Disney Original Magical Story: Beauty and the Beast
Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young prince lived in a beautiful castle. Although he had everything his heart desired, the prince was spoiled, selfish, and unkind.
Then one night, an old beggar came to the castle, and offered him a single rose in return for shelter from the bitter storm. Repulsed by her haggard appearance, the prince sneered at the gift and turned the old woman away.
But she warned him not to be deceived by appearances for beauty is found within. When he dismissed her again, the old woman's ugliness melted away, to reveal a beautiful enchantress. The prince begged for forgiveness, but it was too late... for she had seen that there was no love in his heart. As punishment, she transformed him into a hideous beast, and placed a powerful spell on the castle, and all who lived there. Ashamed of his monstrous form, the Beast concealed himself inside his castle, with a magic mirror as his only window to the outside world.
But the rose the enchantress had offered was truly an enchanted rose. If he could learn to love another and earn her love in return by the time the last petal fell, then the spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time.
As the years passed, he fell into despair, and lost all hope . . . for who could ever learn to love a beast?
SKU:
774f8281-4760-43b3-a4e6-54a4d4eaf167
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RATING
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There are several storybook versions of the Beauty and the Beast with different authors and different illustration styles. The rating below only applies to this particular book.
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| Educational Value |
★★★☆☆ |
| Positive Messages |
★★★★☆ |
| Positive Role Model |
★★★★☆ |
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CHARACTERS
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Belle – A bibliophilic young woman, unaware of her own beauty, who seeks adventure, and offers her own freedom to the Beast in return for her father's.
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Beast – A young prince who is transformed into a beast by an enchantress as punishment for his arrogance.
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Gaston – A vain hunter who vies for Belle's hand in marriage and is determined not to let anyone else win her heart.
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Maurice – Belle's inventor father. The villagers see him as insane for crafting devices believed impossible to construct in reality, but his loyal daughter believes he will be famous one day.
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Le Fou – Gaston's often abused yet loyal sidekick.
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Lumière – The kind-hearted but rebellious valet of the Beast's, who has been transformed into a candlestick.
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Cogsworth – Majordomo, the head of the household staff and Lumière's best friend, who has been transformed into a clock.
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Mrs. Potts – The castle cook, turned into a teapot, who takes a motherly attitude toward Belle.
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Chip – Mrs. Potts' son, who has been turned into a teacup.
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REVIEW
Beauty and the Beast focuses on the relationship between the Beast, a prince who is magically transformed into a monster and his servants into household objects as punishment for his arrogance, and Belle, a young woman whom he imprisons in his castle. To become a prince again, Beast must learn to love Belle and earn her love in return before the last petal from the enchanted rose that the enchantress who cursed the Beast had offered falls, or else the Beast will remain a monster forever.
Beauty and the Beast focuses on the relationship between the Beast, a prince who is magically transformed into a monster and his servants into household objects as punishment for his arrogance, and Belle, a young woman whom he imprisons in his castle. To become a prince again, Beast must learn to love Belle and earn her love in return before the last petal from the enchanted rose that the enchantress who cursed the Beast had offered falls, or else the Beast will remain a monster forever.
Beauty and the Beast focuses on the relationship between the Beast, a prince who is magically transformed into a monster and his servants into household objects as punishment for his arrogance, and Belle, a young woman whom he imprisons in his castle. To become a prince again, Beast must learn to love Belle and earn her love in return before the last petal from the enchanted rose that the enchantress who cursed the Beast had offered falls, or else the Beast will remain a monster forever.
Beauty and the Beast focuses on the relationship between the Beast, a prince who is magically transformed into a monster and his servants into household objects as punishment for his arrogance, and Belle, a young woman whom he imprisons in his castle. To become a prince again, Beast must learn to love Belle and earn her love in return before the last petal from the enchanted rose that the enchantress who cursed the Beast had offered falls, or else the Beast will remain a monster forever.
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TRIVIA
Prince Adam – Although never mentioned, the real name of the Beast is Prince Adam.
Blue – Belle is the only person in her town who wears blue. This is symbolic of how different she is from everyone else around her.
Inner Beauty –The curse on Beast requires him to be worthy of pure love, without any emphasis on exterior beauty.
The Beast – The beast has the head structure and horns of an American bison, the arms and body of a bear, the ears of a deer, the eyebrows of a gorilla, the jaws, teeth, and mane of a lion, the tusks of a wild boar, and the legs and tail of a wolf.
PLOT
One winter's night, an enchantress disguised as a beggar offers a cold-hearted prince a rose in exchange for shelter. When he refuses, she transforms him into a beast and his servants into household objects. She bestows the Beast with a magic mirror before hexing the rose and warning him that, unless he learns to love another and earns their love in return by the time the last petal falls, he and his servants will lose their humanity forever.
Ten years later, a beautiful girl named Belle dreams of adventure and brushes off advances from Gaston, an arrogant hunter. Lost in the forest while traveling to a fair to present his latest invention, Belle's father Maurice seeks refuge in the Beast's castle. After Maurice befriends the castle's servants, however, the Beast discovers and imprisons him. Belle ventures out in search for him and finds him locked in the castle's dungeon. The Beast agrees to let her take Maurice's place.
Befriending the castle's servants, Belle is treated to a spectacular dinner ("Be Our Guest"). When she wanders into the forbidden West Wing (where the rose is kept), the Beast flies into a rage, causing Belle to flee the castle and into the woods. She is attacked by wolves, but the Beast rescues Belle and gets injured in the process. He begins to develop feelings for her ("Something There") while she nurses his wounds and he delights her by showing his extensive library.
Returning to the village, Maurice tells the townsfolk of Belle's predicament, but Gaston convinces the townsfolk to send Maurice to an insane asylum if Belle refuses to marry Gaston.
After sharing a romantic dance with the Beast ("Beauty and the Beast"), Belle discovers her father's predicament using the magic mirror. The Beast releases her to save Maurice, giving her the mirror to remember him with. Back at the village, Belle proves Maurice's sanity by revealing the Beast in the mirror to the townsfolk. Realizing that Belle loves the Beast, Gaston has her thrown into the basement with her father and rallies the villagers to follow him to the castle to kill the Beast ("The Mob Song"). With Chip's aid, Maurice and Belle escape and rush back to the castle.
During the battle, the servants fend off the villagers, including Gaston's companion LeFou. Gaston attacks the Beast in his tower, who is too depressed to fight back, but regains his will upon seeing Belle return. He spares Gaston's life before reuniting with Belle. However, Gaston stabs the Beast, but he loses his footing and falls to his death.[a] The Beast dies before the last petal falls. When Belle tearfully professes her love to him, the curse is broken, repairing the castle and restoring the Beast's and servants' human forms. The Prince and Belle host a ball for the kingdom, where they dance happily.
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