Fridge / Beauty and the Beast (2017)

Fridge Brilliance

• Of course Gaston would have a large dose of Adaptational Villainy! Considering how the Beast has a large dose of Adaptational Heroism, this was just to make them more different towards each other than they were in the animated adaptation.
• Changing the source of Belle's borrowed books from a bookstore to the personal collection village priest makes perfect sense. Books of that type in the mid-1700s would have been very expensive and a town as small as theirs would have no real use for a bookstore. A priest, on the other hand, would be expected to be well read and would have connections to get books from the church or other clergy for free or cheap.
• One of the excluded verses from the original "Gaston" song is replaced by a verse that uses the same rhyming scheme.
  "Gaston", animated: There is no one as burly or brawny / As you see, I've got biceps to spare / Not a bit of him's scraggly or scrawny / And every last inch of me's covered with hair
  "Gaston", live-action: When I hunt, I sneak up with my quiver / And beasts on the field say a prayer / First I carefully aim for the liver / Then I shoot from behind / Is that fair? / I don't care
  • The line of Gaston being used to strike from behind, and LeFou objecting, can be linked to their past as soldiers, as the clothes they wear can be linked to two precise regiments: Gaston was a gendarme (pistol-armed light cavalry), that to be effective had to attack from the flanks or from behind, while LeFou was in line infantry, that prized itself in facing the enemy head-on and taking everything they threw at them.
    • Gaston is also a hunter of all sorts of game, and some are too fast, or just too dangerous, for any approach but an ambush.
• Some scenes in the film may seem like Narm, but if you think about it, they actually make sense in context.
  • Despite the absolutely glorious CGI spectacle of "Be Our Guest" being unleashed in front of her, Belle's expressions during the song are mostly a somewhat vacant, bemused smile. Belle's limited reactions make it feel like they're not in the same room together, preventing the scene from gelling together. However, because the film has taken a more realistic approach, since, as Mrs. Potts quoted, Belle has lost her father and her freedom in one day and is obviously trying to escape the castle by the time Mrs. Potts came to invite her to dinner, it make sense that although she enjoys the whole spectacle, she wouldn't be enjoying it as much as her animated counterpart. Especially her line after the song, "I don't understand why you're all being so kind to me. Surely you're as trapped here as I am. Don't you ever want to escape?".
  • The Beast in the animated movie freaks out when Belle gets close to the enchanted rose, smashing things and screaming at her to Get Out!, terrifying her. In this movie, he just shouts at her a bit and Belle runs away while declaring she can't stay a minute longer, making her reaction look out of proportion, not Beast's. However, the Beast's reaction was also out of proportion as, unlike the animated film, Belle does not try to touch the rose; in fact, she doesn't even remove the glass casing, yet The Beast still screams in her face to Get Out! just for merely looking at something that would garner attention. Furthermore, Cogsworth was the one who told Belle not to go to the west wing... only to try covering it up with Lumiere. This in turn gave Belle more reason to go to the west wing, as they had not once said it was forbidden, and more right to say to the Beast, "You should learn to control your temper!".
  • Meta-example. It already makes sense that she was in a hurry to rescue her father during "Evermore", but then it was pointed out that she might catch hypothermia due to the cold. However, it still makes sense visually, because as the Beast sings "Evermore", he watches her as she leaves in her yellow ballgown against the dark blue landscape until she disappears from sight. Yellow is often the color of joy, so basically the Beast is watching as his only source of joy disappears from sight.
• It seems like a bit of a Plot Hole that Belle doesn't use the Portal Book to save her father. But this would have been a very bad idea. Appearing out of nowhere to an already worked-up crowd that is superstitious would likely have her be seen as a witch and, well, what happens next would be obvious. Also, it's unknown how exactly a return feature for the book works. If it requires putting in a new location for each jump, then Gaston could have used it to take the mob to the castle much quicker. If there is some other criteria, then Belle is forced to try and pull that off under stressful conditions. None of these is a remotely good plan.
  • The simpler (if uncreative) explanation could be that Belle didn't think about it at the moment. She just saw her father being in trouble, Beast tells her not to lose any time, and indeed she didn't even go to her room to get out of that rather impractical dress. The only thing she takes with her is the mirror (and that rose-toy, apparently hidden in Hammerspace).
  • It's also a bit of a catch-22. Belle had just told the Beast she didn't know if she was happy - "how can you be happy if you aren't free?" The Portal Book might seem like the simplest solution, but if the Beast hadn't truly let Belle go free, she might not have actually fallen for him.
• The designs for the staff makes a lot more sense in hindsight. Unlike the original film, this is meant to show that they are slowly losing more and more humanity. Now if they are becoming close to being real furniture, they should look like it. So thus the design like Mrs. Potts's painted look or Plumette's bird-like state makes sense for intricate things. It makes their final scenes before the curse finally takes hold have a bit more punch to them, as we see Mrs. Potts's and Chip's faces fade away, Cadenza losing his ability to speak, and Plumette being the first casualty in Lumiere's arms.
