Beauty and the Beast (Live-Action)

[Redadoodles]

Thank you !

[Disney's Divinity]

I had a thought the other day about this film. I'm emphatically not one of those people with piss in their corn flakes over Belle's "inventor knowledge." (I'm more annoyed so many of Disney's live-action films since this have imitated it to the point it's kind of become a joke.) It always made sense to me that she could have picked up a little of that having lived alone with her father, and her father being her only friend. But it occurred to me how interesting it would've been if they had made her self-interest be something like she was writing her own book. She loved to read, it was her escape from the provincial life, which inspired her to write a novel of her own. Maybe she was a bit self-conscious about it since she was a woman and in a town that thought reading / education was stupid. It could be something Beast sort of encourages her in, giving more significance to him giving her the library. And then she would occasionally write in her room in Beast's castle at certain points when she's alone, being inspired by what she was living (the beauty of the castle, the spell, the servants, etc.). And then the end of the film could be sort of her closing her book, having finally finished it and it's maybe her own story or something a great deal like it. Maybe she would call it "Tale As Old as Time." I don't know, I think it would've been cute. I think it would've been a natural fit, sort of like Jasmine wanting to be Sultana in the Aladdin-LA.

The only thing I could think they could do for Ariel is extend her collecting / exploring tendencies, that she wants to go explore the world with Eric post-film. It could be a natural fit in a way since Eric enjoys being on the sea from what the original film implies at the beginning, and they would travel the sea to places she'd want to see in Europe and so on, that kind of thing.

[Disney Duster]

That's a really good idea! I know at least one other person suggested Belle be a writer instead of an inventor as it made more sense. Not someone here, I forget where. But your idea of her writing the book in the castle and then the whole movie turns out to have been her book is pure genius. I also like your Ariel idea.

Something you just made me realize doesn't make sense is the town in the LA BatB is both anti-intellectual and yet intent on educating males.

[Disney's Divinity]

Yeah, I'm probably not the first to come up with that idea for Belle, I imagine.

And maybe at the end she could have offered to let the Beast be the first to read it. I know the remake made a point of how the Beast is well-read already, but the Beast reading Belle's book would sort of be a callback to when Gaston takes Belle's book and tosses it into the mud. Basically accentuating how Gaston's interest in her was merely surface level whereas her relationship with the Beast was always a mental connection (well, it had to be considering he was an animal at the time. ).

[Disney Duster]

Well he doesn't throw her book in the mud in the live-action film. But I also like your idea of her asking the Prince to read her book first. It's good.

[Patricier21]

I had a thought the other day about this film. I'm emphatically not one of those people with piss in their corn flakes over Belle's "inventor knowledge." (I'm more annoyed so many of Disney's live-action films since this have imitated it to the point it's kind of become a joke.) It always made sense to me that she could have picked up a little of that having lived alone with her father, and her father being her only friend. But it occurred to me how interesting it would've been if they had made her self-interest be something like she was writing her own book. She loved to read, it was her escape from the provincial life, which inspired her to write a novel of her own. Maybe she was a bit self-conscious about it since she was a woman and in a town that thought reading / education was stupid. It could be something Beast sort of encourages her in, giving more significance to him giving her the library. And then she would occasionally write in her room in Beast's castle at certain points when she's alone, being inspired by what she was living (the beauty of the castle, the spell, the servants, etc.). And then the end of the film could be sort of her closing her book, having finally finished it and it's maybe her own story or something a great deal like it. Maybe she would call it "Tale As Old as Time." I don't know, I think it would've been cute. I think it would've been a natural fit, sort of like Jasmine wanting to be Sultana in the Aladdin-LA.

The only thing I could think they could do for Ariel is extend her collecting / exploring tendencies, that she wants to go explore the world with Eric post-film. It could be a natural fit in a way since Eric enjoys being on the sea from what the original film implies at the beginning, and they would travel the sea to places she'd want to see in Europe and so on, that kind of thing.

Just wanted to say thank you for sharing these ideas BTW Very well written and thoughtful; As much as I love the live action beauty and the beast as it is and I’m very much looking forward to the live action little mermaid, These ideas would’ve/very much could have made the movies even better. Please continue to give us more ideas like this have you ever tried pursuing a career in writing/maybe working for Disney yourself?

