My sister and I had a way-too-long conversation about our Top 5 animated Disney films.
Mine:
1. Beauty and the Beast (Just a classic--not to mention it's particular connection to John's and my relationship. Plus,
I'm Belle.)
2. Sleeping Beauty (A close second--the way the characters are drawn is stunning. They move like HUMANS. REAL HUMANS. It's subtle and stylized at the same time, and you should watch it again if you thought it was boring.)
3. The Lion King (Great soundtrack and awesome Shakespeare adaptation, not to mention)
4. The Little Mermaid (The first movie I remember crying at--I was so sad that Ariel had to leave her dad. Fabulous characters and songs!)
5. Pocahontas/Mulan (I have to tie these--I had a 2-year long Pocahontas phase in elementary school, not to mention that 'Savages' is an amazing song. However, so is 'Be A Man'. Decisions, decisions.)
Lauren's:
1. The Lion King (She is obsessed with jungle cats. I'm not sure if this obsession is because of the film or if the big cats are why she loves it.)
2.-5. (in no particular order) The Little Mermaid, Pocahontas, Mulan, Aladdin. (She couldn't decide. :P)
Honorable Mentions:
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (So freaking DARK for a Disney movie, but that made it rich and awesome. Not to mention the contrast of the song 'Heaven's Light/Hellfire'. I've written about it here before.)
Cinderella (Who doesn't love watching that amazing transformation from rags to riches, courtesy of a simple 'Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo'?)
I actually mentioned awhile ago that I would write a little analysis of a selection of Disney Princes. Obviously I never did, but I had some time to waste in class and if I can procrastinate, I will. So, here we go.
Narrowing down a list:
The Beast (Doy.)
Prince Phillip (of Sleeping Beauty)
Prince Eric (of The Little Mermaid)
Prince/Charming (Snow White/Cinderella--Snow White's 'Prince', and Cinderella's 'Prince Charming')
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Prince/Charming is the earliest incarnation of any Princely character in Disney's milieu. Snow White's Prince had a little more personality than Cinderella's Charming (who spoke, what, four lines?) and it's no surprise that these princes occurred at the earliest point in the princess/fairy tale timeline.
At this point, the Prince doesn't represent a person, but an archetype or reward. He is passive. (Cinderella's prince doesn't even look for her himself!) He signifies when we can all sit back and breathe a sigh of relief, because everything is Happily Ever After from here on in. All of the Princes are treated like this (save one, but we'll get there), but they soon develop personalities alongside their symbolism. This is just to indicate that the symbol of happiness and leaving trouble behind is was what the role of Prince was created for.*
(*There are plenty of feminist arguments one might make, but they're inane and irrelevant to the point of the movies, which is magic and entertainment, so pooh-pooh on them for being nitpicky killjoys. Go be upset about Twilight, an actual offender.)
After Cinderella (1950), the next Princess movie was Sleeping Beauty (1959--it took the whole nine years to complete!), which marked a significant change on the personality and livelihood of the Prince (but his role as the signifier of the Happily Ever After remains intact). Prince Phillip is flirtatious, charming, good-natured, headstrong (but agreeably so), and a bit of a rebel. We have a multi-faceted male lead here! Phillip has his own plot alongside Aurora's--he's lined up to be king, and betrothed to a girl he met once when he was four (a girl who has, for all intents and purposes, disappeared**)
(**I wonder how much Phillip/King Hubert knew about the plan to conceal Aurora--obviously not too much, but you'd expect them to know/suspect SOMETHING if they didn't think twice about not visiting even once in sixteen years.)
He's young and athletic and when he meets a gorgeous stranger in Briar Rose, he's obviously smitten--so much so that he completely overlooks the royal law that he must marry a princess. In fact, he's utterly blasé about it, citing that it's about time to progress past those stuffy hierarchical strictures. He's brave--he faces down Maleficent and her minions, not to mention the massive dragon she transforms into. He is persistent (in wooing Briar Rose and in hacking thorns apart to get to Aurora); he perseveres. He is the first model of an aggressive prince, which I mean in the most positive way. He fights for Rose/Aurora, which is the most obvious and basic example of true love and desire.
Prince Eric is similar to Phillip in that they're both 'modern' princes--Eric is chivalrous and has a good sense of humor, and he's the most casual of the Princes--although not as forward as Phillip. He plays the pretty typical 'clueless boy' role--he's completely enchanted by the mysterious maiden (AKA The Unattainable) that saved him from his shipwreck (who wouldn't be?), and is reluctant to get close to Ariel (AKA The Girl Next Door) because of it, although he feels quite affectionately for her.
Never mind that the maiden and Ariel are one and the same. This is meant to illustrate that Eric is initially immature and flighty: he longs for a girl he doesn't know (one he's not even sure exists, for that matter), and it hampers his ability to grow in another healthier, relationship. Ursula is very aware of this: in her line of work, she's become well-attuned to understanding the desires of humans/humanlike creatures. So, on the verge of Eric's mature moment (his decision to slough off his fantasies and reservations in favor of Ariel), Ursula attacks. She becomes Ariel's biggest threat--the mysterious maiden of Eric's dreams. She uses enchantment on Eric and not just herself, which is sort of cheating, but the metaphor is still present.
