A wealthy merchant lived in a mansion with his three daughters, all of whom were very beautiful, but only

the youngest, at fourteen, is named Belle (a French name equivalent to "Beauty") for being lovely and pure of heart; her sisters, in contrast, are wicked and selfish. The merchant eventually loses all of his wealth in a tempest at sea, and he and his daughters must therefore live in a small farmhouse and work for their living. After some years of this, the merchant hears that one of the trade ships he had sent off has arrived back in port, having escaped the destruction of its compatriots; therefore, he returns to the city to discover whether it contains anything of monetary value. Before leaving, he asks his daughters whether they desire that he bring them any gift upon his return. His two elder daughters ask for jewels and fine dresses, thinking that his wealth has returned; Belle is satisfied with the promise of a rose, as none grow in their part of the country. The merchant, to his dismay, finds that his ship's cargo has been seized to pay his debts, leaving him without money to buy his daughters their presents. During his return, he becomes lost in a forest. Seeking shelter, he enters a dazzling palace. He finds inside tables laden with food and drink, which have apparently been left for him by the palace's unseen owner. The merchant accepts this gift and spends the night. The next morning as the merchant is about to leave, he sees a rose garden and recalls that Belle had desired a rose. Upon picking the most lovely rose he finds, the merchant is confronted by a hideous 'Beast', which tells him that for taking his (the Beast's) most precious possession after accepting his hospitality, the merchant must die. The merchant begs to be set free, arguing that he had only picked the rose as a gift for his youngest daughter. The Beast agrees to let him give the rose to Belle, only if the merchant will return, or his daughter goes to the castle in his place. The merchant is upset, but accepts this condition. The Beast sends him on his way, with jewels and fine clothes for his daughters, and stresses that Belle must come to the castle of her own accord. The merchant, upon arriving home, tries to hide the secret from Belle; but she pries it from him and willingly goes to the Beast's castle. The Beast receives her graciously and informs her that she is mistress of the castle, and he is her servant. He gives her lavish clothing and food and carries on lengthy conversations with her. Each night, the Beast asks Belle to marry him, only to be refused each time. After each refusal, Belle dreams of a handsome prince who pleads with her to answer why she keeps refusing him, and she replies that she cannot marry the Beast because she loves him only as a friend. Belle does not make the connection between the handsome prince and the Beast and becomes convinced that the Beast is holding the prince captive somewhere in the castle. She searches for him and discovers multiple enchanted rooms, but, of course, never the prince from her dreams. For several months, Belle lives a life of luxury at the Beast's palace, being waited on hand and foot by invisible servants, having no end of riches to amuse her and an endless supply of exquisite finery to wear. Yet, eventually, she becomes homesick and begs the Beast to allow her to go to see her family. He allows it, if she will return exactly a week later. Belle agrees to this and sets off for home with an enchanted mirror and ring. The mirror allows her to see what is going on back at the Beast's castle, and the ring allows her to return to the castle in an instant when turned three times around her finger. Her

older sisters are surprised to find her well fed and dressed in finery. They grow jealous of her happy life at the castle, and, hearing that she must return to the Beast on a certain day, beg her to stay another day, even putting onion in their eyes to make it appear as though they are weeping. It is their wish that the Beast will grow angry with Belle for breaking her promise and will eat her alive. Belle's heart is moved by her sisters' false show of love, and she agrees to stay. Belle begins to feel guilty about breaking her promise to the Beast and uses the mirror to see him back at the castle. She is horrified to discover that the Beast is lying half-dead of heartbreak near the rose bushes her father had stolen from and she immediately uses the ring to return to the Beast. Upon returning, Belle finds the Beast almost dead, and she weeps over him, saying that she loves him. When her tears strike him, the Beast is transformed into a handsome prince. The Prince informs Belle that long ago a fairy turned him into a hideous beast after he refused to let her in from the rain, and that only by finding true love, despite his ugliness, could the curse be broken. He and Belle are married and they lived happily ever after together.

[edit] Villeneuve's version

Villeneuve's tale includes several elements that Beaumont's omits. Chiefly, the back-story of both Belle and the Beast is given. The Beast was a prince who lost his father at a young age, and whose mother had to wage war to defend his kingdom. The queen left him in care of an evil fairy, who tried to seduce him when he became an adult; when he refused, she transformed him into a beast. Belle's story reveals that she is not really a merchant's daughter but the offspring of a king and a good fairy. The wicked fairy had tried to murder Belle so she could marry her father the king, and Belle was put in the place of the merchant's dead daughter to protect her.[5] She also gave the castle elaborate magic, which obscured the more vital pieces of it.[6] Beaumont greatly pared down the cast of characters and simplified the tale to an almost archetypal simplicity.[7]

Beauty and the Beast, illustration by Warwick Goble

[edit] Commentary

The urban opening is unusual in fairy tales, as is the social class of the characters, neither royal nor peasants. It may reflect the social changes occurring at the time of its first writing.[8]

[edit] Adaptations
The tale has been notably adapted for screen, stage, prose, and television over the years.