• After the spell is broken, it may seem… strange for Mrs. Potts to comment that her now human son smells so good. But then you remember: Chip has been a tea cup for years! He must practically smell like tea after serving it for years.
  • More to the point, she probably wasn't able to smell anything in her enchanted state.
    • As a Heartwarming add-on, research has shown that mothers can recognize their children's distinct scents even into adulthood. Mrs. Potts wasn't just smelling her child for the first time in forever, she was smelling her baby.
• Comparison between the first Maurice's inventions and this Maurice's devices is symbolic in how far we've come in technology. The first Maurice's wood-chopping contraption is a bulky thing the size of a refrigerator, just like earlier computers and walkie-talkies from the 80s and 90s. The Maurice in this movie makes tiny, light-weight devices where he can hold the mechanism in the palm of his hand, just like laptops and smart-phones.
• Belle picking out the parts Maurice needs before he can name them not only serves to display her mechanical know-how, but also saves any technophiles in the audience from becoming exasperated because 'that's not the word for that part' if Kevin Kline gets the names wrong.
• Although odd that the servants retain parts of their enchantment, like Lumiere's hair smoking, or the Prince growling like a Beast, it's suiting. First, they've had the enchantment on them for so long, some parts of the spell were bound to rub off on them. Second, you might say the spell left its "scars" on those it afflicted. And as mentioned in the Disney movie Moana, "Scars can heal and reveal just where you are". That way, their scars will always remind them that they changed for the better because of their enchantment.
• Turning the servants into objects over time still seems a bit nonsensical, but with the new exposition, it makes more sense:
  • The Prince surrounded himself with "the most beautiful objects:" having his only human contact turned into literal objects drives home the idea that he treats people like things.
  • The servants did nothing to stop the prince from behaving like a beast, though Mrs. Potts says that they could have. In other words, they were as useless as inanimate objects.
  • As a bonus, it also allowed them to remain ageless for years.
  • Also, the Prince is responsible for the conduct and livelihood of his servants. Decisions made by him will affect them, so having the curse affect them as well serves to remind the Prince of the consequences of his actions. It's harsh, but as discussed extensively in many places, the entire curse was harsh.
• Why does the curse include people who were only visitors to the castle (like Maestro Cadenza and Madame de Garderobe), when they didn't have a hand in raising the prince? Notice the crowd when he casts out the Enchantress: they could say or do something to object, but they do nothing.
• Building on the above: much has been made of Cadenza and Garderobe getting hit with Collateral Damage as part of the spell, but the more I think about it, the more sense their particular punishments make:
  • They were already guests in the Prince's castle — in other words, they were receiving Sacred Hospitality, and should have spoken up for those who also needed it.
  • Similarly, the servants were likely all terrified of the Prince already, and knew that if they defended the beggar woman, they might lose their jobs (or even worse). But Cadenza and Garderobe are established musical stars, and could have easily leveraged their fame into shaming the prince ("If you don't let that old woman in, we'll leave, and the party will be ruined"). But instead they hung back and said nothing; another troper has noticed that Madame Garderobe even looks angry that her singing has been interrupted instead of being concerned for a wandering, freezing old woman. So the Enchantress not only curses them, she curses them hard.
  • Because they hung back and acted immobile when they could have said something, the Enchantress turns them into gigantic, cumbersome pieces of furniture.
  • Mrs. Potts gets to take comfort in the knowledge that she still has her son with her, and that Mr. Potts has been spared the agony of remembering her transformed state; similarly, Plumette and Lumiere, though both objects, are mobile and are permitted to spend their time together. But because Cadenza and Garderobe were so selfish in the beginning, the Enchantress made sure that they got the worst of both worlds: they know that the other person is in the castle and long for them every day, but because of their bulky size and lack of mobility, they can never be together.
  • Madame Garderobe is used to being the center of attention as an opera diva, so the Enchantress made her something that the Beast has no use for (at least the other servants could make him tea or light his chamber) — a woman's wardrobe tucked away, all alone, in a room that he never enters. Similarly, Cadenza is something of a prima donna himself, so he's turned into something that reminds the Beast of the worst night of his life, and gets pushed away from the other servants.
  • Because of their status as literal outsiders, Garderobe and Cadenza aren't quite members of the castle's "family" of servants. This explains why Garderobe is having such a hard time staying awake — the spell is hitting her harder because she has less to do than the others, and it's almost easier for her to surrender into being a wardrobe rather than fighting to lift the curse. Cadenza spends most of his time composing gloomy music all alone, so he doesn't get involved much either. It's only when they realize that they have to work to save each other — and by extension, the rest of the castle —that they start becoming more involved in the plot (see: Garderobe providing Belle with a truly beautiful gown, Cadenza offering music for the dances and songs, and the two fighting like mad in the final battle).
  • And last but not least, in the finale, the two have abandoned their showy clothing (which made them appear wealthier than the servants) and happily join the others in the wedding party. It's not clear if they'll stay on as full-time staff, but at least they learned to focus more on their love and other people than their careers.
