Line #60 Awesome/BeautyAndTheBeast


1	![[WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast The Disney Film]]
2	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1675110_bb3.jpg]]
3	[[caption-width-right:350:The climactic battle between a savage, bloodthirsty monster [[BaitAndSwitch and a cursed prince]].]]
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5	* The majority of the plot hinges on one of Belle's greatest moments: [[ActOfTrueLove willingly sacrificing her freedom]] ''[[ActOfTrueLove forever]]'' [[ActOfTrueLove in order to save her dad]].
6	* The ballroom. Even after 30 years it can still hold up. The fact that Belle and the Beast are perfectly animated to go along with the 3D camera certainly helps.
7	** Of special mention must go to Creator/JamesBaxter (yes, that [[Recap/AdventureTimeS5E19JamesBaxterTheHorse James Baxter]]) who animated Belle and the Beast ''by hand''.
8	* Belle tricking Gaston into falling out the door and into the mud when he proposes to marry her. The fact that she doesn’t waste her breath giving him a [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech "reason why I won’t marry you" speech]] helps to prove that she is better than him in this regard.
9	* Belle has revealed the existence of the Beast to save her father from being institutionalized, which was really Gaston's ploy to force her to marry him. She then defends the Beast, and Gaston says, "If I didn't know better, I'd think you had feelings for this monster." Her reply to a man who has the rest of her village wrapped around his finger: "He's no monster, Gaston. ''You are!''"
10	** In the Broadway adaptation, Gaston goes as far as to give Belle a ForcefulKiss directly after his threat to marry him. She gives him a BitchSlap in retaliation, and he almost punches her for this, but only stops because the rest of the mob is still watching and are horrified of this. In most stage plays, Belle ''stands completely still'' as he’s aiming to punch her, knowing Gaston will only care more about saving his reputation, as if she’s saying “Go ahead, you son of a bitch, hit me, see how ''that'' goes”.
11	* During the battle at the Beast's castle, when [=LeFou=] is melting Lumiere, Cogsworth appears at the top of the stairs, dressed in British Admiralty regalia and wielding a pistol and scissors, and, laughing hysterically, slides down the banister and saves Lumiere. It's particularly awesome considering how much of a stiff jobsworth he was before, and how antagonistic his relationship with Lumiere was.
12	** Hell, the entire castle siege in general was amazing (As well as [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments hilarious]], considering it was an angry mob of simple-minded townsfolk armed with torches and pitchforks against an entire castle of servants transformed into ordinary household objects who turn out to be NotSoHarmless). You try and fight against drawers of living cutlery with a ''very terrifying cooker'' as their leader, a hat rack with incredible boxing skills, a pile-driving wardrobe, a cannibal chest, a living candelabra, a scissor-toting clock, and an ApronMatron teapot who utilizes her teacup children into ''scalding'' people. Not to mention the pans who strike down at one, the jugs throwing produce into the eyes of another, a trunk who eats the baker, and Lord knows what else these guys did. It's no wonder the villagers just fled; the Beast was a single scary foe they'd psyched themselves up for, but the servants were a MookHorrorShow ''army'' they had never prepared to face period, much less win against.
13	** Let's not forget Mrs. Potts's PreAsskickingOneLiner as she prepares to pour tea on a villager: "UP HERE, YA SCURVY SCUM! ''NOW!''"
14	** It's even better after hearing Human Again; the Wardrobe sings about how, when she's human, she'll be ''able to fit through that door''... yet she's at the front of the crowd of objects as they march; presumably, she has been informed the battle is coming and has ''smashed her way out of Belle's bedroom''.
15	*** And she's the tank of the group in this fight; she piledrives one of the goons, and begins to kung-fu strike several of them with her doors before stuffing one inside of her and putting him in a silly outfit. Seriously, she's the most physically powerful of ''all'' the servants.