[edit] Film versions

A French version entitled La Belle et la Bte was made in 1946, directed by Jean Cocteau, starring Jean Marais as the Beast and Josette Day as the Beauty. This version adds a subplot involving Belle's suitor Avenant, who schemes along with Belle's brother and sisters to journey to Beast's castle to kill him and capture his riches. When Avenant enters the magic pavilion which is the source of Beast's power, he is struck by an arrow fired by a guardian statue of the Roman goddess Diana, which transforms the dying Avenant into Beast and reverses the original Beast's curse.[9] In 1994, Philip Glass wrote an opera, "La Belle et la Bte", based on Cocteau's film. Glass's composition follows the film scene by scene, effectively providing a new original soundtrack for the movie.[10]

A 1952 animated feature film The Scarlet Flower directed by Lev Atamanov and produced at the Soyuzmultfilm. It was restored at the Gorky Film Studio in 1987 and is now widely available on several video and DVD editions in Russia (an Englishsubtitled version has not been released).

A 1962 version directed by Edward L. Cahn, starring Joyce Taylor and Mark Damon, had the Beast as a prince who transformed into werewolf at night, with makeup by Universal's Jack Pierce.[11]

In 1979, a heavily horror-influenced film entitled Panna a Netvor (The Virgin and the Monster) directed by Juraj Herz, was produced in Czechoslovakia. This film is notable for presenting the Monster as a bird-like creature, both attended to and tortured by gremlin servants. Julie, the virgin of the title, is forbidden from seeing her captor's face. Nonetheless, the two fall in love, and The Monster is bewildered to realize that, bit by bit, he is literally being transformed by that love.[citation needed]

In 1987, The Cannon Group and Golan-Globus Productions released Beauty and the Beast, a musical live action version, directed by Eugene Marner, starring John Savage as Beast, and Rebecca De Mornay as Beauty, with original music by Lori McKelvey. It was released on VHS in 1988 by Cannon Video, and on DVD in 2005 by MGM Home Entertainment.[12] The plot of this adaptation is more comparable to the authoritative Beaumont version than others.[citation needed]

In 1991, Walt Disney Feature Animation produced a musical animated film entitled Beauty and the Beast, directed by Kirk Wise & Gary Trousdale, with a

screenplay by Linda Woolverton, and songs by Alan Menken & Howard Ashman. Like the 1946 version, the Disney version also names Beauty "Belle" and gives her a handsome suitor (here named Gaston) who eventually plots to kill the Beast. Other aspects of the story are changed or added as well: in the Disney version, Belle's father (here called Maurice) is an inventor, not a merchant, and Belle is his only daughter. Belle is befriended by the Beast's servants, who have been transformed into household objects.[13] Beauty and the Beast won Academy Awards for Best Song and Best Original Score, in addition to becoming the first animated film to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture.[14] It was also one of only two animated films included in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Passions list, which announced the 100 greatest love stories of all time,[15] and is now considered one of the Walt Disney Company's classic animated films. Children's film producer Diane Eskenazi produced Beauty and the Beast, directed by Masakazu Higuchi and Chinami Namba, for Golden Films in 1993. The film, which relied on moderate animation techniques but was mostly faithful to the original tale, featured classical compositions as opposed to an original soundtrack, featuring the works of many well-known popular composers.[16]

A 2003 Viking period film directed by David Lister was alternately known as Beauty and the Beast and Blood of Beasts.[17]

A dark version[18] of the fairy tale updated to modern times,[19] director Robert Beaucage's 2008 film Spike[20] was described (at its premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival[21] where it was chosen as part of the Best of the Fest)[22] as "Angela Carter rewriting La Belle et la Bte as an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer".[23]

Another modern take on Beauty and the Beast is Beastly, starring Alex Pettyfer as the beast (named Kyle) and Vanessa Hudgens as the love interest (named Lindy). Directed by Daniel Barnz and based on the novel by Alex Flinn, it was released on March 18, 2011. The story places the basics of the original fairy tale in the context of a contemporary American high school. The film also features Neil Patrick Harris as Kyle's blind tutor, Mary-Kate Olsen as a goth girl responsible for cursing Kyle and causing his subsequent transformation.[24]

