(no subject)

[snowystingray]

Now that school is back in for seemingly everybody except for me, I have no recent life experiences with which to preface this next installment in my fictional loves this. Now you will have nothing to disctract you from the greatness of this pick.

4. The Beast from Beauty and the Beast
I could lie and say that this has always been my top Disney movie; actually, I was completely obsessed with The Little Mermaid for the first five or six years of my life, and while I loved Beauty and the Beast it didn't become my favourite until later in life. This could be due in part to the fact that I wore out not one but two copies of The Little Mermaid on VHS, compelling me to watch Beauty and the Beast because at least that tape still works. It might also have something to do with the brilliant themes of alienation and acceptance that went slightly over my head as a five year old but that struck more poignantly as I re-watched much later in my loser-y high school years (for proof that I am in fact a social outcast, see the fact that I was busy watching Beauty and the Beast while in high school). You can instantly relate to Belle when you're feeling like you don't quite fit in with the crowd, but the Beast is a character that you grow to connect to as the movie progresses.

I was reading a review of the movie in which the Beast and Gaston are contrasted -- while Gaston is touted about as the perfect male ideal, the Beast as a giant hairy monstrosity is still more human that Gaston will ever be. It is those essential human characteristics that make him so endearing to me. While at the beginning of the film he shows amazement at the sacrifice Belle is willing to make for a person she loves, he soon shows that he can make the same sacrifices without hesitation: first when he rescues Belle from the wolves, then when he lets her go back home, and finally when he shows Gaston mercy. This is where Bethany has to give it up to the awesomeness of Disney animators; the look on the Beast's face as he decides to let Gaston live is one of the most moving things in the film.

So, yes. This is my post legitimately dedicated to my love for a cartoon hairy guy. ...Seriously.

Comments

[flood-and-fire.livejournal.com]

Hi, just stumbled across your journal, and on the basis of this fab post, I'm gonna friend you! Gah, was watching this movie 2 nights ago, LOVE it. The Beast is just such a wonderfully layered character....

[snowystingray.livejournal.com]

Oh, thanks! I just added you back. I always feel pretty dorky for being so obsessed with this movie, so it is really great to hear that other people feel the same way. I wish I could watch it again -- I've only got a copy on tape, though, and it's back at my house. Being in college can be so depressing sometimes!

I just realized that I haven't updated my journal in about a million years, yikes. Usually I try to post more frequently, but even if I don't always have something to say I do definitely check my friends list every single day (usually more than once, haha).