16	** Preceding all that? Just as the VillainSong ends and they break in, it's quiet and dark, almost too much so (the villagers even seem a little suspicious) - still, they keep moving slowly, with [=LeFou=] grabbing a "mere" candlebra to see with...
17	--->'''Lumiere:''' ''[shouting]'' NOW!!!\
18	(the lights instantly come on at the same time as every single one [[RoarBeforeBeating roars before blindsiding the villagers]])
19	** The Broadway musical makes the Castle Battle an even greater moment of awesome, as it gives all of the objects a chance to absolutely go to town on the people trying to destroy their home. Highlights include Babette the feather duster [[ShowSomeLeg flirting with a marauding villager]], which in turn allows Lumiere to burn the guy in the backside; Chip spitting hot tea in [=LeFou=]'s face and Mrs. Potts whaling on him with her spout-arm; Madame de la Grande Bouche (the wardrobe) dressing as Brunhilde from Wagner's ''Ring Cycle'' (complete to the music of "Ride of the Valkyries") and scaring off [=LeFou=] with an extremely high note and razor-sharp spear; and the napkins (who, in the musical, are a group of can-can dancers) using their high kicks to knock the majority of the villagers unconscious. Depending on the skills of the ensemble of objects in each production, other impressive tricks are possible: some examples on Website/YouTube have the actor playing a throw rug perform complicated acrobatics, the whisk spinning its headgear like a giant flail, and the salt and pepper shakers dumping their contents all over the villagers, leading to sneezing fits.
20	** Lumiere's SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome has to be when he saves his beloved Babette by ''blowing on his arm to enlarge the flame from the top of his head and scorch the backside off of the villain that was ripping her apart''.
21	* The Beast gets his when he reduces Gaston to a sniveling wretch by [[NeckLift dangling him over a cliff]]:
22	-->'''Gaston:''' L-let me go! Don't hurt me! I-I'll do anything! ANYTHING!\
23	''(Beast considers killing Gaston for a moment…'' ''[[WhatYouAreInTheDark before pulling him back to safety)]]''\
24	'''The Beast:''' [[GetOut Get out…]] ''(throws Gaston to the ground in disgust)''
25	** Just the way the Beast [[TranquilFury quietly]] says "GetOut". Take into account how he previously said that to Belle in the West Wing. Yes it was also intimidating when he roared it, but in subtext, it was a display of how little self-control he had at the time. Here? He's saying it in such a measured way that demonstrates the maturity he previously lacked.
26	** Leading up to that, Gaston has the Beast cornered. There's nothing he can do to protect himself. But when Gaston says "It's over, Beast: BELLE IS ''MINE''!", [[DeathGlare a fierce expression creeps into his eyes]] before he tackles him. It's almost as though he was spurred by the righteous fury that Gaston has the gall to bluster that [[EntitledToHaveYou Belle essentially belongs to him now]]. And this is in [[{{Foil}} contrast]] to how the Beast gave back Belle's freedom.
27	* The latter half of the fight between the Beast and Gaston. After seeing Belle has returned to him the Beast regains his will to live and utterly ''dominates'' Gaston, with the size and strength of a grizzly bear combined with the intelligence and agility of a human. For an instant, Gaston looks like he realizes he's bitten off more than he can chew.
28	** He also hears Belle shout for Gaston to stop. After everything Belle had told him about the guy who wouldn't stop hassling her, he was thinking, "Oh, the HELL if I get killed by THIS asshole."
29	** As much of a nutcase as Gaston is, Belle probably didn't want him to get killed either. She didn't respond to his DisneyVillainDeath because she was more concerned about Beast at that moment.
30	* Actually, after the Beast stops holding back Gaston manages to hold his own, if only for a short time. Pretty impressive, considering the Beast's size and strength.
31	* The Beast's very ''design'' is a Moment of Awesome; up until then every version had been some variation of "man with an animal's head." Disney's character is a completely new chimera who can simply be described as a "beast." He ''is'' his name.
