Comparing Disney Movies And Beauty And The Beast

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For several generations, it was not uncommon to find people that grew up almost exclusively enveloped in Disney stories of princesses and the princes that come to rescue them. And why not? They were adorably animated and seemed to be teaching valuable lessons to young children. But do they really? What are children, especially young girls, really taking away from these stories? I know personally, that I was one of these children that grew up watching Disney movies, and Beauty in the Beast was my absolute favorite. It was no surprise, therefore, that I expected to be just as taken with the classic written version of Beauty and the Beast by Beaumont. But to my surprise, I noticed stark differences between the classic tale and Disney’s version that made me question the intentions of Disney. In fact, Disney’s version, while claiming to be an example of an empowered women, is actually stripping the story of the empowerment that the Beaumont’s version originally contained, by …show more content…
Maurice is portrayed as a bumbling, disheveled, and poor inventor, who Belle must watch out and care for. She constantly consoles him when his inventions don’t turn out saying to him you’ll “become a world famous inventor” someday and then he is once again motivated. Then as Maurice is going to show off his inventions, he can’t even read a map properly, which is the catalyst to him invading the Beast’s home and ultimately angering him. Once again, Belle must rescue her father and she, granted, willingly makes the decision to trade herself for her father, however, she is not attempting to take responsibility for consequences of her own actions as Beauty does. She does it purely to rescue her father from a situation that he got himself into. Whereas Beauty is given a power to take control, Belle is used as a means of escape and does not gain power from the