[Sotiris]

Josh Gad: ‘I don’t think we did justice to what a gay character in a Disney film should be’
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-ente ... 24275.html

Josh Gad says he 'never once' played his Beauty and the Beast character as gay: 'If I were gay, I'm sure I'd be pissed'
https://ew.com/josh-gad-never-played-be ... ay-8771616

[Sotiris]

Disney’s Nine-Figure VFX Headache: ‘Beauty and the Beast’ Profits at Stake in Trial
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/busin ... 235712572/

Disney Loses ‘Beauty and the Beast’ Profits Trial Over Stolen VFX Tech But Payout Is Minimal
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/busin ... 235767970/

[Sotiris]

‘Barbie’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast’ Props and Sets Featured at New Academy Museum Exhibit: ‘It Allows People to See That Anything Is Possible’
https://variety.com/2025/artisans/news/ ... 236406790/

From 'Barbie' to 'Beauty and the Beast': The Sets You Never Noticed!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWdpB5nblng

[Disney Duster]

I've come across some Disney AI trailers and found what I wish Belle's live-action dress had looked like:

Very in between the original film and 18th century French clothing!

[Farerb]

I'm bored so I'm currently watching Princess Protection Program and why oh why did they give Demi Lovato a better Belle dress in a Disney Channel movie than the theatrical Beauty and the Beast remake??

[PatchofBlue]

Hm ... I don't think you're wrong. I could ask for a little more texture and patterning on the dress, but I like the more subdued yellow--and that this just FEELS more like something you'd wear to the ball, not to homecoming.

[UmbrellaFish]

God, what a letdown that dress was. So much of that film revels in its French 18th century art design but the dress is totally anachronistic. And not even in a good and forgivable way, it’s kinda ugly…

In keeping with the rococo influence throughout the rest of the film, I would have liked for them to have gone full Marie Antoinette with the ballgown. Just go balls to the walls with it, wide panniers and embroidered details. It should make you go “wow.”

[Disney's Divinity]

I've come across some Disney AI trailers and found what I wish Belle's live-action dress had looked like:

Very in between the original film and 18th century French clothing!

I do like that, but I also like the dress in the finished film although it seemed to work more as a set piece as far as folds being moved around for specific shots rather than simply for standing around in.

I also love Beast's outfit. My only letdowns with the film were the ugly wedding dress at the end, Beast's facial design, and the fact that Audra McDonald didn't sing "Beauty and the Beast"'s full version. Well, I also wish they'd included "Home"; I personally wouldn't have minded a version of autotuned Watson on it, but just like a conversation in another thread about things like Gadot, Beatriz, Mandy Moore, etc., I don't see what the big deal would've been if they'd dubbed her for the songs. I think they simply decided not to include any songs from the musical altogether though so they could create all new ones for the awards, so I don't think it was about Watson since Massoud / Gadot were also autotuned and were given songs to perform. Oh, and I do miss "Human Again" even if "Days in the Sun" is very pretty, too. And I wish they'd included a version of Dan Stevens' "Evermore" that wasn't distorted into a Beast voice. Otherwise, still one of the best remakes along with Aladdin, L&S, TJB, and TLM.

Speaking of outfits though, the ones that ended up worst off were Ariel and Cinderella for me. Although at least Cinderella did have a beautiful wedding dress (and then a couple of other good outfits like the Prince's, the Fairy Godmother's, and the final emerald/black dress Tremaine wears), so it wasn't all bad. Whereas unfortunately all of Ariel's outfits are terrible including her mermaid form. Really the only outfits I recall being good in that one were Eric and Eric's mother. Well, I guess Aurora was probably worse off even than those two, because I don't even remember most of what she wears.

[Disney Duster]

I am disappointed no one really likes the dress I posted a pic of, at least the rococo overskirt of it, except one person! But, I thank you Divinity for being the one person to say you would have liked it, even though maybe you preferred the actual dress? Even though I have decided I don't like that dress, it did veer towards pretty when it moved. Fun fact, they used some CGI on it when it moved!

I didn't think of how they may have decided on new songs just for Oscars! I am glad they did new songs though, because I like all of them! Which would I have preferred? I guess the route they went, that way they were doing something new tailor made for the movie, and "Evermore" is amazing! I would have been taken out of the film if the Beast didn't sing it in Beast voice, myself, though. I love Ella's blue dress and only actively hate her pink one. I don't know what they were thinking! It should have resembled her prettier blue one to make sense of how the Fairy Godmother tries to make the blue one similar to it! I do not mind that you don't like her blue one though, Divinity, because I can see how it is both good or bad. I was disappointed when I first saw it myself. I like Aurora's pink and final white dresses in Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.

I actually liked Ariel's tail and blue dress. Beauty and the Beast is indeed one of the better remakes. Aladdin's remake is great.