into more comfortable modern attire to match. Belle dons a yellow tank top with a black silhouette of the Beast's head that reads "BFF" (meaning "Beast Friends Forever"), golden pants, and brown ballet flats. While lounging, Belle continues reading her book. Ariel, meanwhile, expresses her excitement over wearing a shirt (and briefly asks Belle what the clothing is called). She starts to break into song, but Vanellope's confusion cuts her off. As Vanellope has never had a song, Rapunzel advises her to sing about what she desires most. Vanellope's song about a steering wheel is less than stellar, but Belle tries to avoid any criticism and asks if the steering wheel that Vanellope mentioned is a metaphor. Vanellope explains that she's being literal. As the princesses prepare to get back to work, Merida tries to send some advice in an unintelligible Scottish accent; in during which means, Belle makes an awkward face.
During the climax, Belle and the princesses leave Oh My Disney after the Internet is taken over by a virus. After the virus has been neutralized, the princesses spot Wreck-It Ralph plummeting from the air. Belle, Ariel, Tiana, and Cinderella use their gowns as parachutes to safely descend Ralph to the ground, where the princesses are able to formally meet and befriend him.
Other appearances[]
Belle and Beast at the 64th Annual Academy Awards in 1992.
In 1992, Belle made an animated/live-action appearance at the 64th Academy Awards ceremony where she, along with Beast and Chip, awarded Daniel Greaves the Oscar for Short Film (Animated) for Manipulation.[1]
Belle makes a cameo appearance in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. During the song "Out There", Belle is seen walking through the streets reading her book.
In a special trailer for Lilo & Stitch, Belle and Beast were seen engaging in the famous ballroom dance when Stitch is seen on the chandelier, causing it to tear loose from the ceiling and come crashing down, thus tarnishing Belle and Beast's dance, though Beast is able to get Belle out of harm's way. Their romantic moment ruined thanks to Stitch, Belle then storms off to her room in a huff telling Stitch to get his own movie, which apparently hits a nerve with Stitch as he remorsefully replies in acceptance.
Belle made a cameo appearance as a silhouette with Beast, Mrs. Potts, and Chip at the end of The Lion King 1½.
Belle makes a cameo appearance along with Beast in the Mickey Mouse episode "The Adorable Couple". Belle appears in the Elena of Avalor episodes First Day of Rule, Model Sister and Coronation Day.
Originally, when the first installment of Disney Princess Enchanted Tales was to be released, it was to feature a new Belle story and a brand new Fa Mulan story. The first chapter was entitled "The Kingdom Of Kindness". The plot of Belle's story featured Chip getting in trouble with the Beast after breaking some of his things. Terrified, Chip runs away. Belle finds him and convinces him to come back to the castle, and teaches Beast what it means to be kind. She also teaches Chip that even when people are mad at him, it still means they love him. Only one known song has been written for Belle, this song is called "You'll Never Lose This Love" and is available to watch on the Enchanted Tales Website.[2]
An emoticon version of Belle appears in the Beauty and the Beast entry of the As Told by Emoji short series.
In the series finale of At Home With Olaf, a short clip of Beauty and the Beast featuring Belle and the Beast appears during a montage of heartwarming moments from Disney films playing in Olaf's song "I Am with You".
In The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder episode "The End of Innocence", Trudy Proud dresses up like Belle, wearing her signature ball gown.
In the live-action Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers movie, a pirated version of the Belle appears on a cover of "Beauty and the Curse Dog Man". In addition, later in the film, a live-action woman at the Fan Con cosplays as Belle. Her pirated version is mostly true to her original appearance, except her hair style slightly altered.
In Once Upon a Studio, Belle and Beast were the first to sing "When You Wish Upon a Star", after hearing Alan-A-Dale, Scat Cat, Mirabel Madrigal, and Hathi, Jr. play the beginning notes of the song, when the all Disney characters were disappointed at the group photo being ruined. Then they sing the last line with all the characters as the photo is successfully taken.
In Wish, Belle and Beast were among the Disney animated characters that appeared during the credits.
Live-action appearances[]
Sing Me a Story with Belle[]
From 1995 through 1999 on both Disney Channel and in syndication, a series titled "Sing Me a Story with Belle" aired from the Disney-MGM Studios in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Actress Lynsey McLeod portrayed Belle, who was the owner of a book and music shop in France in her commoner costume.
Disney's Sing-Along Songs: The Twelve Days of Christmas[]
Belle and the Beast make a brief appearance in the Christmas themed video Disney Sing Along Songs: The Twelve Days of Christmas, specifically during the final song "We Wish You a Merry Christmas". They can be seen dancing with each other amongst other Disney characters and Christmas carolers.
Beauty and the Beast: A Concert on Ice[]
In 1996, CBS premiered a television special of the animated movie and its Broadway musical performed on ice by two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Ekaterina Gordeeva as Belle and Olympic Gold Medalist Victor Petrenko as the Beast. Their singing voices were provided by Susan Egan and James Barbour. The songs included were "Gaston", "If I Can't Love Her", "Be Our Guest", and "Beauty and the Beast".
Printed media[]
The New Adventures of Beauty and the Beast[]
A younger Belle, as seen in The New Adventures of Beauty and the Beast.
This comic serial took place a few years before the events of the first film, with both stories being reprinted in Disney Princess Comics Treasury.
In the first issue, in a flashback during the first storyline, "Bewitched", Belle briefly witnessed the Prince being unkind to an old lady, resulting in her asking her father whether men are all monsters. In the second storyline, "Bothered", she learns from Maurice that their pet pig, Pierre, was an essential component to a truffle harvester before he tells her to put her King Arthur book away, so she can play outside with the other village children. Belle attempts to refuse, citing that she has more enjoyment imagining King Arthur's court. Ultimately, she did go out, resulting in her being reluctantly forced into becoming the "galley prisoner" by several boys playing pirates. She attempted to get out, only to find a bear (implied to actually be the Enchantress in disguise) snarling and about to attack her. She eventually was unintentionally rescued by Maurice with a test run with the Truffle Harvester. Belle later makes an appearance in the ending of the third storyline, "Bewildered", as a reflection on the enchanted mirror.
