Poster:BFI,2012

LaBelleetlaBête

‘TheBeautyandtheBeast’hastobeoneofthebest‐knownanimatedfeatures

everreleasedbyWaltDisneyPictures.Fewerpeopleseemtorealizethattherewasmorethanoneversionofthisfairytaleinfilm.

‘LaBelleetlaBête’wasreleasedin1946,directedbyJeanCocteauwhowasa

surrealistandapoet.Cocteau,withtheaidofhistechnicaladvisor,ReneClement

andDirectorofphotography,HenriAlekancreatedauniquedepictionoftheclassicfairytaleaswaswrittenbyJeanne‐MarieLePrinceDeBeaumont.

Belleisoneoffoursiblings.Sheisthekindlyanddotingdaughterofhermerchantfather,whilehertwosisters,FélicieandAdelaidearegreedyand

materialintheirnature.Theirbrother,LudovicisawasteofspaceandhisfriendAvenantjustwantstomarryBelle.Lostinthefogonhiswayhomeonenight,the

merchantfatherfindshimselfatacastlewherehesheltersfromtheweather.As

itliftsthemerchantfindsagardenandmakesthemistakeofpickingaroseforhisdaughterBelle.TheterrifyingformoftheBeastarrives,demandingthathe

shouldpayforsuchactionswithhislife,orhandoveroneofhisdaughtersinhis

place.Inhearingherfather’splightonhisreturnandovercomewithguilt,Belletakesherfather’splace,leavinginsecretforthecastleofthebeast.Itisthenthat

beautymetthebeast.

 

Figure1&2:Theanimatedcandelabrainthedininghallandhallway(Bfi,2012)

‘LaBelleetlaBête’wasreleasedimmediatelyfollowingthehorrorsofWorld

WarIIanditofferedthegeneralpublicsalvationintheformofescapism.IntheverybeginningofhisfilmCocteaumakesarequestofhisaudience…‘ Iaskofyoualittleofthischildlikesimplicity,and,tobringusluck,letmespeakfourtrulymagicwords,childhood'sopensesame:"Onceuponatime..."Itisthisrequest and 

Cocteau’sfantasticalproductionmanagementthathelpedtocreateafairytale

worldthatwasnotlimitedtotheentertainmentofjustchildren.Hemadeitaccessibletoall,ashasbeenobservedbyJamesTravers‘Cocteau’soriginalconceptionforthefilmwasarealisticrenditionofaclassicfairytale-notthekindoffluffynonsensewhichisaimedexclusivelyatchildren,butapieceofcinemaartthatmakestherealmofchildhoodfantasyappearreal,enablinganadultaudiencetorememberwhatitwasliketoseetheworldthroughachild’seyes.’(Travers,2010)Thisgentlepushingofolderaudiencememberstoremembertheirworld

intheirearlyyears,beforethedevastationofwarmayhavehelpedfurthertheir

escapism.

The‘unlikely’conceptoffairytalefilmsforadultshassincebeenreiteratedandis

becomingmorepopularinrecentyears,althoughoddly,theseviolentandgoryadaptionsareprobablyclosertotheoriginaluntamedstoriesaspointedoutby

ScottMeslowinhisarticleforTheAtlanticmagazine,‘FairyTalesStartedDark,GotCuteandAreNowGettingDarkerAgain’‘Whilesuchretellingsmayseemsubversive,they'reactuallythrowbacks,markingareturntowhatthesetalesoriginallywere—before,even,theBrothersGrimmgottheirhandsonthem.’(Meslow,2012)Theseretellingsmarkhowfairytalesarenotexclusivelyfor

childrenanymore.

Akeyfeatureinthisfilmisitssetdesign.Buriedinthebaroquefantasyofla

Bête’s(theBeasts)castleisanenchantinglybewilderingdepictionofmagic,asisdescribedbyMichaelMiller.‘WithdesignerChristianBerard,Cocteautransformsthearchitecturalspaceintoliving,breathingform.’(Miller,2002)Millergoesonto

describesomeofthemostprominentandmemorablefeaturesofthisfilm,particularlythehallwayofcandelabrathatnotonlyappeartolightthemselves,

butareheldoutbyhumanarmsfromthewalls(Figure1&2).Thissemi‐humanpresencewithinthe‘inanimateobjects’ofthebeast’scastlehavehelpedtocreate

asurrealbutcompletelybelievableessenceofmagic.Itcreatestheillusionthe

castleismoreofanorganismthatreactstothepresenceofhumans.

 

Forthemajorityofthefilm,theaudiencehasgrownusedtothepresenceoflaBête.Theyhaveunknowinglygrowntolikehistorturedcharacter,despitehis

faultsanddemeanor.Asaresultofthiswarmingtohim,thetransformationofthebeastintoabeautifulprinceispracticallyanticlimactic,althoughinthemost

cleverway.AsisdiscussedbyRogerEbert‘Odd,howappealingMaraisisastheBeast,andhowshallowandsuperficialheseemsasthepompadouredprince.EvenBelledoesn'tleapcheerfullyintohisarms,butlooksquizzicallyathernewcatchandconfessesshemissestheBeast.’(Ebert,1999)Thisslightrecoilofboththe

audienceandBelletowardsthebeastisakeymomentinthecreationofthisfilmanditrevealsjusthowmuchthefairytalehadcaptureditsaudiences;howithad

reduceditsviewerstothenaïvestatethatCocteauhadexplicitlyaskedforinthewrittenintroductiontohisfilm.

ItisauniquetakeontheclassicstorybutasBellesaysherself‐Itwilltakesomegettingusedto.

Bibliography-References

Travers,J(2010)LABELLEETLABÊTE(1946)http://filmsdefrance.com/FDF_La_belle_et_la_Bête_rev.html

(18/11/2012)

Miller,M(2002)SimpleTwistsoffatehttp://www.villagevoice.com/2002‐08‐13/film/simple‐twists‐of‐fate/1/

(19/11/2012)

Meslow,S(2012)FairyTalesStartedDark,GotCuteandAreNowGettingDark Againhttp://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/05/fairy‐tales‐

started‐dark‐got‐cute‐and‐are‐now‐getting‐dark‐again/257934/(19/11/2012)

Ebert,R(1999)BeautyandtheBeasthttp://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19991226/REVIE

WS08/912260301/1023(19/11/2012)

Bibliography-ImagesBritishFilmInstitute(2012)LaBelleEtLaBête

http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b6a59e27b(17/11/2012)