• The meaning behind Belle's lines about being "Wiser but unsure" in "Days in the Sun":
  • Her sad lyrics about how she can't go back to her childhood bliss poignantly reflects how fans of the 1991 version of the movie are no longer as young as they used to be.
  • Before she learned about the Beast's father, Belle would've never imagined anyone's father being so cruel. She's the wonderful person she is today because her father raised her right, but she never imagined it could go both ways.
• No wonder Villeneuve is such a poor provincial town! In the narration, it's mentioned that the Prince heavily taxed his people. By the time the spell was cast and the Castle was forgotten, Villeneuve forgot they even had a Prince who owed them all their money.
  • In any economy, wealth is constantly being generated and consumed; the taxation would have been a blow, but the townspeople should have eventually recovered. If they were short on actual currency, more would have been brought in via trade over time. 
  • Yeah, but it would have still been a blow.
  • Looking at Gaston and LeFou's uniforms one can guess the film is set in 1760... In the middle of the economic crisis caused by the War of Austrian Succession and during the Seven Years War. The Prince may not be taxing them much, but the King is doing just that.
• Why was the Beast less hesitant to let Belle go free than he was in the first movie? Because he learned secondhand what love is, from Belle's late mother. She had let Maurice and Belle leave Paris so they wouldn't catch The Plague. She could've made them stay, so she wouldn't spend her final hours alone. But as a wise little snowman once said: "Love is putting others' needs before your own." And such selflessness inspired the Beast to let Belle save her father.
  • Also, the Beast knows at this point that Maurice is not the "common thief" he presumed he was. Perhaps, letting Belle come to his aid is his way of making amends for all he did to this innocent and brave man.
• Nobody dies like Gaston but Gaston himself.
• During the Mob Song, Monsieur Jean, who is one of the few people in the village who is kind to Belle, is the one to sing the "[He'll] come to sacrifice our children to his monstrous appetite" verse and use it as his reason for wanting the Beast dead. While this might not seem like anything to think about at first glance, it adds a lot more depth once you learn that he is actually Mr. Potts Suddenly, it makes much more sense as to why the seemingly kind and gentle Monsieur Jean would even come as part of Gaston and the mob's castle invasion: even though he has forgotten that he is Mrs. Potts's husband and Chip's father because of the curse, his parental instincts have not been erased at all, and unlike the other villagers, who are mostly fearing for themselves, his mind immediately goes to protecting the village children, despite the fact that he can't remember his own.
  • It does explain something else. In the beginning, Belle mentions she just finished reading a romance book about two lovers. Jean comments it "sounds boring". It may be Played for Laughs, but the reason he dismisses it is because he's married, to Mrs. Potts. He's already found his true love, even if he can't remember her. So he's lost his appetite for phony, fictional stories about love.
• The symbolism of the Prince's make-up in the opening. In the beginning, he's only into things with outer-beauty, ergo artificial and temporary beauty. Just like the make-up on the Prince, which is unnatural beauty and will eventually wash off. But later, when we see the Beast changed back into a Prince, he has no make-up on. This represents how he's learned to appreciate true, inner beauty. We see his face, natural and real as the love that broke the spell! Further, we see the Beast attempt to wear make-up again for the ball he throws for Belle, but in his new form, it looks about as ridiculous as you'd expect, symbolizing how many of the trappings of his younger, callower self don't fit him any more now that he's grown.
  • Similarly, Madame de Garderobe, Maestro Cadenza, and even Frou-Frou are dressed/made up in super-elaborate and almost garish clothing and facial decoration during the Masquerade Ball (although Frou-Frou is just wrapped in an extremely uncomfortable-looking outfit). At the end of the movie, they've lost the make-up and ornate costuming as well, and look much more naturally attractive. It's all another reminder about how artifice (like the original Prince and Gaston) never works out, and that inner beauty is what truly matters.
    • On the same note about Madame de Garderobe and her dog, it's symbolic of how she's gone from seeing her dog as a doll to dress and pretty up, to recognizing him as a pet and an animal companion. Given all those years she was under the enchantment, it's not hard to imagine she and Frou-Frou bonded beautifully.
• It just came to me: the music box! It's a Shout-Out to the alternate (deleted) opening of the animated movie, where Belle's father was going to town to sell off their prized music box depicting himself pushing Belle's mother on a swing.
• Belle’s difficulties with the Stay in the Kitchen and Anti-Intellectualism tropes may have seemed a bit forced in this movie, but the controversy of women’s expanding role was Truth in Television for that time period.
  • Due to the industrial revolution, modern medicine and advanced farming techniques were becoming both widespread and easy to produce, meaning the death toll brought about by sickness, shortages, and childbirth were drastically reduced. That, plus the extended life expectancy, were leading to a population boom heretofore unseen. Since women no longer needed to produce as many children as possible to keep the population afloat, they had considerably more free time to pursue other interests and expand their roles. Of course, this clashed with the Stay in the Kitchen mentality that had thus far existed since time immemorial^note arguably for a good reason; those cultures that hadn’t compelled their women to bear as many children as possible usually lost out to those who did, or had fewer numbers to hold out against disaster like plague, famine, and war.