In the second issue's first storyline, "Elsewhere", she and Maurice were on their way back from the fair (not being allowed to participate after one of Maurice's inventions ripped the dress of one of the judge's wives). She eventually got curious about a path and went down it despite her father's insistence that she not go down that path. She managed to find an owl, which Maurice attempted to capture for one of his new ideas, although it disappeared despite capturing it. They then fled after finding a wolf nearby (both the wolf and the owl were implied to be the Enchantress in disguise). Belle noted she had a funny feeling she'll eventually go down that path in an act of foreshadowing.
Beauty and the Beast (Marvel Comics)[]
This comic serial took place during Belle's stay at Beast's castle, similar to the midquels above.
In the First Issue, while looking for the book Lost at Sea, she heard the Beast roaring (which nearly got an animated Ladder to drop her due to fright, also implying that this wasn't the first time Beast made a huge roar). Belle then spent her time reading the book until Chip and Mrs. Potts (after the former had to loudly interrupt her reading) informed her of Beast's rising temper and foul mood, which is nearly spoiling the planned surprise party for the Wardrobe. Belle then decided to tell Beast just what she thinks of him. After telling the Beast off, the latter admitted that he was in a foul mood because he had woken up from a dream about becoming handsome and discovering he was still ugly. Belle then assured him that it was the inside that counts, not the outside. Belle then offered to have Beast come down to aid with Wardrobe's surprise party, with Beast, after initially refusing, deciding to do so for Belle.
The second issue picks up right where the first issue left off. Belle tells him to be gracious, at least during the Wardrobe's surprise party when the Beast snaps for his dinner. During the actual dinner, however, Belle reacted with disgust when Beast ended up chowing down the meal like an animal. Sometime later, Belle thanked Lumiere for the soup and planned to have the rest of dinner by the fire, although after Beast snapped at her to stay at the table, she then sternly told Beast that she'll stay only if he eats with a utensil and not slurp the meal (which Beast did reluctantly). Belle then was horrified that Beast (who had second thoughts to attending the party anyway) demanded the party be canceled when he learned the Wardrobe wasn't coming down, and instead suggested that she go upstairs and try to convince Wardrobe to come down as the servants worked very hard for it. Belle then learned the Wardrobe wouldn't come down because she was depressed as, being a wardrobe, she viewed herself as useless as she had plenty of dresses and no one to wear them. She then offered to try on one of the dresses, and then deliberately left behind the tiara to lure the wardrobe downstairs for the surprise party. She then watched the opera.
The third issue occurs the morning after the party, Belle proceeded to go for a walk on the grounds, alone, despite the servant's suggestions that someone accompanies her. While walking on the grounds, Belle accidentally bumped into the Beast (who had secretly gone outside in an attempt to walk with her at the servants' suggestion), which ended up spoiling the event with them getting into a severe argument. Eventually, they made up and decided to play with the leaves and snow. Aside from this, one of the Bimbettes, Laurette, disguised herself as Belle in a wife auction organized by Gaston, fully anticipating that Gaston would want Belle. She then pretended that she fully submitted to what Gaston wanted in a wife, but then her disguise was spoiled by her sisters (not realizing that "Belle" was actually Laurette). Although Gaston was initially upset at this outcome, he eventually forgave it and figured Belle may have simply not been aware of what happened.
Belle and Beast on the cover of one of Marvel's Beauty and the Beast comic stories.
The fourth issue picks up right where the third issue's Belle story left off. Lumiere planned to have Belle and Beast attend the Glorious Harvest Gala Festival, even writing invitations for them. However, although Belle got her invitation, Beast's invitation ended up blown into the fire and burned. She later learned of this when Chip opened the window enough for Lumiere and Cogsworth's loud blame game to pierce her reading in an attempt to warn her of what happened (with Belle assuming that Beast threw the letter into the fire). She then told off the Beast for burning the letter and implied that she misjudged Beast, although she eventually learned that the reason why Beast did so was that he couldn't read the letter even if he wanted to, having long forgotten how to do so. Belle then offered to teach him to do so, and then attended with him the Gala Festival, having supper and then offering to have her look at the stars.
The fifth issue has Belle teaching Beast how to read. However, the difficulty ended up frustrating Beast to a huge extent, causing them to have a huge argument and resulting in Belle storming off. Belle then mentioned the complexity of the Beast's dual nature and commented that she wished that she was back at the village (then flashing back to the beginning of the film).
The sixth issue picks off where the fifth issue left off: Belle, after reading a book, comments it's great to have a library, so she could go off on adventures, even if it's her imagination and pities the Beast for keeping himself locked up in the castle and his mind, being too stubborn to let her teach him how to read. She then got a message from Lumiere from the Beast, although she eventually deduced that Lumiere actually composed the Beast's message for the Beast and not the Beast himself. She then thanked Beast for his thoughtfulness but would appreciate it more if Beast himself actually wrote the poem. Beast was reluctant since he wasn't a poet. Eventually, after Beast unconsciously began to do poetry, she then let Beast attempt to read when he requested it.
The seventh issue starts with a daydream by Belle about a time at the village where she helped Maurice fix up an egg-sorting contraption just as the latter was about to give up due to it failing and resulting in eggs splattering, citing her confidence in him. After successfully fixing it up, Maurice then notes that a dove was nearby, meaning that their lives will get better. She then is in her room, mentioning she misses him. Afterward, she agrees to play with Chip in the snow (as everyone else was too busy to do so with Chip). She then taught him how to build a snowman, and eventually decided with Chip to get holly bushes to help prepare for Christmas. Unfortunately, the blizzard unexpectedly gets worse, with Belle and Chip eventually getting lost in the forest and thus unable to return to the castle due to the severity of the storm.
