Disney’s Beauty and the BeastMusic by Alan Menken, Lyrics by Howard Ashman & Tim Rice, Book by Linda Woolverton

Linda Woolverton set a precedent as the first woman to write an animated feature for Disney. She adapted the Beauty and the Beast story for the motion picture studio, but it was an uphill battle. Her struggle to make Belle a heroine for modern audiences was met with some resistance. In a scene in which she wrote Belle mark-ing a map, choosing destinations to explore, she received revisions placing the character in a kitchen, baking.

Woolverton was not ready to create a character cut from the same cloth as other female fairy tale prototypes. With the help of the film’s lyricist, Howard Ashman, she crafted a character who was headstrong and book-smart. Woolverton states, “If you depict girls and women in these roles that we’ve never seen before, then it becomes an assumption for younger generations.”

Gabrielle Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve (Nov 28, 1685–Dec 29, 1755) a Parisian author, wrote the original story, La Belle et la Bête (Beauty and the Beast) in 1740.

The story was originally of novel length and included a lengthy back story about the two main characters. Drawing from fairy tales and folklore, it included fairy kings and queens and was a geared toward an older, more adult audience.

The tale is said to have been written to prepare young women for arranged marriages in 18th century France. It was common for parents to arrange their daughter’s marriage. The daughters would enter the marriage, for the sake of her family, not knowing if their husband was kind.

The story was a social critique speaking to the fact that women had very few marital rights before, during and after the marriage.

Linda WoolvertonJeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont

2017 Study Guide

Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve

Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont published an adapted, shortened version of La Belle et la Bête in her Magasin des enfants (Children’s Collection) in 1756.

De Beaumont’s version serves as the basis of the story that audiences are familiar with today. She spent over a decade working as a governess to upper-class children and she wrote with them in mind. She refocused the story from one in which the Beast was in search of his humanity, and thus leading to his transformation, to one where the heroine needed to change. In her version, it is Belle who must look beyond surface appearances and recognize the humanity in the Beast. It evolved into a morality tale serving to educate children.

Beaumont published literary instruction handbooks for parents and teachers. Many consider handbooks to be the first educational journals for children. The journals also integrated folktales as a teaching tool.

Before seeing/reading the play1. Research the original La Belle et la Bête written by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve in 1740. Familiarize yourself with the 1756 abridged version by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont. How does the original French story reflect the expectations of women at the time? What are the morals and themes present in the story? These and other websites provide information: http://www.pookpress.co.uk/project/beauty-and-the-beast-history/ http://www.vox.com/culture/2017/3/23/15000768/ beauty-and-the-beast-feminist-stockholm-syndrome

2. Research Linda Woolverton and her 1991 screenplay of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Compare the original Beauty and the Beast story with the animated film. In what ways could Belle be considered a feminist story? These and other websites provide information:http://time.com/4344654/beauty-and-the-beast-linda- woolverton/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Woolverton

3. Research Petrus Gonsalvus and his marriage to Lady Catherine. How did his life and marriage reflect society’s view on appearance? How were Petrus Gonsalvus and his family treated by those who held high status in the court? This and other websites provide information: https://theportalist.com/petrus-gonsalvus-the-real-life-beauty-and-the-beast

4. How do musicals differ from nonmusical plays? What purpose do the songs serve in a musical? What does music add to the telling of a story? These and other websites provide information: http://dictionary.tdf.org/play-vs-musical/https://www.musicals101.com/score.htm#Types

5. What is the structure of a fairy tale? Historically, what role did fairy tales serve in society? Why do fairy tales continue to be relevant today? These and other websites provide information:http://www.surfturk.com/mythology/fairytaleelements.htmlwww.mccarter.org/education/secretinthewings/page16.htmhttp://www.purdue.edu/uns/html4ever/031111.Grauerholz.tales.html

6. What does the forest symbolize in literature? This and other websites provide information:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enchanted_forest

Additional resources and interviews: Translation of the LePrince de Beaumont version of La Belle et la Bête: http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/beauty.html

Costume renderings for Belle and Maurice by Ana Kuzmanic.

Costume renderings for Gaston and LeFou by Ana Kuzmanic.

Costume renderings for Babette and Lumière by Ana Kuzmanic.

After seeing/reading the play1. Refer to your research on musicals. What is the tone established by the musical score of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast? How does the tone of the music shift from the beginning to the end of the play? How do songs help establish the characters and their conflicts? When a song is reprised, what does it reflect about the character in those moments?

2. Refer to your research on Carl Jung’s work on fairy tales. What are Belle and Maurice searching for in the tale? What are the Beast and Gaston searching for? What are the ser-vants and the Villagers searching for? What are their fears? In what ways do they confront their fears? In what ways do they overcome their fears?