    • Naturally, the effects of industry would first be felt in the major cities like Paris (where Belle's parents were from), whereas backwater towns like Villeneuve would be the last to experience such changes. Of course a "city girl" like Belle would be exceptionally out of place during that time period.
    • This may also explain some of the townsfolk's excessive animosity; as agricultural economies were finding it increasingly difficult to compete with urban industry, there was considerable bad blood between "the country" and "the city folk" during that period. Witness the Luddites smashing up weaving machinery in the early 19th century.
• The Enchantress has gotten a lot of flack in this movie for her mistreatment of all the innocent bystanders within the Beast's castle, and how she didn't punish Gaston in a similar way for being noticeably worse. Yet this movie's main theme is the realization that one was wrong about someone or something, and then finding the humility to accept it. The Beast was transformed when he wouldn't admit to his own vanity and arrogance. Belle realized that she misjudged the Beast when she learned about his past, and began finding redeeming qualities the moment she bothered to look. The servants of the castle acknowledge that they should have done more to protect or influence the Prince — Mrs. Potts outright says that they've made their beds and will have to lie in them — and while they try to facilitate the pair falling in love, they don't put pressure or guilt on Belle. By contrast, Gaston couldn't find the humility to see the villain he had become, and paid for it with his life, after he could have walked away unharmed. The iconic song even spells it out; Bittersweet and strange / Finding you can change / learning you were wrong! . This is reflected in the climax, when the curse becomes permanent. The servants were mere items, the Beast was dead, and the final petal had fallen. The Enchantress would have suffered zero consequences had she simply walked away, yet she herself realizes just how cruel and unnecessary her own curse had become, and decided to lift it by her own will. She learned that she was wrong, just like the other protagonists.
• How did the Beast so quickly identify that Belle's mother was afflicted with the plague? It likely claimed his own mother too. Doubles as a Tear Jerker, especially once he realizes that he earlier called Maurice selfish.
• Why is the Beast especially angry at Maurice for stealing a single rose? This may be a shot in the dark, but perhaps, the rose tree belonged to his late mother.
  • This could offer a possible theory for why the Beast lost his temper at Maurice in the animated film: that chair he was sitting in, it belonged to his late father.
  • Belle asking for the rose and the Beast being furious for its theft come from the original story written by Villeneuve though in different circumstances: there the Beauty's father took shelter in the castle, dined on food and drinks he found apparently left for him, and upon leaving took a rose that he had promised his daughter as a gift, at which point the Beast finally appears and announces he'll kill him for the theft, only to change the punishment in having the Beauty sent to him as a fiancee after being told of the reason for it.
  • Both Beast's punishment and Maurice's are for violation of Sacred Hospitality. The prince did not take in a woman in dire need despite it being easily within his means, when he should have taken anyone in no matter the request. The Beast then provides everything for Maurice, and Maurice then proceeds to steal from him, again violating the contract of guest and host.
• Why does LeFou change sides first? As somebody who's known Gaston during the war, he's seen Gaston's heroics first-hand, so it's not just the guy's looks that matter (he comes up with much more than 'looks' during "Gaston"). And then, as the man who knows the best side of Gaston, he sees him degenerate into this monster, despite all his attempts to stop it. And he's the only gay man in a small backwater village. Gay men in the 1700s were unacceptable freaks and weirdos who could either hide it, or be tarred and feathered and kicked out of town. In a way, LeFou is just as much of an outcast as Belle is, and knows how small-minded people can be. He knows looks aren't everything. Finally, he decides that Mrs. Potts is right — he's better than this 'beast'.
• LeFou's line "Well, it's a complicated question to answer on a number of accounts" when Gaston asks him if he tried to kill "the father of the only woman he's ever loved" is a valid answer, seeing as Gaston only saw Belle as a trophy.
• There's a Running Gag of Maestro Cadenza losing "teeth" throughout the film (his piano keys, in his enchanted form), capped off with him machine-gunning a group of villagers with his keys and his human form being revealed to be virtually toothless. One interpretation is that his teeth were falling out already before he was enchanted (perhaps due to an untreated oral infection), another would be that he had already lost his teeth and the keys coming loose were his enchanted dentures.
  • As a Harpsichord, what are Cadenza's teeth made out of? Piano keys. What are piano keys made of? Ivory. Where does ivory come from? Elephant tusks. What are elephant tusks essentially? Teeth!
• Maurice making casual small talk with Monsieur D'Arque after he and Belle broke out of D'Arque's wagon can be read a couple of different ways: A bit of funny banter before the film's climax, or an implied threat, Maurice reminding D'Arque that he's alone with a potential Papa Wolf if he causes any problems.
  • It's also Maurice's Take That! for being treated like a "lunatic". He's basically implying "Tell me something, D'Arque, ever seen a 'crazy' person dismantle your lock before?"
• On so many profound levels, Agathe has good reason to save Maurice's life considering she is the enchantress in disguise:
  • Some sixth sense told her Maurice still had a purpose in this life.
  • She might empathize with Maurice, because she knows how it feels to be left to die, as that's what the Prince condemned her to when he refused her shelter as a beggar woman.