The eighth issue picks up where the seventh issue left off. Belle, lost in the storm, offered to tell Chip a story about her past as a way to keep themselves awake and thus avoid freezing to death, although she eventually passes out. Luckily, the bushels managed to hit Beast as he was searching for her, resulting in him tracking down her location and saving her and Chip in time. She then learned Beast tended to her side and never moved, with her thanking him. Beast then thanked her for saving his life as she taught him that his life wasn't "meaningless" after all. In her flashback, Belle and Maurice, with their egg-sorting contraption, went out of the village to the fair. However, they eventually got themselves lost (due to the Bimbettes switching the sign to go the other way to deliberately get Belle off the course). They just barely managed to get to the fair (after Maurice deduced they were actually supposed to go South, not North), and also won as a last-minute entry. She then returned to the village with Maurice, with Gaston greeting them (to the Bimbettes' chagrin).
In the ninth issue, because of guilt for rarely saving her and Chip, Beast had her stay in bed and make breakfast in bed for her. However, this eventually proved unnecessary due to Belle having fully recovered and coming downstairs to thank Beast. Belle then offered to do something in return for Beast, with the servants planning to make a portrait of her. She changed her various outfits and eventually settled on a pink outfit, thanks to Beast's compliment earlier. However, during the painting process, she had a sad look that Beast and Chip noticed when the painting was unveiled (it's strongly implied her melancholy was due to homesickness, more specifically, her missing her father).
In the tenth issue, occurring the next day, Belle ended up playing in the snow with Chip (as she had promised to play with him in the snow again after a day passed), although while gazing at the sky, she saw a dove and began to feel sad for her father again. She then had a snowball fight with Chip, accidentally striking Beast (who was on his way to converse with Belle to figure out how he can make her feel better after getting the hint from the portrait earlier that she was melancholic) on the muzzle with a snowball. She apologized to Beast, and after a comment from Chip about getting Hollies, inadvertently supplied Beast with the idea to decorate the castle with lots of hollies to make her feel better. Belle then, after dinner, discovered Beast's decorations after Beast led her to them.
In the eleventh issue, set an unspecified time after the prior issue, Belle was reading with Beast in the library when she discovered it was a bit chilly, and eventually discovered the cause was because the door was ajar. However, she then discovered that because of the earlier snowstorm, her favorite book was ruined. Her devastation was made even worse when Beast obliviously insulted her book in an attempt to make her feel better, leaving without a word while crying to herself and also being unwilling to eat at dinner with the Beast. She also explained to the Wardrobe what the story was about, with the Wardrobe also explaining that before books, there were storytellers, with Belle acknowledging that nothing can take it away from her.
In the twelfth issue, picking up where the prior issue left off, Belle expressed some uncertainty about the Beast, especially given his inconsistent nature, and is struggling to understand him. Later, Belle finds the Beast arriving at the library, and he attempts to tell her something. However, before the Beast could begin to explain, the Wardrobe (who decided to make an opera thanks to what Belle told her earlier) basically started an opera in the library, causing Beast to skulk off. Belle then pursued him and tried to find out what he wanted to tell her, and he revealed he had repaired her favorite book and apologized for the earlier comment.
In the thirteenth and final issue, Belle helped prepare a cherry pie for dessert for a meal she and Beast were having, to thank him for repairing the book earlier. She later put it on the windowsill for it to cool off after it was done being baked. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to her, Sultan, while jumping in and out of the window while forced outside by the servants, ruined the dessert and proceeded to eat it up. Despite this and Beast and her learning the bad news, Beast wasn't the least bit upset, and in fact, was touched that Belle even made him dessert in the first place. As a result, she and the Beast shared a moment near the fireplace, with the servants witnessing it.
Besides the main comic serial, the fifth issue for the anthology series Disney Comic Hits! had her as a child sledding alongside Gaston and the Bimbettes, suggesting that she had initially been friends with Gaston and the Bimbettes prior to the events of the first film and that Belle may have moved to the village when she was very young (at least around Chip's age, according to her). She also ended up being given by Beast a sleigh ride as her Christmas present, with it being implied that Chip suggested the present to him.
Disney Adventures[]
Belle appeared in at least two stories for Disney Adventures magazine, both being in the Twelfth Volume:
In the first story Time Flies! Belle informed an agitated Cogsworth that dinner was only a few hours away (as he was under the belief that dinner was actually supposed to happen by that point and the staff was late), and then discovered the cause at the wrong time: Cogsworth's wind up key was stolen as a prank (revealed to be by Lumiere). This story was later reprinted in Disney Princess Comics Treasury.
In the second story Sittin' Pretty!, Belle made an appearance in the ending of the comic, where she was amused at the servants' attempts to give Beast a makeover, noting he looked ridiculous, as well as adorable, catching Beast off-guard. Beast also went through the makeover because he was ranting about how Belle can love him when he looks hideous.
Kilala Princess[]
Belle in Kilala Princess.
In the manga series Kilala Princess, the main characters Kilala, Prince Rei, and Princess Sylphy enter the world of "Beauty and the Beast" looking for magical gems to activate the Magic Tiara's power and awaken the princess within Kilala. When Belle first meets them, Kilala immediately asks to shake her hand. They become fast friends, and Belle asks the Beast to let them stay in the castle and work. Sylphy's egocentric attitude initially makes it unbearable for everyone, but it improves over time. When Cogsworth accidentally loses the pocket watch that the Beast planned to give to Belle, Kilala and Rei go into town to find it. Though they manage to retrieve the watch, in a broken condition, the amber stored inside is stolen by Gaston.