3. Refer to your research on Barbot-Villeneuve and Beau-mont. Why do townspeople think Belle is odd? What ideas does Belle have that differ from the townspeople? How do their views reflect prevailing opinions in 18th-century French society? How do those views continue to be expressed our modern society? In what ways is Belle pressured to conform to society’s expectations of her? In what ways does Belle retain her individualism?

4. Refer to your research on Carl Jung’s work on fairy tales and on forests in literature. How does the villagers’ environment define their experience and point of view? Why is the forest a place that is feared by LeFou and some of the other villagers? In what ways is the villagers’ fear of the forest a reflection of their inner selves? How has the cas-tle’s environment defined the inhabitant’s experience? How has the enchantment altered their relationship to their environment? In what ways does their individual enchantment reflect their inner self?

5. What qualities does Belle possess? Which of Belle’s qualities do the villagers value over the others? Refer to your research on fairytales. What does the Belle have in common with other fairy tale heroines? How does she differ from other fairy tale heroines?

6. Refer to your research on musicals. How are the songs used in structuring Disney’s Beauty and the Beast? It is proverbially said that, “when emotions become too strong for speech, in a musical, you sing.” In what ways do the songs convey Belle’s emotional journey? The Beast’s? The castle servants? The mob’s?

7. Refer to your research on fairy tales. What are the traditional roles of men in fairy tales? Women? What do princes and princesses typically represent? What does the Beast have in common with the traditional male fairy tale characters? How is the Beast’s character different from that of other princes in fairy tales?

8. Describe Belle’s relationship with her father, Maurice. How does their relationship change over the course of the play?

9. Compare and contrast the Beast to Gaston. How do they relate to those around them? How do they use their power and influence? What are their views on a woman’s role in society? How does Gaston attempt to woo Belle? How does the Beast attempt to woo Belle? In what ways has their appearance worked to their advantage? How has it worked to their disadvantage?

10. What are the power dynamics in the play? Which char-acters have a higher status in the play and which have a lower status? How are the characters who have a low status treated by those in power? In what ways does the class divide between the Beast and his servants work against the Beast? When do the power dynamics between the classes shift and why?

11. In what ways does Belle pose a challenge to the Beast? In what ways is she a challenge to Gaston? When is Belle at her most powerful? In which ways does Belle exercise her power? When is the Beast at his most vulnerable? In which ways does he show his inner beauty? Why does his inner beauty remain masked for a great part of the play? What events contribute to him revealing his true self?

Costume renderings for Chip and Mrs. Potts by Ana Kuzmanic.

Costume renderings for Cogsworth and Mme. de la Grande Bouche by Ana Kuzmanic.

After seeing/reading the play cont. 13. Why does the enchantment that castle is under affect all of its inhabitants? Why do the servants have to suffer the same fate as the Beast if the spell is not broken? What obstacle must the Beast overcome in order to break the spell? In what ways is he able to help himself? In what ways must he rely on the help of others?

14. Compare and contrast the Beast and Belle. How have their experiences with how others see them been alike? What is the turning point in the Beast and Belle’s relation-ship and how they view each other? In what ways does the Beast rescue Belle? In what ways does Belle rescue the Beast?

15. What does Belle learn about herself and others through her experiences in the castle? What must she overcome for her own transformation?

16. What lessons does the fairy tale, The Beauty and the Beast teach? How does Belle’s struggle with society’s expectations of her reflect the struggle for women’s rights over the centuries? In what ways is Belle a good or problematic role model for girls today?

17. If you are seeing UniSon, compare and contrast how the characters use song to communicate and narrate their journeys.

18. If you are seeing Julius Caesar, compare and contrast the mob in both plays. Who uses their influence on the mob and to what effect? What actions do the mob take and what are the consequences of those actions?

Members of Oregon Shakespeare Festival Education created the 2017 Study Guide for Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. These suggestions were designed for students and teachers but may be enjoyed by audiences of all ages. They may be used without restriction for educational purposes. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is not responsible for the content of any website listed above.

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Above and right: Costume renderings

for the Villagers by Ana Kuzmanic.

The enchantment has transformed the castle servants into inanimate objects! What character traits are amplified as a result of them taking on their new forms and identities?

For example: Cogsworth, the Head Servant, is transformed into a Pendulum Clock, making himprone to being “tightly wound.”

Character

Lumière

Mrs. Potts

Chip

Babette

Mme. de la Grande Bouche

Object

Candlestick

Teapot

Chipped Cup

Feather Duster

Wardrobe

Job Title

Head Waiter

Head of the Kitchen

Castle resident

Maid

Opera singer