  • She somehow knew Belle would eventually use the magic mirror to look upon her father. If she hadn't saved him, Maurice would've been eaten by wolves as Gaston intended. Looking upon her father's entrails eaten by wolves would've devastated Belle and killed any chance of her falling in love with the Beast.
  • He wouldn't be in this situation if not for her curse.
• Agathe also exemplifies that looks can be deceiving, not just because she's the Enchantress, but because of her shelter in the woods. When first introduced, Gaston used her as an example of how women who don't marry in the village have no future. But if her shelter is any indication, she can actually take care of herself by living off the land. Maybe it foreshadows how Belle is stronger and much more capable than Gaston gives her credit for?
• Why would Beast scorn Romeo and Juliet and find it ridiculous? Romeo and Juliet fall in Love at First Sight, exactly the opposite of what happens in this story where their love takes time. Of course a man with a form like his would find love at first sight preposterous.
  • Further, most of the cast of Romeo and Juliet end up dead as a result of the ill-fated romance. Hardly the example Beast wants to think about in his situation.
• As mentioned elsewhere, those wolves must be starving, since wolves tend to only attack humans if they're really desperate. Well, of course they're desperate — the forest is locked into an eternal winter! Eternal winter = no growing plants = no food for the wolves' usual prey to eat = no reason for the wolves' usual prey to come to that forest anyway = the usual prey isn't there for the wolves to eat. Those poor wolves haven't had a fitting meal since the curse hit! And as for why they don't just leave for new hunting ground... Well, remember how some people think those dancers at the Prince's ball were affected by the curse, too? Some say they became all those dancing plates and napkins, oooooor...
  • Take this one step further; if those wolves are the dancers, maybe they do leave to hunt now and then, but come back to the castle to see if anyone is close enough to possibly break the curse — or at least find out that there's even a castle there. They weren't trying to eat Maurice, they were trying to chase him to the castle!
    • It's possible there used to be more wolves around, and they did leave the forest... and ran straight into Gaston. It's also possible that his endless hunting reduces/scares away the game so much that the wolves can't find much when they do leave the forest.
• Why would Mrs. Potts be so accepting of LeFou being homosexual? Because the environment she works in practically requires this. Homosexuality was practiced behind closed doors back then, so it makes sense in a way.
  • Homosexuality still isn't frequent enough to require the castle cook to encounter it (it's almost 1% of people in the world). It's far more likely that she's just a kind and unflappable woman. On top of that, she's a talking teapot; she's so far outside the norm that an unusual sexual preference must be downright quaint from her perspective.
  • In 18th century France, homosexuality was accepted among the nobility, if strictly closed doors (to the point Marie-Antoinette's detractors claimed she had female lovers alongside male ones because just male ones wouldn't have been as outrageous). As a servant to a noble, Mrs. Potts would need to be accepting of homosexuality to hold the job, even if she never actually met a homosexual in person.
• Throughout the movie, it seemed like everyone in the small town, except Belle, idolized Gaston. Yet, after he died, no one seems to mention or remember him. Why? Because the townspeople, except maybe the three women, never liked Gaston to begin with. They were more afraid of him than being respectful of him, given that he was a violent Sociopathic Soldier with a Hair-Trigger Temper who carried his weight around a small town like he owned it. LeFou was the only real friend he had before Gaston showed how little he cared for him and left him to die. It's telling how it was LeFou who started the "Like Gaston" song in the pub to begin with, which the town's people slowly got behind.
  • Heck, he even had to pay them before they joined in. Getting a bar song going shouldn't be that hard.
  • Or, it could be seen as highly symbolic of the difference between loving someone for their outside and loving them for their inside. Gaston was made up of glib, artificial charm, so the villagers only liked him for being handsome and strong, but that was it. Ultimately, like his charm, the villagers' love for Gaston proved artificial.
• Even when the Beast is still in Jerkass mode, Belle is able to persuade him to allow her to say goodbye to her father when they believe she'll never see him again. Why? Because in "Days in the Sun," the child Prince is standing at his dying mother's bedside, promising to never leave her... only to be dragged away by his father, never to see her again. The Beast, even pre-Character Development, won't force Belle to leave her beloved father without so much as a goodbye, because he knows how it feels.
• It could be assumed that The Enchantress (aka Agathe) never intended the spell to ever be permanent. She did stay in Villenevue, perhaps looking for the person to help break the curse. Enter Belle, kind and with a great capacity of love, as in the novelization and a deleted scene, she was one of the few people in the village to acknowledge Agathe, often offering her bread and jam. Perhaps this is what caused the magic strike of lignthing to collapse the tree and lead Maurice to the palace. In a way, Agathe actively worked to help the Prince reclaim his kindness from the background, and when she was sure he learned his lesson and earned Belle's love, she would have broken the curse, even if it was too late. Which she eventually did.
• Why doesn't Belle get to eat any of the food presented to her during "Be Our Guest"? Because, as the Beast said, "If she doesn't eat with me, she doesn't eat at all!"