The Beast remains unaware of this incident, and when it breaks in his hand, he bursts out angrily and hides in his room. In order to cheer him up, Kilala, Rei, and Sylphy steal back the lost gem from Gaston. Kilala then tells him why he wanted to give Belle the watch in the first place, and that it doesn't matter if the gift is broken. Belle accepts the broken watch and gives the gem to Kilala as a token of gratitude, and turns into a gem of the Magic Tiara. She is last seen witnessing Kilala receive her own gem: an emerald.
The Beast Within: A Tale of Beauty's Prince[]
Belle appears in Serena Valentino's novel "The Beast Within" with a much-reduced role. She first appears at a ball thrown by the Prince, where he is drawn to her but is discouraged to do so by Gaston, who mentions that she is the daughter of a crazy inventor and that all she talks about is books. Inspired by this, the Prince then goes to a prettier girl named Tulip, whom he decides to marry. Later, she appears in events that are canon to the film, however, the wolves are sent by the sisters of the Enchantress, who desire to kill her so the Prince will remain a beast forever. However, in having the Beast save Belle, they inadvertently set into motion the events that lead to the Beast's redemption and his and Belle's happily ever after.
Disney Princess: Royal Weddings[]
In this book featuring the wedding between Belle and the Prince, Belle decided that, since the Prince had spent time unloved during the curse, she might also do something to show the Prince is indeed loved. She then secretly invited the village to the wedding. During the ceremony, she then received a book from the Prince, so they could "write their future adventures together".
As Old as Time (A Twisted Tale)[]
Belle's mother is the enchantress. When Belle touches the rose, she experiences a flash of vision that allows her to find out her mother is the one who cursed the Beast, the rose then crumbles to dust and causes the curse to become permanent.
Desperate to help, Belle and the Beast work together to try and find out what happened to her mother.
Video games[]
Kingdom Hearts series[]
Belle is a character in the series and plays a pivotal role as one of the Princesses of Heart.
In the first Kingdom Hearts game, Belle was captured by Maleficent's forces while she was living with the Beast, and was placed into an enchanted sleep alongside the other Princesses at Maleficent's stronghold in Hollow Bastion while her world was consumed in darkness by the Heartless. Her heart was used to open the Final Keyhole, which would open the door to darkness itself, and briefly stolen as well by Ansem, Seeker of Darkness to craft his own dark Keyblade. This caused Beast, who survived the destruction of his world and followed Belle through sheer willpower, to have a vision of Belle being turned into a Pureblood Shadow Heartless, infuriating him and causing him to attack the Heartless, separating him from Sora as he faced Riku. However, Belle's heart is later restored when Sora pierces himself with Ansem's Keyblade to release Kairi's heart from his body, destroying Ansem's Keyblade and releasing the Princesses' hearts, and she is able to awaken (at which point she can be found not conversing with the other Princesses in the Castle Chapel, but rather in Maleficent's library), and finally, reunites with the Beast. As thanks for helping her and the Beast, Belle grants Sora the Divine Rose Keychain for his Keyblade to use in his battles. After Sora seals Kingdom Hearts, Belle and the Beast are able to return home.
An illusion of Belle also appeared in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, who acts cold towards the Beast in order to prevent Maleficent from stealing her heart. After the villain's defeat, she apologizes for deceiving the Beast, which the Beast forgives.
The real Belle appears in 358/2 Days alongside Beast in Beast's Castle, where their peace was threatened by Xaldin, who intended to take the Beast's heart.
Her role is greatly expanded in the sequel Kingdom Hearts II. Xaldin of Organization XIII had continued to play on the Beast's anger to plunge his heart into the darkness to create a powerful Heartless and Nobody to use for the Organization's plans, resulting in him sealing his servants in the dungeon while Belle holed up in her room in the East Wing. When Sora, Donald, and Goofy arrive and reunite with her, they are able to calm the Beast with support from Cogsworth. Belle tries to confront Xaldin on her own, but is met with a Heartless attack in the form of the Pureblood Shadow Stalker/Dark Thorn Heartless, which chases her into the ballroom before she escapes to safety on the outside balcony, leaving the Heartless to face Sora and the Beast, corrupting the ballroom with darkness to give it an advantage against them by turning the ballroom's own elements, such as the columns and chandelier, into weapons it could use against the Keyblade wielder and the Beast. After the creature was defeated, and Xaldin taunts the heroes briefly before retreating, the Beast apologizes to Belle, who accepts it, but scolds him for not trusting her. She later goes on a date with the Beast and prepares to dance with him in the ballroom until Xaldin interrupts the dance, much to Belle's annoyance at having her date ruined by Xaldin as he summons his personal Dragoon Nobodies to fight Sora and the Beast while Belle takes cover on the outside balcony with the servants. After Xaldin leaves, the Beast realizes that his enchanted rose is in danger, and arrives in the West Wing to find Xaldin had stolen it. He finds himself in despair after this discovery, and asks Belle to leave out of shame for his actions when he takes his frustration out on her before Sora intervenes and reprimands him for blaming her for what happened. Returning to her room in the East Wing and changing from her ballgown back to her regular clothes, Belle finds the rose on her balcony later on, but it's revealed to be a trap by Xaldin, who kidnaps her and forces the Beast to choose between her and the rose to leave behind. Beast chooses Belle, but Belle suddenly fights back against the Organization member and takes back the rose, forcing Xaldin to have to fight Sora, Donald, Goofy, and the Beast instead after losing both of his bargaining chips thanks to Belle. After Xaldin is defeated, Belle returns the rose to the Beast, who then asks her to stay with him in his castle, to which she happily accepts. The credits reveal that the Beast has transformed back into his human form of the Prince, apparently ending the Beauty and the Beast story arc in the series.
