In 1991, a love story graced theaters worldwide, teaching everyone a lesson to not “judge a book by its cover.”
Beauty and the Beast captured the hearts of audiences everywhere. The story of a cursed prince doomed to live life as a monstrous beast unless he finds true love, will forever be a classic. We invite you to be our guest and check out these 15 fun facts about Beauty and the Beast.
1. The first ever recorded version of the story of Beauty and the Beast was in 1550 by Giovanni Straparola. A retelling of the story, by Madam Le Prince De Beaumont, was later published in 1756 and became the most famous version.
2. Beauty and the Beast was the work of 600 Disney animators and artists. The crew spent a total of four years drawing and painting the animations, before using then-modern computer technology to create the film.
3. In the beautiful ballroom scene, Belle and the Beast were drawn in traditional 2D animation, while the background was a 3D computer-generated environment, a technique considered revolutionary in 1991.
4. In the 1991 Beauty and the Beast, Belle is the only character in her village to wear blue to symbolize that she is different.
5. The motherly teapot had a lot of different names like Mrs. Chamomile and Mrs. Darjeeling before the filmmakers landed on simply, Mrs. Potts.
6. Contrary to popular belief, the Beast from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast does not have a name. Throughout the entire film, no one refers to him as anything other than “the Beast” or “Master”. In fact, the Beast is literally credited as “Beast” at the end of the film.
7. Beauty and the Beast was the first animated movie ever nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. Although it lost this award, it won both Best Music, Original Song, and Best Music, Original Score for Alan Menken.
8. The Beast is a very subtle combination of: a gorilla (brow ridge and head shape), a buffalo (hunch and eerie melancholy), a lion (the mane), a bear (the body) and a wolf (those saucy legs and tail). His tusks have been borrowed from a boar. The animators took lots of trips to the zoo!
9. When Gaston is falling at the end of the 1991 film, a tiny skull flashes in each of his eyes during a close-up of his face. This is meant to symbolize that he dies from the fall.
10. Chip was supposed to only have one line of dialogue. Although the movie’s cutest character got way more film time because the boy who voiced Chip, Bradley Pierce, impressed the filmmakers so much that they expanded his part. Before Chip’s character was expanded, the original “cute” character was intended to be a music box.
11. Belle is one of the few Disney princesses in her 20s.“I love the fact that Belle’s independent. She wasn’t looking for a man and she’s highly intelligent. I also love that she’s the oldest Disney princess. She’s the only one who they ever created to be in her 20s. All the other princesses have been teenagers. So there’s maturity about her,” actress Paige O’Hara, who played Belle, has said.
12. Also, Belle is only the second Disney princess that isn’t royal by birth. Belle doesn’t become a princess until the conclusion of the film with her marriage to the Prince. The first heroine who wasn’t born royal is Cinderella.
13. The final dance scene reused animation from Sleeping Beauty. If you watch the two side-by-side, the resemblance is undeniable.
14. The song “Human Again” was cut just before production started. The song was later added to the Broadway show and was recorded and animated for the 2002 re-release of the film.
15. Bambi’s mother makes an appearance in the movie. In the opening shot of the film she can be seen drinking from the stream in the lower right.