• There is a famous maxim relating opera: “It’s not over till the fat lady sings!” Garderobe, a singer pre-Wardrobe mode, sings near the end of the film in the final battle, and in the story at the end of the ten years.
• The Beast’s servants did nothing to aid the Beast’s character, so they were cursed into becoming objects/ornaments that, while befitting their positions, can’t do anything to aid character. Additionally, they become beautiful ornaments that contrast with how ugly the Beast is.
• The servants’ household objects fit their traits:
  • Lumiere is a candelabrum; “lumiere” is French for “light”, and he is a warm and jovial character
  • Cogsworth is a clock; he wants things to be in order, as a clock runs on a regular routine
  • Mrs Potts and Chip are warm nurturing people, so their teapot/teacup modes (which usually have food) are sources of warmth and refreshment.
  • Cadenza and Garderobe are veteran artists (a composer and his singer wife – “cadenza” is Italian for “music”), so they become a musical instrument and a clothes-making wardrobe (maybe Garderobe did some costume design?). Their dog Froufrou becomes a piano stool.
• Cogsworth appears to have some proficiency with weapons, as he can wield a gun and sword in the final battle (as seen in a deleted scene). If his human suit bearing medals is anything to go by, he may have been a war hero.
  • Of course, the castle staff won't be slouches in a fight. They must have had some training/combat to face in their service.
• In Cogsworth’s first scene, he is holding up a watch and his face is in shadow; i.e. only the clock’s face is seen on his figure. It’s a clever visual pun.
• Why is Madame de Garderobe unfazed when Stanley actually turns out to like the dress she gave him, Politically Correct History aside? She's an opera singer. In the theater and opera, men have done parts in drag and women have done "trouser roles" for centuries. Crossdressing would be nothing new to her.
• The line "Who could ever learn to love a beast?" seems ridiculous from a modern-day perspective, considering that the Furry Fandom exists. Of course, before the Internet was a thing, nobody could admit to being interested in animals, anthropomorphic or otherwise, without being burned at the stake for sexual deviancy, and anthropomorphic animals only started being seen as attractive thanks to things like Disney cartoons and Looney Tunes to begin with; before the 20th century, furries and Funny Animals were very uncommon.
• Why are "countless widows" among Gaston's "happy thoughts" from the time he was at war? Gaston's character is all about his sense of extreme masculinity, and killing enemy soldiers and seducing their widows would have helped proving it to himself.
• To an expert, Gaston and LeFou's clothing are recognizable as that of the Gendarmes de la Garde and the Gardes Françaises in the 18th century. This frankly explains a lot about them:
  • The Gendarmes de la Garde were part of the Military Household, and a regiment that recruited among both commoners and nobles, and was a rightly feared cavalry unit armed with pistols. Gaston being a veteran from that regiment explains his combat ability and proficiency with pistols (his weapon of choice when he goes after the Beast): it was literally his job to excel at fighting in general and with a pistol in particular.
    • In the first movie, Gaston disregarded many gun safety rules, but not here. The cartoon's Gaston was just a countryman hunter with a gun, but this Gaston had proper training.
  • The Gardes Françaises was another Military Household regiment, this time infantry that recruited from commoners only for the rank and file. Again, this explains LeFou's combat ability, as it was literally his job. In peacetime the Gardes Françaises also doubled as Paris' police force, and he served in a rather turbolent period, so he would be experienced in talking angry people into calm - just as he does with Gaston.
  • As the film is set in the 18th century, Gaston has fought in the War of the Austrian Succession, and in particular at Fontenoy. That was a particularly hard war, and it would explain Gaston being a Shell-Shocked Veteran. If he didn't leave voluntarily, having been discharged for some reason would only add to it.
  • At Fontenoy the Gardes Françaises were almost routed by the Black Watch, and were only rescued by cavalry attacks. This would have been the exact moment Gaston saved LeFou, and would also explain why the latter let his uniform's colors fade from blue and red into greyish purple and brown: the war was not LeFou's glory days, but the ones of his humiliation.
  • Also at Fontenou the Gendarmes stopped the British by charging them on the side while they were busy with the Gardes Françaises. This adds to his preference for ambushing the Beast: it worked on the Black Watch on top of working on the largest game, why shouldn't it work on the Beast?
  • Gaston and LeFou serving at Fontenoy, and in the Military Household to boot, explains their relatively high status in the village, as they took an active part in the battle that re-established French military supremacy over Europe, with Gaston having a higher status than his friend coming from the fact his regiment saved LeFou's.
  • The War of Austrian Succession ended in 1748, so if it's twelve years after the war the film is set in 1760... During the Seven Years' War. While they wouldn't serve on the frontlines, as Louis XV did not go to the front this time, Gaston likely feels he's missing on the glory due not being in the army anymore, and may believe he could have prevented Robert-François Damiens' stabbing of the king. No wonder he's in such a worsening mood: if the king goes to the frontlines he won't be there to win glory, and while he's at Villeneuve his colleagues messed up so badly the king was nearly killed.
  • Gaston doesn't wear his old uniform in full the entire time, normally leaving his red coat at home. The one time he actually wears the full uniform is when he tries to get Maurice committed... That is when he needs everyone to remember he's a war hero as he does something questionable.