[edit] Stage versions

The Disney film was adapted for the stage by Linda Woolverton and Alan Menken, who had worked on the film. Howard Ashman, the original lyricist, had died, and additional lyrics were written by Tim Rice. Seven new songs, "No Matter What", "Me", "Home", "How Long Must This Go On?", "Maison des Lunes", "Human Again", and "If I Can't Love Her" were added to those appearing in the original film score in the stage version. "Human Again" was written for the film by Menken and Ashman, but cut during the storyboarding phase because of continuity problems.[25] Modified by Menken and Rice to work in the stage production, "Human

Again" was later added to the film itself in a new scene produced for its 2002 IMAX reissue.[25] Later, another song, "A Change In Me", was added for Belle. There is a great deal of emphasis on pyrotechnics, costuming and special effects to produce the imagery of the enchanted castle that was produced by Disney Theatrical. Some characters are given names and bigger roles, like the feather duster (Babette) and the Wardrobe (Madame de la Grande Bouche). This version of Beauty and the Beast is often examined in gender studies because of the underlying female and male roles it presents to young audiences. Disney's stage musical version of Beauty and the Beast closed on July 29, 2007 after 5,464 regular performances (and 46 previews). The 17th (and final) Belle was played by Anneliese van der Pol and Donny Osmond returned to play Gaston in the final performance. With Disney set to release its Broadway version of The Little Mermaid on November 3, 2007, it was believed that having two Disney heroines on Broadway at the same time would divide audiences between the two shows. The Little Mermaid ran through August 30, 2009 in the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre the same theatre that ran "Beauty and the Beast" from 19992007.

[edit] Prose Versions

Beastly by Alex Flinn sets the story in modern day Manhattan Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast and Rose Daughter both by author Robin McKinley Belle: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast by Cameron Dokey, and Spirited by Nancy Holder, both part of the Once Upon A Time Crazy Beautiful by Lauren Baratz-Logsted, in which the "beast" character is a young teenage boy who lost his hands in an explosion Cupid by Julius Lester, based on the Greek tale Cupid and Psyche thought to be one of the original versions of the story East by Edith Pattou, based on the story East of the Sun and West of the Moon a Norse variation on Beauty and the Beast The Fire Rose by Mercedes Lackey, part of the Elementals series Australian fantasy author Juliet Marillier's novel, Heart's Blood, is an historical retelling of Beauty and the Beast set during the Norman invasion. Ice by Sarah Beth Durst The Rose: A Novel Based on Beauty and the Beast by Jennifer Baker Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George, based on East of the Sun and West of the Moon A Wolf at the Door: and Other Retold Fairy Tales by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling (the title story is based on Beauty and the Beast) Beast by Donna Jo Napoli A retelling set in Persia and told in the beast's point of view. Roses & Thorns : Beauty and the Beast Retold by Chris Anne Wolfe, a retelling of the classic story where both protagonists are female. The Rose and the Beast: Fairy Tales Retold by Francesca Lia Block contains the short story "Beast", where Beauty enjoys being wild and laments when the beast is turned back into a boy.

"Tiger's Curse[26]" by Colleen Houck is a story about an Indian prince turned into a tiger and the only way he can be freed is by the one he loves. "Angelfish[27]" by Laurence Yep is an interpretation without the love story. Looks more in depth about the change in people. "Tiger's Bride[28]" by Angela Carter is a short story with a different twist.

[edit] Television
George C. Scott turned in a made-for-TV rendition in 1976, which aired as part of the "Hallmark Hall of Fame". Scott was nominated for an Emmy for his performance. In 1984, Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre aired "Beauty and the Beast" starring Klaus Kinski and Susan Sarandon. The script, sets, makeup and costumes were based on the 1946 film. Beauty and the Beast, which owed as much to detective shows and fantasy fiction as to the fairy tale, originally broadcast from 1987 to 1989. This was centered around the relationship between Catherine, an attorney who lived in New York City, played by Linda Hamilton, and Vincent, a gentle but lion-faced "beast", played by Ron Perlman, who dwells in the tunnels beneath the city. Wendy Pini created two issues of a comic-book adaptation of the TV series. The series was cancelled when ratings fell after Hamilton decided to leave the show at the end of the second season. HBO's Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child did a version of the story set in Equatorial Africa.

[edit] See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Beauty and Beast

Stockholm syndrome Damsel in distress Loathly lady Noble savage The Feather of Finist the Falcon Lokis (novella) King Kong

[edit] References
1. 2. 3. 4.
^ Terri Windling, Beauty and the Beast ^ Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, Beauty and the Beast ^ Heidi Anne Heiner, "Tales Similar to Beauty and the Beast" ^ Thomas, Downing. Aesthetics of Opera in the Ancien Rgime, 1647-1785. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2002. 5. ^ Betsy Hearne, Beauty and the Beast: Visions and Revisions of An Old Tale, p 22-3 ISBN 0-226-32239-4

6.