Disney Princess: Enchanted Journey[]
Unlike the other Princesses are featured in the game, Belle and her world play a minor role and acts as a mere mini-game. Belle and Lumiere are featured in the world and ask the player to eliminate the game's enemies (Bogs) before Beast finds out about their presence.
Disney Heroes: Battle Mode[]
Belle in Disney Heroes: Battle Mode
Belle appears in the fighting video game as playable character. Belle starts each fight reading her book, each time she turns a page in her book she receives energy. Belle can dodge attacks by doing a little jump which also additionally provide a shield to her. Every time she uses her main ability she switches from reading a book to carrying the stick (or vice versa) that she used to protect herself from wolves, just like in the movie, with her stick she can attack enemies herself. Belle also can summon Maurice's invention to attack enemies.
Belle has friendship campaigns with Quorra and Miguel Rivera. Belle also has friendship campaigns with Beast and Gaston.
Kinect: Disneyland Adventures[]
Belle appears as a meet-and-greet character in Fantasyland. She also takes part in the Mickey's Soundsational Parade and Princess Fantasy Faire mini-games. She is normally found outside the Princess Fantasy Faire, across from where Ariel stands by It's a Small World, and her first request upon speaking with her involves recovering several of the Beast's books that blew away in a thunderstorm. After they are found and returned to her, she then asks the player to see if they can find more, as ten more books are scattered around the park in the various lands that can be returned to her when they are all recovered. Her final request is to replace some of the Beast's pictures that he wrecked when he lost his temper one day. Completing her tasks unlocks her at the Princess Fantasy Faire as one of the Princesses the player can dance with.
Disney Dreamlight Valley[]
Belle is set to appear in this game, as shown in trailers and cover art. Belle was added into the game, along with her realm in the Dream Castle, and the Beast joining her, with the September 13th, 2023 update, following the addition of Vanellope von Schweetz in the DreamSnaps update before Belle's and after the June 2023 "The Remembering" update that added Cinderella's Fairy Godmother to the game as part of the completion of the main quest regarding The Forgetting. Gaston will be joining Belle and Beast in the upcoming expansion "Rift In Time" as one of the new characters found in the new biomes alongside EVE and Rapunzel while dealing with the actions of Jafar in those biomes.
Like with most characters from the realms in the Dream Castle, Belle and Beast will each need a quest in their realm done first before they are able to come to Dreamlight Valley. Accessing their door requires 12,500 Dreamlight to remove the Night Thorns blocking it, and to build their home based on Beast's castle through Scrooge McDuck's Construction Company, a cost of 20,000 Star Coins is needed to fund the project.
Upon entering the realm and finding Belle in the castle library, she needs help calming down the enchanted books that are flying about. Once done, she asks the player to sneak into the Beast's room in the West Wing due to her having an argument with him earlier and see what's wrong. After the player disguises themselves as Lumiere and sneaks into the West Wing, they learn from the Beast why the argument took place: He was upset at Belle for trying to fix his old portrait. The player agrees to help Belle and Beast with making a new one using Dreamlight Magic. Once that is done, and the player also helps Beast with his quest, then they can place Beast's castle in Dreamlight Valley, have Scrooge build it, and Belle will come to the Valley first, followed by Beast once delivered the letter from Belle assuring him the Valley is safe for him to come back.
A new Dream Style of Belle in her winter outfit from the "Something There" segment of the original 1991 animated film was released as a reward from the Royal Winter Star Path that was available from December 2023 to January 2024, among other items in tribute to Belle and her fellow Disney Princesses, such as the motif rewards being based on various items from their respective films, like a red rose for Belle, a bow and arrow for Merida, a glass slipper for Cinderella, etc.
Disney Speedstorm[]
Belle appears in the game as one of the playable racers. She's part of the 'Speedster' category and is one of the characters available since it's initial launch. Belle's unique skill is called "Enchanted Mirror" and allows Belle to either summon birds to help speed her up or summon obstacles to deter her foes.
Musical[]
Susan Egan as Belle in the stage adaptation.
A Broadway musical adaptation of the film premiered on Broadway on April 18, 1994, at the Palace Theatre with Susan Egan as the original Belle. Since then, many actresses including Deborah Gibson, Toni Braxton, Andrea McArdle, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Christy Carlson Romano, and Ashley Brown have played the role on Broadway. The show closed on July 29, 2007, at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater with Anneliese van der Pol as the show's final Belle.
Overall, Belle's role was the same as in the film, although some differences included Belle politely refusing Gaston's hand in marriage instead of tricking him into falling into a mud pool, joining Lumiere and dancing along with the dishes and silverware during the Be Our Guest musical number instead of just sitting at the dining table and merely observing the spectacle, and her being injured by the Beast when she entered the West Wing before fleeing instead of merely being scared off. Additionally, her role is expanded in the musical with songs "No Matter What" (cut in touring productions), "Home" and "A Change in Me".
Belle is also without Philippe in the stage version, instead of knitting a "lucky" scarf for Maurice to wear during his trip to the fair. Maurice is attacked by wolves before becoming a prisoner within the Beast's castle. His scarf is lost in the woods, and eventually found by LeFou. When LeFou is spotted in town with the scarf, he reveals to Belle the whereabouts in which he found it, prompting her to search for her potentially endangered father.
When given the library, Belle also reveals "King Arthur" to be amongst her favorite stories.
Disney Parks[]
Belle in Disneyland.
Disneyland Resort[]
At Disneyland, Belle can be spotted on a float in Mickey's Soundsational Parade. At the Fantasy Faire, Belle tells her tale with help from Lumiere, Mister Smythe, and Mister Jones in the Royal Theater.
