Wednesday, May 25, 2005

There's no man in town half as manly.



Gaston gets a bad rap. For some reason, Disney considers him one of their line-up of villains, but he's really just misunderstood -- all he wants is to woo and win the lovely Belle, and help her senile father get the help he needs.

That said, Belle's preference for the Beast over Gaston is an interesting one, for they share many of the same characteristics -- and those qualities that Gaston is proud of, the Beast has in spades. Here's an excerpt from Gaston's song:
Girls: For there's no one as burly and brawny.
Gaston: As you see, I've got biceps to spare.
LeFou: Not a bit of him's scraggly or scrawny.
Gaston: And ev'ry last inch of me's covered with hair!
So let's see: burly, brawny, muscly, and hairy -- all of those qualities that we laugh at Gaston for, the Beast has in much greater proportion.

Is the lesson for Gaston that he is not rough or brutish enough? Not hairy enough? He means well, but doesn't always do the right thing -- he needs some tender, loving guidance. That's exactly the same story as the Beast -- except the Beast holds Belle against her will in his castle.

So what's up with Belle? Does she secretly like Gaston, but seeks out someone even more potentially dangerous and brutish? And does she miss the Beast when he becomes a prince again?

Clearly, Belle has some sort of a "bad boy" complex, and Gaston just wasn't bad enough for her.

5 comments:

Lorianne said...

Clearly Belle was a masochist. ;-)

Anonymous said...

Brunettes can only date blondes. The Beast is blonde and Belle is a brunette, so they are destined for fairy-tale bliss; Gaston is a brunette and thus Belle cannot form a relationship with him.

Redheads can date brunettes - see The Little Mermaid for further detail. The Little Mermaid: Redhead; Prince Charming: Brunette

Sleeping Beauty: blonde; Prince Charming: brunette

Cinderella: blonde; Prince Charming: brunette

Pocahontas: brunette; John Smith: blonde

Nala: blonde lion; Simba: dark haired lion; (Scar: evil extra-dark lion)

Peter Pan: sandy blonde; Captain Hook: black hair

Pinocchio: Black Hair; Gepetto: white hair

Snow White: black hair, Prince Charming: dark hair. OK, this was the first Disney flick, and they hadn't discovered the magic yet. Of course Aladdin and Jasmine also both had dark hair. Yikes, and so did Tarzan and Jane. Guess my post is moot.

B2 said...

Anonymous -- whoever you are -- thank you for the insight.

Anonymous said...

Clearly you have been reading the princess stories to the girls again.

Chandira said...

LOL.. I am blonde, married to a brunette.

Sounds more like Chewbacca, maybe she's in the wrong movie..
It's the castle. Us women dig castles..