32	** Another moment for the design team: the way they mix his voice with animal noises. It adds an extra bit of power to his voice and emphasizes just how utterly ''terrifying'' he can be when he's angry.
33	** He was also given some of the finest and most fluid animation ever seen in the entire Disney Animated Canon. In particular his facial animation is nearly flawless and as a result he is able to emote so believably that the audience immediately feels kinship and sympathy for him.
34	* While it's also [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments hilarious]], the scene of the Beast on his way to Belle's room after she refuses to come to dinner highlights just how powerful his body is as he scrambles up the first few stairs and then '''vaults the gap''' between the staircase and second story hall.
35	* The wolf sequence in the forest. Belle's attacked by a bunch of wolves; she defends herself well, but there are just too many of them. Wolf leaps, she goes down, another wolf leaps, looks like the end. Cue the Beast grabbing the wolf and ''roaring in its face'' as the music goes berserk, then epically proceeding to rip the pack apart.
36	** For that matter, the whole reason Belle is in the woods: She put reason before honor and ran away upon realizing just how terrifying the Beast can be when pissed off.
37	** Also a Moment of Heartwarming, Belle's fear of Beast apparently disappears after he saves her. He roars right in her face when she accidentally aggravates his wounds and she doesn't even flinch. She even talks back to him as he complains. Probably because the wolf fight shows her that for all of his tantrums he could never and would never actually hurt her.
38	** Belle needs way more credit for the woods scene, since she slammed the wolves into trees while on horseback, rode that fast on cluttered, overgrown paths, and then attempted to fight off the wolves with a stick. While the Beast has to come in at the end, Belle held her own against a pack quite well.
39	* Finally, there's the moment when it becomes clear Belle has done much more than invoke a DisneyDeath for the Beast: the transformation sequence. This was also a Moment of Awesome for The Beast's animator, Glen Keane.
40	** Also the transformation in the Broadway show was absolutely breathtaking.
41	** Not to mention the music during this scene that is considered to be one of Alan Menken's greatest compositions.
42	* Gaston's rousing [[CrowdSong "Mob Song"]] where he paraphrases both Literature/TheBible ("If you're not with us, you're against us") and Creator/WilliamShakespeare ("Screw your courage to the sticking place!") to rally a, well, mob to, as the song is also known as, "Kill the Beast".
43	** The above is also proof positive that Gaston isn't as anti-intellectual as first impressions would suggest...
44	** You also have to give credit to the villagers for deciding to kill the Beast. Sure, from both Belle's and the audience's perspective, a bunch of people led by the film's main antagonist are about to attack a gentle giant out of a ''huge'' misunderstanding (and Gaston's jealousy). But to the villagers, a terrifying monster is threatening their safety, and he needs to be killed in order to protect their village and their families.
45	** Doubles as a SugarWiki/{{Funny Moment\|s}} when you hear some of the other lyrics in the song.
46	--->'''Mob:''' We don't like\
47	What we don't understand\
48	In fact it scares us\
49	And this monster is mysterious at least
50	** Also,
51	--->Here we come, we're fifty strong\
52	And fifty Frenchmen can't be wrong...
53	** And the servants of the castle after finding out they're being invaded.
54	--->Hearts ablaze! Banners high!\
55	We go marching into battle\
56	Unafraid, although the danger has increased!
57	* When Gaston tries to get Belle's dad into the crazy house because he tells everyone about the beast, unless Belle marries him, Belle comes to the rescue and shows everyone the beast in her magic mirror and says that he's her friend. Gaston, who sees that his plan isn't going to work anymore, wants revenge on Belle and then tells everyone that the beast is going to attack them, eat their children etc. and that they should go and kill the beast, which all men of the village are going to do afterwards. The evilness of that was extremely awesome.
58	* Need to kick down a door? Use a horse!
59	--> '''Belle:''' Let's go, Phillipe!\
60	''Phillipe the horse proceeds to violently kick open the doors... '''with Belle on his back'''''.