Belle appears in the original version of World of Color in Disney California Adventure. She appears in the opening during the theme of the show shown ball dancing with Beast. She later appears starting the show's finale as she confesses her love for Beast, and he transforms into a handsome prince.
Belle is also prominently featured in Paint the Night parade, as part of a Princess-themed float, alongside Cinderella and Rapunzel.
Belle also frequently appears for meet-and-greets, both in her blue and gold dresses. More recently, though, the blue dress has been the only one seen due to the gold dress causing back issues to Cast Members.
Walt Disney World[]
In the former show held at the Magic Kingdom, Storytime with Belle, Belle would tell her story to an audience, some of which were chosen to act as characters in the story. The show then became part of the attraction, Enchanted Tales with Belle. In the same park, she can be seen making daily appearances in the first float of the Festival of Fantasy Parade. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Enchanted Tales with Belle is currently closed, but expected to reopen in full before the end of the Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary festivities.
Belle has her own spell card in the attraction Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom known as "Belle's Mountain Blizzard".
In Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage at Disney's Hollywood Studios, Belle appears and plays out her same role as in the film. In the same park, Belle can also be found in Fantasmic!, during the princess-themed medley. It also appeared at Disneyland Park (Paris) until 1997.
For meet-and-greets, she has made appearances with Gaston in the Magic Kingdom's New Fantasyland and alone at Epcot's World Showcase around the France Pavilion. Most of the time, she's seen in her blue peasant dress. However, during Epcot's International Festival of the Holidays, she'll wear her red and gold dress from The Enchanted Christmas while meeting Guests at the France Pavilion in the gazebo where Aurora would normally be found. While her attraction in New Fantasyland was closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, Belle can still be found in her cottage that the attraction starts at for meet-and-greets, though due to concerns from Cast Members regarding her gold ballgown hurting her back, she regularly appears in her blue and white village clothes, and her red and gold dress seen in the sequel when it is the Christmas season when it would be perfect to wear. When she could still wear her gold ballgown during cold weather, she wore a multi-layered long-sleeved winter version with a caplet to keep her shoulders and arms warm. If wearing her village dress during cold weather, she's seen wearing a blue cape or robe over her dress. With the reopening of Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in November 2022, Belle has been seen at Akershus wearing her gold ballgown again when interacting with Guests, indicating Disney Imagineers and tailors have mended it to avoid further harm to her. She has also been seen around Christmastime wearing her holiday dress at Enchanted Tales with Belle in the Magic Kingdom now during Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, even with the attraction still undergoing reopening. Enchanted Tales with Belle would finally reopen on February 19, 2023. She would be seen wearing her ballgown again outside of Akershus when meeting Guests with Beast on Valentine's Day alongside the other royal couples around the World Showcase, being in the France Pavilion where Belle normally meets Guests on her own in her village dress.
Belle is also seen wearing her Christmas dress in the Mickey's Once Upon a Christmastime Parade while riding on the main Disney Princess float with Beast, Ariel, Eric, Tiana, Naveen, Rapunzel, Flynn, Jasmine, Aladdin, Aurora, Phillip, and the Fairy Godmother. Cinderella and Prince Charming are in front in her pumpkin carriage, and Snow White and her prince in front of them in their gazebo float. If the main float for the Princesses is unavailable due to undergoing repairs by the maintenance Cast Members, and Cinderella's carriage is also unavailable, Belle rides in Snow White's gazebo float with her and the other Princesses as part of the parade's contingency plans. If Cinderella's carriage is out of action, but the main float is still available, Cinderella and Prince Charming ride with the Fairy Godmother, Belle, Beast, and the other royal couples instead while Snow White and her Prince remain on their gazebo float.
Tokyo Disney Resort[]
Belle is featured towards the end of Once Upon a Time, where she and Beast share a dance before the latter is attacked by Gaston. After Gaston's death, Belle is present to witness the Beast's transformation into a human. Belle and Beast also appear as the centerpiece for the Beauty and the Beast unit of Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade: DreamLights.
Disneyland Paris[]
In Paris, she, who presented by Rosie and Louis, holds a mask while entering The Starlit Princess Waltz as part of the 25th Anniversary, and its 2019 Christmas season, The Royal Sparkling Winter Waltz. Princesses hold fans and switch them and dance with Beast/Adam and princes.
At the Walt Disney Studios Park, Belle appears in Mickey and the Magician, sharing a ballroom waltz with Beast during Lumiere's segment of the show.
Hong Kong Disneyland[]
Belle is featured in the Flights of Fantasy Parade, along with the other Princesses on the Swan airboat, called Romance Takes Wing. She has also featured in the Paint the Night Parade as part of a Beauty and the Beast-themed float.
Shanghai Disneyland[]
Belle is featured on the Beauty and the Beast display in Voyage to the Crystal Grotto. A statue depicting Belle and Beast can also be found in the Shanghai Disneyland Hotel.
Disney Cruise Line[]
In Believe aboard the Disney Dream, Belle appears alongside Mrs. Potts in Lumiere's segment of the show.
Other appearances[]
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade[]
Belle was among the characters riding on the new float representing the Disney Cruise Line in the 2024 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Dubbed "Magic Meets The Seas", the float represented all eight of the ships currently in service with the fleet, or currently being constructed, from the Disney Magic to the Disney Treasure as the ones currently in operation, and the ones in construction in the Disney Adventure and Disney Destiny. Joining the Sensational Six in Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, and Pluto, along with fellow Disney Princesses Tiana, Moana, and Jasmine, and with them, Aladdin, Naveen, Mirabel, her uncle Bruno, Miguel, Spider-Man, and Black Panther, Belle, wearing a blue cape over her village dress as part of her winter attire, and supplied an umbrella by the Macy's staff for all the volunteers and Cast Members taking part in the parade due to the rainy weather on Thanksgiving Day, rode on the float from Central Park West to 34th Street and Herald's Square, where after a commercial break by NBC just as they reached Herald's Square, giving the Cast Members more time to prepare, upon being formally introduced by Al Roker and his co-hosts, they put on a performance of the Disney Treasure stage show, "Live The Adventure". Upon finishing, Belle and the rest of the characters and their supporting Cast Members wished everyone a happy Thanksgiving and happy holidays before the float made its way to the end of the parade route. Following the parade's conclusion, Belle and the other characters returned home to Disneyland in Anaheim and Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista to resume their duties with the holiday festivities at the parks and on the ships while they were in port until summoned for next year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
As of now, while Disney and Macy's discuss the 2025 parade and Disney's participation in it, Belle's participation in currently unknown.