  • LeFou instead wears the full uniform in almost every scene, as he's in a way a subordinate of Gaston. The only scene he doesn't is the final one, after he got out of Gaston's thumb.
• In the original film, Cogsworth was much bossier and seemed to (at least believe) that he held a degree of authority over the other servants. In this movie, his stuffiness seems more motivated by timidity and a desire to avoid conflict. It possibly has to do with how, in this movie, he has a shrewish, bitter wife whom he doesn't seem to like very much.
• It may seem strange that the villagers are so quick to believe the Beast is an evil monster (the French version of the Mob Song outright calling him the devil). In pre-modern Europe, however, attacks from wolves and feral dogs (at times rabid) were a dire danger, with the notable case of Beast of Gévaudan claiming 500 lives before being put down (even escaping hunting parties assembled by the king with the best men available before a local hunter got lucky) and being so hard to kill many attributed it supernatural qualities. To the villagers it would have seemed like another man-eating monster had appeared but they got lucky and found out before it started attacking, and since the village's best hunter who is also a war veteran and former royal guard is asking for volunteers...
• The Not His Sled ending, where Belle's "I love you" comes too late to break the spell but then Agathe reverses the spell herself, resolves a possible Plot Hole from the animated version have cited. Why in the animated version is the Prince restored to life and health when he becomes human again? Why isn't he just a dead human? Since in this version the spell is undone by Agathe rather than simply breaking, we can assume that Agathe uses her magic to bring the Prince back to life at the same time. In other words, An Enchantress Did It.

Fridge Horror

• As this article points out, Mr. Potts. Oh man, Mr. Potts. Stuck in the poor, provincial town for years, having the feeling that something important is missing from his life, but not knowing what. And reunited after all that time, but it's still time he can never get back, as he's aged throughout, but his wife and child have not.
• According to the Novelization, Madame de Garderobe and Cadenza weren't even from the surrounding area; they just had the bad luck to be visiting the castle for the Prince's party when the curse hit. Beyond the range of the curse, everyone probably thinks they're dead, so their careers are over and they've got nothing to go back to. On the other hand, since they are very much in love, they would probably not mind staying at the castle permanently as humans, so long as they're together.
  • Fortunately averted: everyone outside the castle forgot them for however long the curse occurred... so when it broke, they were remembered and their careers could continue.
    • They'd still have an inexplicable ten-to-twenty-year absence to explain.
• Imagine if, for whatever reason, Belle did end up married to Gaston. He's shown to have a short temper, becomes violent when he doesn't get his way, and can charm his way with the village people. He would undoubtedly be an abusive husband, and nobody in town would believe her. She is such an oddball, after all. Doubles as an adult fear, since her father could easily be aware of this, fueling his resolution that they never wed.
  • This has validity. The only real reasons Gaston had for interest in Belle were either superficial (being the most beautiful girl in the village) or fleeting (the fact that she was the only one to decline his interest) leading to him to treat her less as one to be courted and more like prey. Once the superficial attraction wears off, and he's left with a wife who isn't interested in being submissive or compliant, we are left with a volatile situation.
  • If we get that prosaic with Belle, we could also still assume that she could die during her first or second childbirth and then it is all over for her.
    • On a brighter note, however, she is a smart and practical girl. And Gaston would rely on her taking care of the kitchen. Sooooo... She might take the risk and rely on the primitive state of forensics in the 18th century. (Perhaps Agathe might have a hand in helping her find a good way.)
    • If we go with the theory that the movie is set WITHIN our historical timeline and shortly before the outbreak of the French Revolution, chances are big that she wouldn't see Gaston for very long periods of time; or that she will be widowed soon (as France underwent a phase of widespread civil unrest and rebellions in 1792/93, followed by almost uninterrupted intensive warfare from 1792-1815).
    • And on that point, Gaston's status as a non-noble war hero might make it probable that he could re-enlist as an officer during the "levée en masse" (something he would have been denied in Royalist France). Given his ability to be manipulative and ruthless, he might rise through the ranks soon. Being a general's wife might at least allow Belle to return to Paris "in fashion". She could have an intellectual salon, similar to Madame de Stael — at least when Gaston is on campaign.
• If the curse affected all those at the castle at the time the Prince insulted the Enchantress, even visitors like Madame de Garderobe, what happened to all those young girls trying to woo him in the prologue? Were they also enchanted, or worse?
  • It looks like they got out of the room while the Enchantress was casting the curse. If Mr. Potts was a servant too, then he was probably outside the curse's range, whereas his wife and son weren't. So anyone who escaped just had their memories wiped.
    • Mr. Potts is the village potter.
  • There are a lot of wolves around the castle. They're all white. And what color dresses were the dancers wearing? White.
• Gaston's "happy place" reminiscing about his Glory Days: "Blood, and explosions, and the widows..." Given his misogynistic tendencies and what frequently happens to women in the hands of enemy soldiers, the implications are horrifying.