Eric has his moment as the 'dragon-slaying prince' when he impales Ursula with a shattered mast, but the most important part of coming together with Ariel is when Ursula's enchantment is lifted and he realizes that Ariel (still there, still willing to save him) is the person he can have an amazing relationship with--if he'd just let go of his baggage in the first place, he'd have gotten there sooner!
Now, on to my favorite: The Beast is a mighty contrast to the other princes. He is mature, complex, dark, and angry. Violent, even.*** He knows and understands pain and loss, even as a lofty prince. In fact, his snobbery is what caused his downfall. At the outset, he is lonely, vicious, and threatening; he's borderline feral after spending ten years in virtual solitude. He is hell-bent on making every stranger he meets just as miserable as he is, thus his imprisonment of the already-fragile Maurice.
(***The Beast is NOT an abusive boyfriend, and Belle is not a battered woman. Seriously, people.)
He is offered a glimpse of something completely foreign to him when Belle WILLINGLY shoulders the misery meant for Maurice. The Beast can't imagine taking on this sort of pain by choice, and he is immensely confused by Belle (and attracted to her 'unparalleled' beauty, of course). His confusion must not be helped by the fact that he was apparently ten when he was changed (according to the Beauty and the Beast timeline)--he's never SEEN or SPOKEN to a woman since before puberty (not counting Mrs. Potts, The Wardrobe, or Babette/Fifi****)!
(****John had a very interesting (tangential) question: Even if they are masculine/feminine, do the objects HAVE gender/sex drives? Or do they just remember being human/having sexual urges? "They have no glands!")
Belle is nothing like the women (like the PEOPLE) he encountered before his transformation--his own mother spoiled him, and his servants catered to him unconditionally. Belle is stubborn and angry all on her own towards the Beast, and since he is very accustomed to getting his way all the time, he's caught completely off guard by Belle's defiance.
Despite the Beast's spoiled and hot tempered instincts, he isn't heartless. Quite the opposite--he is sensitive and intensely depressed and frustrated. He simply doesn't know better, at least not at first. It is telling that the Beast goes out after Belle after his rage over her imposition in the West Wing (sorry, but I have to go with the Beast here, temper or no). It's hard to tell--is this a survival instinct? Belle is the only chance he's ever had--he's not about to let her go. So, he shows an amazing amount of bravery and fights the wolves off of Belle. Later, in a more symbolic--rather than deliberate--physical sacrifice, the Beast is stabbed by Gaston right as Belle has returned to the Beast.
"But wait," you say. "All of the Princes (post-Cinderella) fought for the Princesses--what are some wolves or the human Gaston against Maleficent-Dragon or Giant-Ursula? What makes the Beast so special?" Great question--I'll answer this in a few moments.
Belle realizes this sacrifice and graciously and gratefully returns to tend to Beast's wounds. The ice is broken, and the Beast knows companionship for the first time in a decade. This accelerates his return to the unBeastly side, and he becomes compassionate, thoughtful, and generous (even if his table manners still suffer a bit). The Beast comes the farthest and makes the most dramatic change in personality and thought process because of the power of love.
Time to answer my initial question: "What makes the Beast so special?" This comes in two parts that are closely related.
Firstly, the Beast is special because he gets wounded. No other prince is ever physically incapacitated by an enemy in favor of the princess (and it doesn't come close to happening again until Pocahontas! Although Smith isn't a prince). I don't think this was an accident; I think this was a particular character choice.
And secondly--now, this is the most important part, so pay attention--
Sacrifice. This is essential to the character of the Beast, and it is what sets him apart from all of the other princes EVER conceived by Disney (although Quasimodo comes close!). The Beast experiences the most joyful, wonderful, lovely thing that he ever has with Belle, and at the peak of his joy--the ballroom scene--when he is on the verge of proposing, his newly acquired thoughtfulness reveals Belle's feelings about being away from her father, her only family.
The Beast understands Belle's feelings for her father all-too-well--Belle is Beast's only family, and the thought of how Belle must be feeling is so real to his newly empathetic self--he now knows how much it would pain him to lose Belle. So, he does something unbelievable--he knowingly and willingly sacrifices his proximity to the only person he has ever loved, who brought him back from a near-feral state, in favor of HER feelings and needs. It's astounding and beautiful and it is another level of love that Disney had never plumbed. Phillip and Eric both fought for Aurora and Ariel, and that is admirable, but it takes an awesome, all-encompassing love to let someone go--to selflessly endure the pain of loss for someone else's gain. The Beast is a fabulous example of this, which makes him the most powerful example of love and, frankly, a powerful example of a good man. And, after a suicidal interlude and a battle with the villain, he is rewarded with Belle's love in the end for his patience, which is what a Disney movie is made of!
So, now that I've pretty much revealed my total nerdness, talk amongst yourselves.
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A hilarious aside, courtesy of my sister and her 'green' roommate:
and she was like 'well can't you just put it in the little blue bin'
and i said. 'no i dont believe recycling makes a huge difference'
and she told me she was sad for me and that i was making the earth cough
haahhahahhahaha