Disney Princess[]
Belle's popularity and strong characterization led her to become a member of the Disney Princess franchise.
Redesign[]
Belle received many changes in her late 2012 redesign.
Her gown now possesses the same gold color from the film instead of the yellow color in the previous franchise, however, the bottom half is now decorated with glittery designs of roses.
The off-the-shoulder part of the dress is made of cream-colored organza and pinned in the front by three pearls of varying sizes. Her evening gloves match the color and material of the dress's shoulders.
In early redesigns, Belle's sleeves were covering her shoulders instead of revealing them.
Palace Pets[]
Belle's Palace Pets are Teacup, Petit, Rouge, Booksy, Page, and Lacy.
Differences from the source material[]
The film is based on a 1756 fairy tale by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, itself an abridged and rewritten version of La Belle et la Bête by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, but there are several notable differences:
- "Beauty" is the character's nickname. Her actual name is never mentioned.
- Beauty has three brothers and two selfish older sisters (six and five in Villeneuve's version). According to screenwriter Linda Woolverton, she removed the siblings to keep the focus on Belle's strained relationship with Gaston-a character created specifically for the film-as well as to avoid similarity with Drizella and Anastasia Tremaine from Cinderella.
- The family used to be wealthy until the father lost all his fortune at sea (early development in the film originally used this backstory, but it ended up cut). Beauty does not mind peasant life and makes the most of it. With Belle, it's the opposite, as she expresses boredom towards provincial life in the opening song.
- Beauty's father incurs the Beast's wrath by taking a rose from his garden, which Beauty had asked him to bring back as a gift.
- The father is allowed to go home and return with one of his daughters to take his place, whereas Maurice is imprisoned in the castle until Belle finds him.
- There are no servants that have been turned into household objects, although in Villeneuve's version there are birds and monkeys who act like servants.
- Although Beauty is frightened of the Beast, they get along relatively well. She believes he is good-natured if somewhat stupid, and he promises to leave her alone if his presence troubles her. He also asks her to marry him every night but she declines.
- The magic mirror in which Belle/Beauty sees her father is present in Beaumont's version, but in Villeneuve's there are instead enchanted windows through which she views theatrical performances.
- Beauty asks to visit her father, as he is alone after his other daughters got married and his sons joined the army (to return to the castle, she simply has to lay her ring on a table before she goes to bed). Belle, on the other hand, is released permanently after learning her father is sick in the woods.
- Beauty's sisters feign kindness to convince her to stay longer than she had promised in hopes that the Beast will become angry and eat her. She decides to go back after dreaming of the Beast dying of a broken heart. In Villeneuve's version, it is the brothers who ask her to stay because they truly love her.
- Beauty finds the Beast near death and revives him by pouring water on his head. She accepts his marriage proposal and he transforms back into a prince. The film dramatizes this scene by including the angry mob of villagers and Gaston stabbing the Beast.
- In Beaumont's version, a beautiful lady that Beauty dreamt about reveals herself to be a good fairy and punishes Beauty's sisters by turning them into statues. They are destined to remain as such until they realize the error of their ways.
- Villeneuve's version includes a third act not present in either the film or Beaumont's version: both the good fairy and the prince's mother appear, the latter of whom thanks Beauty for saving her son but refuses to let the two marry because Beauty is not royalty. The fairy reveals that this is not true as Beauty is actually the prince's first cousin. The prince was left in the care of his fairy godmother after his father died and his mother went to war. When his mother returned many years later, the prince had grown up and his godmother wanted to marry him. The prince and his mother refused and the godmother turned him into a beast who can only be saved by an act of true love. As the pair were about to commit suicide, the good fairy intervened as she knew a solution. Before this, her sister was secretly married to the prince's uncle, the king of "Fortunate Island", but the fairy kingdom forbade having a family with mortals before a certain age. After Beauty's birth, the same godmother revealed the family's existence. Beauty's mother was jailed and Beauty was cursed to marry a beast. When the king rejected the wicked godmother's affections, she hired two people to murder the infant Beauty. The good fairy, in the form of a bear, killed the couple and secretly put Beauty in the place of a wealthy merchant's deceased baby. She therefore arranged for Beauty and the Beast to meet so they could break each other's respective curses.
Relationships[]
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Despite the title of the film and what is said in the opening song, Belle's name literally translates as "beautiful" in French (the word "beauty" is actually "beauté"). However, the title of the original story is La Belle et la Bête.
- Belle's movements maintain an air of elegance. This was at the request of the story writers and producers of Beauty and the Beast, where they studied the movements of ballerinas during the course of Belle's development. Like ballerinas, Belle walks diligently and swiftly on her toes no matter what types of shoes she is wearing or where she is located. She can subconsciously navigate her way through a crowded street while reading, without colliding with any other people or objects (although having several near-misses), at one point even deflecting water that was about to pour on top of her while she was reading without once looking up.
- Belle's eyes were originally going to be gray, but in the final cut, they were hazel. She is currently the only official Disney Princess to have hazel eyes.