^ Betsy Hearne, Beauty and the Beast: Visions and Revisions of An Old Tale, p 25 ISBN 0-226-32239-4 7. ^ Betsy Hearne, 8. ^ Maria Tatar, p 45, The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales, ISBN 0-393-05163-3 9. ^ David J. Hogan (1986). Dark Romance: Sexuality In the Horror Film. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 90. ISBN 0-7864-0474-4. 10. ^ "Alternate Versions for La Belle et la Bte". IMDb. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038348/alternateversions. Retrieved 2010-04-21. 11. ^ "50's and 60's Horror Movies B". The Missing Link. http://www.classichorror.free-online.co.uk/TML/b50.htm. Retrieved 2010-04-21. 12. ^ Russell A. Peck. "Cinderella Bibliography: Beauty and the Beast". The Camelot Project at the University of Rochester. http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/cinder/BB1.htm. Retrieved 2010-04-21. 13. ^ Janet Maslin (1991-11-13). "Disney's 'Beauty and the Beast' Updated In Form and Content". The New York Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review? res=9D0CE2DF1330F930A25752C1A967958260. Retrieved 2010-04-21. 14. ^ Erik Gruenwedel (2010-03-29). "Disney's Beauty and the Beast Diamond Edition Due on Blu-ray Oct. 5". Home Media Magazine. http://www.homemediamagazine.com/disney/disneys-beauty-and-beast-diamond-editiondue-blu-ray-oct-5-18896. Retrieved 2010-04-21. 15. ^ "A Kiss Isn't Just a Kiss". AFI. http://movies.about.com/library/weekly/aaafitoplista.htm. Retrieved 2010-04-21. 16. ^ "Beauty and the Beast". Movie Review Film. http://moviereviewfilm.com/Beauty-and-the-Beast-27-08-2008/. Retrieved 2010-04-21. 17. ^ Maslin, Janet. "Beauty and the Beast: Overview". The New York Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/441747/Beauty-And-The-Beast/overview. Retrieved 2010-04-21. 18. ^ Jason Buchanan. "Spike". All Movie Guide. http://www.allmovie.com/work/spike-461310. Retrieved 2010-04-21. 19. ^ Calum Waddell. "Spike". Total Sci-Fi. http://totalscifionline.com/reviews/2323-spike. Retrieved 2010-04-21. 20. ^ "Beauty & the Beast + Blood and Guts = Spike". HorrorMovies.ca. 2007-0111. http://www.horror-movies.ca/horror-news.php?id=7269. Retrieved 2010-04-21. 21. ^ "Festival Highlights: 2008 Edinburgh International Film Festival". Variety. 2008-06-13. http://www.variety.com/index.asp? layout=festivals&jump=features&id=3168&articleid=VR1117987482. Retrieved 201004-21. 22. ^ "Best of the Fest Programme at Edinburgh International Film Festival". The List. 2008-06-25. http://edinburghfestival.list.co.uk/article/9461-best-of-the-festprogramme-at-edinburgh-international-film-festival/. Retrieved 2010-04-21. 23. ^ Robert Hope. "Spike". Edinburgh International Film Festival. http://www.edfilmfest.org.uk/whats-on/2008/spike/full-details. Retrieved 2010-04-21. 24. ^ Larry Carroll (2010-03-30). "Vanessa Hudgens And Alex Pettyfer Get 'Intense' In 'Beastly'". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1635084/story.jhtml. Retrieved 2010-04-21. 25. ^ a b Tale as Old as Time: The Making of Beauty and the Beast. [VCD]. Walt Disney Home Entertainment. 2002. 26. ^ Houck, Colleen. [<http://www.tigerscursebook.com/> "Tiger's Curse"]. <http://www.tigerscursebook.com/>. Retrieved April 18, 2011.

27.

^ >. "SurLaLune Fairy Tales: Modern Interpretations of Beauty and the Beast.". SurLaLune Fairy Tales: Annotated Fairy Tales, Fairy Tale Books and Illustrations. http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/beautybeast/themes.html>.. Retrieved 20 April 2011. 28. ^ >. "SurLaLune Fairy Tales: Modern Interpretations of Beauty and the Beast.". SurLaLune Fairy Tales: Annotated Fairy Tales, Fairy Tale Books and Illustrations. http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/beautybeast/themes.html>.. Retrieved 20 April 2011.

