Before we had the beautiful Emma Watson play Belle in the live adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, there was the 1991 animated version of the lovely female protagonist who initially inspired many young girls with her bravery, intelligence and independence. Whoop, go Belle! While the love story and moral of the movie revolve around falling in love regardless of one’s flaws, you may be surprised to find out the deeper meaning behind the production of the film.
Howard Ashman, the director and lyricist credited, in collaboration with Alan Menken and Disney, produced the original film as an elaborate metaphor for Ashman’s battle with AIDS.
The origin of the storyline was to be centered around Belle’s character, but Ashman was fond of developing the Beast as the crucial focus.During an interview with Attitude magazine, Bill Condon, who directed the film’s remake, discussed the significance of the Beast for Ashman.
“For him it was a metaphor for Aids,” Condon said. “He was cursed and this curse had brought sorrow on all those people who loved him.”
Now, that explains why characters like Ms. Potts, Cogsworth, Lumière, Babette and even Chip, were caught in the same spell alongside the Beast. Are you mindblown yet?!
Condon continued by saying, “Maybe there was a chance for a miracle and a way for the curse to be lifted. It was a very concrete thing that he was doing.”
In addition, the struggling story of Ashman continued as he lived life being a gay man in the 90s. The idea of making the film into a musical arose from these situations. Ashman wanted to incorporate society’s anxieties and fear about homosexuality and AIDS in lyrics, such as “Kill The Beast,” as seen below.
“We don’t like what we don’t understand, in fact it scares us, and this monster is mysterious at least. Bring your guns, bring your knives, save your children and your wives, we’ll save our village and our lives. We’ll kill the Beast!”
Alright, who else felt those lyrics in all its reality!
Ashman gave us two characters with a romantic storyline in all its depth. Funny how things get a different meaning once we grow up and understand things better, huh? Be right back though, going to grab some popcorn and re-watch the movie all over again!