Beauty and the Beast directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise

(1992) Opening Analysis

As the film is introduced, the

non-diegetic music seems to
have a more slow, yet
menacing tone which, along
with the dark background,
creates a tense and dark
atmosphere to the beginning.
Since the image we are
presented with after seems
idealistic, it could convey the
darkness within the hidden
depths of the forest to possibly suggest to the audience that everything is not as it seems.
The text is also used within this short snippet to introduce the film as well as to fill in the
empty space at the beginning and it is a key convention of a film opening in order to give
credit to the producers.
Within the start of the extract, a
long crane shot is used to not
only set the scene for the
viewer but to also establish the
tranquility within the scene
since the use of a crane shot
depicts the idea of relaxation
and peace since it is quite a
slow gentle form of camera
work. This has mostly been
used to convey the contrast in
this town before the story to
exaggerate the impact this story has. Interestingly, the positioning of the castle within this
shot is quite distant which could portray the way in which the castle is quite isolated from the
world which suggests loneliness but also the idea of it being a magical place or it could
convey the idea that the castle is quite dominant in this world since it is looming in the
background which could portray it as being a more intimidating place which may reflect the
Beasts characteristics at the beginning. Notably, the use of non-diegetic sound within this
snippet creates a magical yet peaceful setting through its slow tempo and its use of a piano;
a diegetic sound of birds singing is also incorporated to add to the idea of a placid
landscape which links to the idea of fairy tales. Clearly, the landscape illustrates the idea of
perfection and beauty as shown through its use of flowers since they link to beauty as well
as romance which could be conveying the main factors that are explored within this film. This
may be presented as being perfect to emphasise the message within this film which is that
we shouldnt judge someone by their beauty as despite the beauty of the landscape, the
town proves to be quite judgemental when faced with imperfection. The lighting is also quite

high key within this long shot which could link to the innocence of the nature or it could be
used to exaggerate the darker lighting near the trees to possibly imply the idea that darkness
(linked to evil) can be hidden within beauty.

Moreover, the way that beauty is

portrayed within this long shot is
similar since it is presented on
what looks like a glass carving
which could represent the fragility
of beauty and how it can easily be
broken by negativity; it once again
links to the idea of fairy tales
which suits the genre effectively.
Furthermore, the use of glass
also causes the audience to judge
the scene by its appearance as
they will learn the good nature the prince has later on in the film in comparison to the image
presented before. The fact that this glass is quite colourful makes it appear as being quite
beautiful when its colours, on the other hand, communicate emotions such as sadness as
shown through its blue which may represent the emotions caused by the princes selfishness
which show that hidden within the kings beauty and power is the ability to cause sadness.
Moreover, the prince appears to be wearing a red cloak which not only resembles anger and
greed but also blood which exaggerates his negative aspects as a character. As well as this,
the fact that the prince is wearing this crown in this image could resemble him as being
arrogant since crowns are associated with greed and selfishness; his stance within this
image makes him seem quite childish and rude which continues to exaggerate his
antagonism within the film. The non-diegetic music also communicates the idea of evil
hidden in beauty as the calming, gentle melody at the beginning is carried underneath a
more harsh violin to show how the princes beauty is overpowered by his ugly nature.
Interestingly, the editing pace also communicates the idea that evil ruins beauty and peace
as throughout the opening so far the images dissolved slowly, whereas, in the next shot
transition it dissolves more quickly and fades less which shows how the kings negative
aspects cause disruption to peace as well as beauty.

This establishing shot of the castle is used not

only to emphasise the way that the
enchantress breaks down the beauty of the
landscape through her curse but to also
symbolise the breakdown of the princes
beauty as well as the way this impacts his
emotion. The use of the colour blue in this
image could link to the idea of sadness but
also the coldness of his heart or possibly his
isolation from everyone else and the cold

outlook he has on his town due to his imperfection. This image could also be symbolic of the
way that the ugliness of the princes personality is hidden behind his beauty since the left
side includes brighter colours to communicate beauty and happiness, whereas, the right side
shows leafless trees
which may link to the
Beasts lack of hope
and the way hes lost
the most important part
of himself: his physical
appearance. After this
shot, the dissolve fades
a dark colour to
represent the evil the
Beast possess as well
as to represent the
idea of being lost or
alone which may link to
the Beasts emotions. It transitions to this image of the prince which is shown in a more
realistic fashion rather than the glass carving which represents the way that this is the reality
of the beauty within the beast and to represent how perfection simply isnt real; it also
illustrates the way that a lot of time has gone by since the glass carvings make the story
seem really distant. The lighting within this snippet is quite low key in comparison to the
shots before which resembles the idea of unhappiness and loneliness as well as to make the
shot seem lifeless to show how the Beast has lost his sense of identity. Also, the claw marks
over the princes face could represent the way the Beasts appearance tears the beauty of
the princes face; it could also symbolise the way that the princes personna is already
beginning to deteriorate away as he gains sympathy for those who arent as perfect.
For the cartoon romance genre I noticed that the typical conventions consisted of quite bright
colours such as blue, green and orange to convey happiness as well as to capture the
attention of its audience and to also show the lightheartedness of its characters and plot.
Moreover, the use of high key lighting is consistent to show the innocence of characters as
well as to make it aesthetically pleasing for the audience. Furthermore, it uses non-diegetic
sounds such as music as a common convention to exaggerate emotion or to add suspense
to a scene for the audience.
The strengths of this film revolve around the fact that it is an allegory which means that it has
a hidden purpose to its story and therefore, serves the purpose of communicating an
important message to the audience and it does this in a variety of ways. Moreover, its use of
character development through characters such as the Beast and Belle which is shown as
the film progresses and the characteristics of its characters is portrayed effectively through
the voice acting. On the other hand, there are many aspects of this film that arent explained
as effectively such as the reason why the whole house is cursed into becoming objects and
how the prince was in charge of the town before and what happen to his rule when he
becomes the beast.

After watching this opening, I could incorporate its use of a blank background when
displaying the film title in my own opening to draw the audiences attention to the text and to
add a sense of curiosity as to what the film will be about. Moreover, it also means that the
colour and font of the text is more clear and detailed since it wont clash with the images
behind which is important to showcase since these . Also, I could include the use of
non-diegetic sound to set a scene within my film like this extract establishes at the start
through a slow melody as this gives the opening a sense of atmosphere as well as indicating
its genre to the audience; it also makes the opening more animated by adding sound since it
uses more of the audiences senses and it helps exaggerate the images I will include. For
example, if I decided to create a film opening that has a horror genre, the use of music could
intensify the idea of suspense or exaggerate a grotesque image which makes t has a more
dramatic impact on my audience. Furthermore, I could include its sense of symbolism that it
portrays in the image of the princes face with a claw mark across it within my own
production as this makes the opening have more depth and it links the opening to the story
more which is a significant convention of a film opening.