[edit] External links

This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive and inappropriate external links. (June 2011) SurLaLune Fairy Tale Pages: The Annotated Beauty and the Beast "Beauty and the Beast: folktales of Aarne-Thompson type 425C Cinderella Bibliography - includes an exhaustive list of B&tB productions in books, TV and recordings Theatre Cedar Rapids Beauty and the Beast Production Photo Gallery - Great photographic overview of the whole show scene, including costumes and sets. Beauty and the Beast fairy tale with Edmund Dulac illustrations Full text of Beauty and the Beast from "The Fairy Book" Original version and psychological analysis of Beauty and the Beast (French) Beauty and the Beast, audio version The UK amateur premiere's website [1]

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A wealthy merchant lived in a mansion with his three daughters, all of whom were very beautiful, but only the youngest, at fourteen, is named Belle (a French name equivalent to "Beauty") for being lovely and pure of heart; her sisters, in contrast, are wicked and selfish. The merchant eventually loses all of his wealth in a tempest at sea, and he and his daughters must therefore live in a small farmhouse and work for their living. After some years of this, the merchant hears that one of the trade ships he had sent off has arrived back in port, having escaped the destruction of its compatriots; therefore, he returns to the city to discover whether it contains anything of monetary value. Before leaving, he asks his daughters whether they desire that he bring them any gift upon his return. His two elder daughters ask for jewels and fine dresses, thinking that his wealth has returned; Belle is satisfied with the promise of a rose, as none grow in their part of the country. The merchant, to his dismay, finds that his ship's cargo has been seized to pay his debts, leaving him without money to buy his daughters their presents. During his return, he becomes lost in a forest. Seeking shelter, he enters a dazzling palace. He finds inside tables laden with food and drink, which have apparently been left for him by the palace's unseen owner. The merchant accepts this gift and spends the night. The next morning as the merchant is about to leave, he sees a rose garden and recalls that Belle had desired a rose. Upon picking the most lovely rose he finds, the merchant is confronted by a hideous 'Beast', which tells him that for taking his (the Beast's) most precious possession after accepting his hospitality, the merchant must die. The merchant begs to be set free, arguing that he had only picked the rose as a gift for his youngest daughter. The Beast agrees to let him give the rose to Belle, only if the merchant will return, or his daughter goes to the castle in his place. The merchant is upset, but accepts this condition. The Beast sends him on his way, with jewels and fine clothes for his daughters, and stresses that Belle must come to the castle of her own accord. The merchant, upon arriving home, tries to hide the secret from Belle; but she pries it from him and willingly goes to the Beast's castle. The Beast receives her graciously and informs her that she is mistress of the castle, and he is her servant. He gives her lavish clothing and food and carries on lengthy conversations with her. Each night, the Beast asks Belle to marry him, only to be refused each time. After each refusal, Belle dreams of a handsome prince who pleads with her to answer why she keeps refusing him, and she replies that she cannot marry the Beast because she loves him only as a friend. Belle does not make the connection between the handsome prince and the

Beast and becomes convinced that the Beast is holding the prince captive somewhere in the castle. She searches for him and discovers multiple enchanted rooms, but, of course, never the prince from her dreams. For several months, Belle lives a life of luxury at the Beast's palace, being waited on hand and foot by invisible servants, having no end of riches to amuse her and an endless supply of exquisite finery to wear. Yet, eventually, she becomes homesick and begs the Beast to allow her to go to see her family. He allows it, if she will return exactly a week later. Belle agrees to this and sets off for home with an enchanted mirror and ring. The mirror allows her to see what is going on back at the Beast's castle, and the ring allows her to return to the castle in an instant when turned three times around her finger. Her older sisters are surprised to find her well fed and dressed in finery. They grow jealous of her happy life at the castle, and, hearing that she must return to the Beast on a certain day, beg her to stay another day, even putting onion in their eyes to make it appear as though they are weeping. It is their wish that the Beast will grow angry with Belle for breaking her promise and will eat her alive. Belle's heart is moved by her sisters' false show of love, and she agrees to stay. Belle begins to feel guilty about breaking her promise to the Beast and uses the mirror to see him back at the castle. She is horrified to discover that the Beast is lying half-dead of heartbreak near the rose bushes her father had stolen from and she immediately uses the ring to return to the Beast. Upon returning, Belle finds the Beast almost dead, and she weeps over him, saying that she loves him. When her tears strike him, the Beast is transformed into a handsome prince. The Prince informs Belle that long ago a fairy turned him into a hideous beast after he refused to let her in from the rain, and that only by finding true love, despite his ugliness, could the curse be broken. He and Belle are married and they lived happily ever after together.