deepestbluesky

lol i have cured myself of the urge to write a beauty and the beast au by rewatching the movie, i think. (note: this is probably a lie, but i'm at least feeling less passionate about it.) turns out it's just not a very good story? music still kicks ass, as to be expected from a menken/ashman musical. i'm still mad at my author for the way they're talking about it though so. post it is.

an incomplete list of reasons i've decided that disney's beauty and the beast isn't, like, actually very good?

it takes place over like. three days? i know this is pretty common for animated movies because it's not really about the timeframe, it's about the emotional arc, but i think for this one in particular, it actually undermines the emotional arc. also the timeline keeps whacking me over the head
the fact that everyone in the castle gets cursed along with the prince is super in keeping with fairy tales, but i don't think the movie really engages with the fact that it means this WHOLE ARMY OF PEOPLE is depending on someone falling in love? fucked up.
relatedly... 'Life is so unnerving/For a servant who's not serving/He's not whole without a soul to wait upon' NO BAD TERRIBLE GET OUT OF HERE WITH THIS BULLSHIT!!
obviously respecting the boundaries of the person who is imprisoning you against your will is pretty understandable and also necessary in many adventure stories, but like. damn. belle really never seems to admit that it was at least a little rude to break into the beast's bedroom?
the beast never actually seems to learn the lesson he was meant to? like, sure he's nice to belle and sweet and kind etc, but the fairy cursed him because he didn't learn to see beyond appearances and also because he wasn't nice to people when it didn't benefit him. and like? how does that change? he still refuses to let maurice stay. there's no particular indication that he's any less dismissive of people he considers beneath him.
Why Are The Only Other Women In This Story Matrons Or Young Pretty Women Who Only Care About Chasing Men
the fact that all the servants/furniture are like. totally dismissive of belle's very real concerns about the beast? and super chill with her being a prisoner and also immediately start being like 'how can we make her fall in love'? it's very 'you are not a person, you are a plot device'
WHY does the beast HEAL from a STAB WOUND when he turns HUMAN AGAIN????
it is hilariously hypocritical of me to say this, but reading books doesn't actually a personality make. belle wants adventure! and for someone to understand her! and she's sweet and nurturing and loves her father! and like.... okay i guess. idk i just find her fairly uninteresting.
gaston remains one of my most hated disney villains, which has been true since i was a kid (although i'd forgotten it). so like, this is actually a plus, good job well done! but i genuinely get uncomfortable watching some of his scenes. the mob song is scary as hell.
it's just sooooo instant love. like. yes there's a montage of them getting closer, but even at the start of it, right after the wound tending, they're ALREADY feeling ~something there that wasn't there before~. WHEN BEFORE, THE DAY BEFORE, WHEN YOU MET??? AND WHEN YOU NEARLY BOTH DIED???