Beauty and the Beast

Moving away from the conventional idea of a musical, we will next analyze Disney’s animated classic, Beauty and the Beast. It is a typical love story of a young girl who falls in love with her prince charming after overcoming various obstacles and they live happily together forever after. The Beauty and the Beast is a film infused with color, reverie, and extraordinary musical accompaniment. But in peeling back the surface of this standard movie musical, critics analyze the overall patriarchal message ingrained within the narrative. They argue the narrative remains antifeminist, despite the masquerade of the presence of an obvious heroine. Feminist critic, Mary Ann Doane, says, “Femininity does not exist, but is only a mask to cover the woman’s lack and her desire to appropriate the authority of masculinity,” (Sumera 40).
Belle appears strong and independent in her desire to find her own success and happiness. She loves to read books about adventure. She wants to choose who she falls in love with and is repulsed by the stereotypical hedonistic male figure, Gaston. However, Bell’s dreams still ends with the same result; domestication. The standard code of a “happily ever after” (marriage) does not support the heroine’s earlier desire to live a different live and do the unexpected” (42). Every time the heroine does engage in action it is to further her romantic relationship and thus the male-female cultural order. Belle decides to run away from the Beast after confronting him in the West Wing. Her decision to take her fate into her own hands is immediately met with danger. She runs into a pack of wolves and is saved by the Beast. She then chooses to go back to the castle and tends the Beast’s wounds. Ultimately, she surrenders her independence to the Beast which again restores the patriarchal order.
Ultimately, Belle is fulfilled through her male counterpart, and never stands alone, like she initially desired. When analyzed, this simple animated musical contains much more meaning that one would expect. Amid the dancing teapots, the narrative promotes the patriarchal culture at a subconscious level to young girls watching the film.