  • Even discounting that, Gaston is certainly the sort of man who'd take advantage of a vulnerable woman, such as a new widow. And it would certainly be in character for him to only look at such a situation as to how it would benefit him.
• Since we hear a distinct THUD when Gaston falls, it's safe to assume that his corpse is lying in one of the castle's courtyards. Did his corpse disappear when the castle transformed? Or did someone bury his body? Seriously, what happened there? Even though he's a sociopathic villain, it's pretty harsh if he never got some sort of burial or cremation and was just left to rot in the sun, especially while the rest of the cast is dancing and enjoying their Happily Ever After.
  • Maybe Frou Frou ate him? He is a meat-eating dog, after all...
    • Although an entertaining thought, it's doubtful that such a tiny dog could devour such a large man before the meat went bad. Also, considering what kind of guy Gaston was, I doubt even the wolves could have stomached him.
  • He was likely discovered and buried off-screen, probably when the transformed servants and remembering townsfolk were taking stock of their new surroundings. Someone would have noticed the stink after a while, if nothing else.
• The film takes place in 1775, which means that any kids Belle and the Beast have will be adults during the Reign of Terror, and may even have kids of their own. And if they are anywhere near Paris at the time, they will be guillotined. The children will not be spared. Belle may be subjected to witnessing the murder of her own grandchildren!
  • I doubt that the French Revolution even occurs. To me, the movie is set in an alternate timeline (which is probably shared with the remake of Cinderella, but perhaps also with Tangled and Frozen), in which Europe c. 1800 is similar to our own, but different in many ways which would probably butterfly the French Revolution as we know it. I will detail on that in YMMV where it belongs.
  • The clothing styles indicate that the movie takes place sometime between 1730-1750. Narrowing it down further with the mentioning of a war and the plague. The only time in French history there was a plague followed by a war several years later in France was between 1720 and 1748. The plague was the Great Plague of Marseille and the war was the War of Austrian Succession (1740–1748). This means that by 1750 the war is over, Gaston is home, and the events of Beauty and the Beast begins! Meaning that there's at least another 40 years before the Revolution begins.
• When Belle returns to her childhood home in Paris, she roams it, touching various objects, including a rose-shaped brooch; immediately afterwards, she learns that her mother died of a plague ravaging Paris, and that she not only held that brooch, but kissed it. Furthermore, her home has been untouched and the shot that establishes Paris shows it to be bleak and lifeless, suggesting the plague still has some presence there. So, to reiterate, in bringing herself and the Beast to Paris, Belle contaminated themselves with a plague that would've spread to everyone they had contact with for the remainder of the movie, the entire population of Villeneuve included.
  • Perhaps, then again, it possible that the bacteria causing the plague may have died off by then, in which case, there'd be less a chance that she'd catch and spread the plague.
  • There's pretty much no chance she'd catch the plague; Belle's mother died when she was about two, she is now in her late teens/early 20s. No way the disease would still be active after nearly twenty years.
  • Plus, that depends on the idea that the book transported them physically; we never see them interact with others, so maybe they weren't really in Paris, but just in a projection of it.
• A possible disturbing explanation for why Belle feels that every day in town has been the same since she and her father arrived; the spell that erased the villagers' memories and cursed the castle also trapped the village in a time loop (hence explaining why Mr. Potts and Mrs. Cogsworth were the same age as their spouses), with Belle and Maurice only immune to it because they weren't part of the village when the spell was cast, and they haven't lived in the village long enough to notice the lack of change in the other residents.
• Cadenza apparently suffered severe dental problems as his teeth were rotten and aching. What makes this horrific is that there was no proper dental treatment during this time period. The only way Cadenza could have had treatment was getting his teeth removed which would had been at a Blacksmiths or something. And the removal of teeth could even lead to death. Just let that sink in.

Fridge Logic

The remake makes the following changes from the original:

• In both movies, during the opening song, Belle is seen gushing about the book she just finished to someone who isn't interested. In the original, this is Jack and the Beanstalk, which can make her seem rather easily impressed for her age. The remake changes it to the more appropriate Romeo and Juliet - meaning she is reading a play's script, which is of course in book form, rather than a children's book.
• Many fans questioned how the bookseller in the animated film could maintain a business when Belle only borrows his books rather than buys them (and he even ends up giving her one for free) and it seemed very unlikely anyone else in the village had any interest in reading since it's for that very reason they all thought Belle to be so odd. In the movie he is replaced by Pere Robert, the town's pastor. He keeps a few books that serve as the town's library in the church and Belle is the only one who reads them. As a pastor, he wouldn't be reliant upon selling books for an income.
• It was never explained how Belle got Beast on the horse after he passed out from his fight with the wolves. In the Live Action Film, Belle asks the Beast to stand up for her so she can help him onto it. Oddly enough, an audiobook of the original animated version stated that this was how it happened.
• The Beast is literate and well-read, which makes sense (he was a Prince and, as he says, he "had an expensive education"), and shows that he and Belle do share something important in common. And locked up with a huge library, naturally he would spend his time reading in order to give him some relief from his fate... Except the books in Greek.

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