61	* Music/AlanMenken's songs.
62	** The way the choreography of the furniture's dancing during "Be Our Guest" was a Moment of Awesome.
63	** Menken's incidental music ''between'' the songs also had its awesome moments. When Belle discovers that her father may be dying out in the cold, the Beast looks at the wilting rose and, in a moment of utter anguish, decides to let Belle go anyway, knowing it will probably doom his only chance to remove his curse. The music that plays at that moment is utter [[AwesomeMusic/{{Disney}} Awesome Music]].
64	* And that goes double for Howard Ashman, Menken's songwriting partner since practically the start of his musical career. Some time before ''WesternAnimation/{{The Little Mermaid\|1989}}'' won Oscars for Best Song and Best Score, Ashman was diagnosed as HIV-positive. When he was put to work for ''Beauty and the Beast'', Ashman was noted to be irritable and would soon not even be able work in the studio. Despite all this, [[{{determinator}} he]] ''[[{{determinator}} never]]'' [[{{determinator}} gave up on his work]]: he would instruct recording sessions via telephone even when he was weak and he wrote what are probably some of the most memorable songs in cinema, period, during the last year of his life (the title song's lyrics undoubtedly being his best). Even though he never lived to see the finished film, Ashman's sheer dedication to his work counts as this trope, a TearJerker, and a great SugarWiki/{{Heartwarming Moment\|s}}. The dedication at the end of the film states he 'gave a mermaid her voice and a beast his soul'.
65	* Yet another out of character example: Creator/AngelaLansbury recorded the title song in a single take.
66	** She hadn't wanted to perform the song after hearing Alan Mencken's demo recording, which sounded much more like a pop song -- that somebody had sent her in error. She came around once they played her [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ctJOAho3xE Howard Ashman's demo recording]], which was slower and more like the final recording, which is what they'd intended her to sing like.
67	** Reportedly, Lansbury reduced everyone who was in the recording studio at the time to tears with her OneTakeWonder.
68	* The message of the movie that "True Beauty is found within."
69	* The scene where Chip fires up Maurice's wood-chopper and manages to use it to free them.
70	-->'''Chip:''' You guys have ''got'' to try this thing.
71	** Even better, Chip was helpless to help Belle when she confronted the village, but the moment he saw that ax, he essentially saved his master's life, as without Belle, the beast would have been killed by Gaston.
72	** The fact that a child that's probably about 9 years old, figured out how to work a machine without hands. Seriously, this kid was able to make it work ''and'' still have enough time for him, Belle and Maurice to make it back to the Beast's castle.
73	* The reprise of "Belle" after she rejects Gaston's marriage proposal. The way the music swells as she runs into the field and the just the ''yearning'' in her voice, making such a simple sentiment very common among young adults very powerful and meaningful. And the way it ends on a soft, introspective note.
74	* More of an OffscreenMomentOfAwesome, and reached only through FridgeLogic, but Belle had to be physically strong enough to pull the Beast onto her horse. She also had to pull him to safety after Gaston stabs him and falls, when he nearly fainted (you can see him swaying back before she grabs his shirt).
75	* Gaston's rousing song in the bar is awesome [[AwesomeEgo in its own right]]. It's nothing but 2-3 minutes of him and the townspeople claiming BadassBoast after BadassBoast and as we all know, [[MemeticBadass no one strokes his ego like Gaston]].
76	** Credit where credit is due, Gaston is able to back up much of his boasting during the song. He snaps a leather belt around his neck simply by flexing, takes a bite out of said belt to spit a wad of chewed leather through several ricochet shots to hit the spittoon, and effortlessly lifts the Bimbettes and their bar seat with one hand.
77	* While it wasn't a success at all, Maurice attempting a rescue mission on his own proves that he truly cares for Belle and is willing to risk his life for her safety.
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Context Awesome / BeautyAndTheBeast