- In the New Fantasyland, Belle's cottage shows a picture of her reading with her mother―a beautiful woman with wavy, light brown hair, blue eyes, and wearing a pink dress. One wall in the cottage also has height marks up until her 18th birthday, suggesting she maybe 18 years old during the films. Based on this painting, her mother, when she was still alive, probably looked exactly like Belle but with lighter hair and blue eyes.
- The New Fantasyland attraction also implied with the height wall that Belle may have been born in the village, which contradicted a theory stemmed from a brief lyric in the opening song, that implied that Belle and her father had moved to the village sometime prior to the events of the original film.
- The book Belle viewed as her favorite was also shown in the attraction to be "le Songe d'une femme" (lit. "the dream of a woman"), as a possible nod to Sleeping Beauty. It also revealed that, at least by the events of the movie, she had at least two copies of Sleeping Beauty: The one her mom read to her when she was a child (thus explaining why it was her favorite, as well as why she loved reading), and the other being the book she got from the bookstore during the opening song.
- In addition, James Baxter, Belle's supervising animator, mentioned that Belle was "a few years older than Ariel," implying that Belle was at least 18 years old as Ariel is stated to be 16 in her own movie.
- Before Paige O'Hara got the role of Belle, the producers first considered Jodi Benson, who was best known as the voice of Ariel, to voice Belle. Benson, however, did voice Belle in Disney's House of Mouse.
- In the beginning of the original 1989 storyline, found on the Diamond Edition DVD, Belle's birthday is celebrated, and the cake reads "Happy 17th Birthday Belle", providing evidence that she is 17 in the movie, or at least that she was originally planned to be 17.
- Belle was nominated for AFI's 100 Year...100 Hero and Villain list, one of the three animated heroes and one of three Disney animated heroes, along with Peter Pan, Mary Poppins, and Buzz Lightyear. Unfortunately, none of them made the cut.
- A costume of Belle, as well as the rest of the Disney Princesses (excluding Mulan, Pocahontas, Merida, and Moana), has been released on the video game Little Big Planet 2 as downloadable content from the PlayStation Store.
- In the comic adaptation of the film, Belle wears her pinny more often and her ponytail like Gaston's stays intact even though it's raining.
- One poster for the film for some reason showed Belle in a pink-and-purple dress, which she never wears in the original movie.
- In the Gargoyles episode "Eye of the Beholder", Elisa Maza dresses up as Belle for Halloween and shares a relationship with Goliath, similar to Belle's relationship with the Beast. However, Goliath is a beast turned into a human, unlike the Beast, whose circumstance is the polar opposite.
- In the climax of The Haunted Mansion, Elizabeth Henshaw's ghost appears in a golden dress with opera gloves similar to that of Belle's iconic ensemble. Her love interest Master Gracey is dressed in a blue jacket with gold trim similar to that of the Beast's outfit.
- Paige O'Hara, the first voice actor for Belle, does a fan artwork of Belle on her official website and sells the artwork.[3]
- The books Belle has read are Jack and the Beanstalk, Sleeping Beauty, and Romeo and Juliet (the last of which is only in "Human Again" on the Special Edition). She was also shown to have read the Cinderella fairy tale during the first segment from Belle's Magical World. In the musical (and in the storyboard), she has also read King Arthur.
- In The Enchanted Christmas, the book that Belle wrote and wrapped together was the original tale for Beauty and the Beast.
- Contrary to popular belief, it's not made clear whether Belle was actually born a peasant, as she implies that she wasn't born in her home village in the opening song, but rather moved there.
- In the musical, specifically the song "No Matter What" one of the lyrics had Maurice stating "You are your mother's daughter; therefore you are class ... crème de la crème", implying that Belle was part of the social upper class. This was also supported by Belle having a portrait of her and her mom in the Enchanted Tales of Belle attraction.
- Similarly, it was never stated where Belle had moved from other than it presumably being another location in France. The book "Belle's Discovery" as well as the live-action remake would later state that she had originally lived in Paris.
- Belle being carried by the Prince near the end of the film is a reference to the poster of It's a Wonderful Life where George Bailey holds his wife.
- Belle's blue peasant outfit closely resembles the one worn by an extra during the third act of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966), though this is almost certainly coincidence.
- In the activity book Wedding Wishes, Belle ended up tossing the bouquet to the Bimbettes.
- Belle is the only character in her village who wears blue. The animators wanted to accentuate how out of place she seems, so they paid extra close attention to her wardrobe, making sure that Belle would be the only member of the town to wear blue, whilst the other townsfolk sported more rustic and earthy colors such as red, green, orange, gray, and brown.
- The green and rose dresses Belle wears can be briefly seen stored on the left side of the Wardrobe and displayed to Belle during her first night of captivity when she was asked to join the Beast for dinner.
- In the fifth issue of Marvel Comics, when Belle rejects Gaston in the flashback and the triplets enviously note Gaston's obsession with Belle, they state that she doesn't even go to dances at the village. This was a subtle reference to the original tale, where Beauty preferred to stay at home reading good books, which often got her mocked by her sisters, who by contrast liked to go to balls, public walks, and plays.
- Belle is mentioned in the Disney Channel Original Movie Smart House.
- Belle has previously been voiced by two other princess voice actresses. Jodi Benson voiced Ariel in The Little Mermaid, while Susan Egan voiced Megara in Hercules, respectively.
- In the animated films, Belle only sings on screen when she wears her blue villager dress.
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ "Short Film Winners: 1992 Oscars" (Video). YouTube (March 23, 2015). Retrieved on September 6, 2016.
- ↑ "Disney Princess Enchanted Tales" (Video). Free Webs.
- ↑ "Paige O'Hara - Website". Paige O'Hara.
External links[]
Belle (Beauty and the Beast) on Wikipedia
Belle on Kingdom Hearts WikiBelle on Disney Princess Wiki
Belle on Disney Tsum Tsum Wiki
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