Beauty and the Beast.

 

                                            Beauty and the Beast.

Some years ago, there was a cruel and selfish prince who lived in a beautiful castle with all of his servants. Then one winter's night, an old beggar woman arrived at the castle and offered a rose in exchange for

shelter from the cold, but was refused by the prince, who was disgusted by the woman's appearance. Upon which, the woman revealed herself to be a beautiful and powerful enchantress. As punishment for the prince's cruelty, the enchantress transforms him into a terrible beast, his servants into living household objects and the castle into a dark fortress. Since then, the Beast concealed himself within his castle out of shame of his new form with both a magic mirror to see into the outside world and the enchantress' rose. She warns the Beast that the spell will only be broken if he learns to love another and be loved in return before the last petal falls, or he will remain a beast forever.

Years later, in a nearby village, Belle, the book-loving daughter of an eccentric inventor named Maurice, dreams of adventure. She constantly tries to avoid Gaston, a narcissistic hunter who wants to marry her because of her beauty. On his way to a fair to showcase his latest invention (an automatic wood-chopper), Maurice gets lost in the forest and seeks refuge in the Beast's castle, but the Beast imprisons him for trespassing. When Maurice's horse returns without him, Belle ventures out searching for him and finds him locked in the castle dungeon. The Beast agrees to free Maurice if she takes his place as prisoner.

Belle befriends the castle's servants: Lumière the candelabra, Cogsworth the clock, Mrs. Potts the teapot, and her son Chip, the teacup; they serve her a dinner through song. When she wanders into the forbidden west wing and finds the rose, the Beast catches her and furiously orders her out of the room. Terrified, she flees the castle. In the woods, she is ambushed by a pack of wolves, but the Beast rescues her and is injured in the process. As Belle nurses his injuries, a rapport develops between them and as time passes, they begin to fall in love.

Meanwhile, Maurice returns to the village and fails to convince the townsfolk of Belle's predicament. Hearing Maurice's statements about the Beast, Gaston hatches a plan: He bribes Monsieur D'Arque, the warden of the town's insane asylum, to have Maurice locked up as a lunatic. With no one to support her, Belle would then have no choice but to marry Gaston. Before they can act, however, Maurice leaves for the castle to attempt a rescue alone.

After sharing a romantic dance with the Beast, Belle uses the Beast's magic mirror to check on her father and sees him collapsing in the woods. The Beast releases her to save Maurice, giving her the mirror as a souvenir. After Belle takes her father to the village, a band of villagers led by Gaston arrives to arrest Maurice. Belle uses the mirror to show the Beast to the townsfolk, proving her father's sanity. Realizing that Belle loves the Beast, a jealous Gaston has her and her father locked in the basement. He rallies the villagers to follow him to the castle to slay the Beast. With the help of Chip, who arrived at their house as a stowaway, and Maurice's wood-chopping machine, Maurice and Belle escape and then rush back to the castle.

During the battle, the Beast's servants fend off the villagers. Gaston attacks the Beast in his tower, who is too depressed from Belle's departure to fight back but regains his spirit upon seeing Belle return. He defeats Gaston but spares his life before reuniting with Belle. However, Gaston fatally stabs the Beast with a knife and falls to his death. The Beast dies in Belle's arms before the last petal falls. Belle tearfully professes her love to the Beast, and the spell is undone, reviving the Beast and restoring his human form along with all his servants and his castle. The Prince and Belle host a ball for the kingdom, where they dance happily.