Beauty And The Beast / Tropes E to J

Beauty and the Beast Trope Examples
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E

• Ear Ache: In the scene where the Beast takes a bath, the coatrack uses his ear to bring his head closer.
• Easter Egg:
  • In the first song, where Belle sings in the town, she sits by a fountain. As she reads the book (described earlier, as an adventure with a prince in disguise, it sounds like Beauty and the Beast), she flips to a page, with a picture. Look closely, and you will see that she is in the bottom right, the beast in the middle left, and the prince's castle in the middle.
  • The first stained glass window seen in the prologue has the Latin phrase 'vincit qui se vincit', which means (in a subtle prefiguring of the arc of the whole story) 'He who conquers himself, conquers'.
  • Caricatures of the directors, Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale, can be seen in the scene where Belle is given the book as a gift. As she is leaving the store three men are seen pretending to not look through the window and then they sing, "Look there she goes. The girl who's so peculiar. I wonder if she's feeling well." They are the two men on the outside of the large blonde man.
  • Among the trophy heads on Gaston's tavern is what appears to be a frog's head, visible in the shot as Gaston spits. A bald eagle can be seen while he jumps onto his chair during his song.
  • The original "cute" character of the movie was a music box, which was supposed to be a musical version of Dopey from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. But when the character Chip's role was expanded, the music box idea was scrapped. However the music box can be seen for a brief moment on a table next to Lumière just before the fight between the enchanted objects and the villagers in the Beast's castle.
  • Almost all of the gargoyles and statues seen in the West Wing are previous designs for the Beast.
• Egomaniac Hunter: Gaston's Establishing Character Moment in "Belle": shooting a bird and then declaring that Belle will be his wife because "I deserve the best!"
• The Eleven O'Clock Number: "The Mob Song" occurs after Gaston reveals his true colors, Belle reveals the Beast's existence, and is the final song in the movie.
• Emerging from the Shadows: Belle asks Beast to step into the light, and she (and the audience) sees his face properly.
• Emotional Bruiser: Beast becomes this thanks to Belle's influence; strong enough to rip a human apart but kind enough not to.
• Endearingly Dorky: The Beast at times during his more awkward moments. Belle spells out how adorable he is in her song "Something There" as he's trying to feed birds.
  Belle: There's something sweet, and almost kind... but now he's dear, and so unsure.
• Entitled to Have You: Gaston towards Belle. As he is the most popular guy in the village, he is determined to make Belle his wife because she is considered the most beautiful girl in the village (but also strange due to her love for books). When Belle makes clear that she is not interested, Gaston bribes the owner of an insane asylum to have Belle's father thrown in there so that he can Blackmail her into marrying him, and when Gaston realizes Belle is in love with the Beast, he decides to kill him.
• Establishing Character Moment:
  • In the span of thirty seconds from the beginning of his introduction, Gaston shows off being an egotistical macho hunter with eyes only for Belle and is determined to marry her, believing she'll fall for him without hesitation, as well as possessing a massive sense of entitlement ("Don't I deserve the best?").
  • The Beast has his when Belle bargains with him for her father's life. He is abrasive and cruel, but unlike Gaston, he can be moved to compassion and feels guilt for his misdeeds — even right after an explosion of temper — and tries to make up for them.
• "Eureka!" Moment: After Maurice is thrown out of the tavern, one of the patrons says, "Crazy old Maurice," and Gaston overhears it, which inspires him to comes up with the plan to have Maurice thrown into the asylum in order to coerce Belle to marry him.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Subverted: When the Asylum Warden learns from Gaston that he wants to incarcerate an innocent and harmless crackpot in order to blackmail his daughter into marrying him, he initially seems to react with disgust towards Gaston's Evil Plan with "Oh... that is so despicable", only to immediately declare "Hehehehe...! I LOVE IT!"
• Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": The Beast/Prince's name is never revealed in-story. In the DVD commentary, during the climax, it was mentioned how when they got to where Belle called out to the Beast from the balcony, they realized they never named him. They said they all started throwing names out, but ultimately left him unnamed. Thus Belle called out "Beast!" from the balcony.
• Every Car Is a Pinto: The wood-chopping machine explodes after Chip drives it into the cellar.
• Everybody Cries:
  • Played for Laughs. The Bimbettes are in love with Gaston and are therefore left crying when Gaston announces his intention to marry Belle.
  • Played for Drama. In the climax, the Beast is dying in Belle's arms, and the servants come. They all start crying, especially when the last petal falls from the rose, and Cogsworth attempts to comfort Miss Potts.
• Everyone Has Standards: Maurice has every reason to not trust the Beast. The Beast locked him up for the crime of entering the castle, took his daughter hostage, and booted Maurice out of the castle while he was pleading with Belle to not exchange her life for his. Then Belle brings him up to speed and takes him with her to rescue the Beast in the climax. Maurice looks horrified when Gaston prepares to beat up the Beast while the latter is down, and Belle begs Gaston to stop.
• Every Proper Lady Should Curtsy: Belle curtsies to Beast before they begin their dance◊. This is also the first time she's given him a move indicating such respect.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Gaston cannot understand why Belle refuses his advances, especially after threatening to have her father committed if she wouldn't marry him, and choose to fall in love with the Beast instead.
• Evil Counterpart: Gaston to the Beast. The Beast may look like a monster, but he's revealed to be daring, heroic and protective. Gaston on the other hand, is handsome but extremely ruthless and brutish.
• Evil Plan: Gaston comes up with one to wed Belle after she turns down his initial marriage proposal.
• Evil Sounds Deep:
  • Monsieur D'Arque and Gaston himself have deeper voices than the more neutral townspeople and the good-aligned castle servants.
  • Invoked. When the Prince was cursed, his voice became noticeably deeper to accentuate the "scary monster" transformation.
• Exact Words:
  • "All right, old man! We'll help you out." Then they toss Maurice out of the tavern.
  • The curse says the Beast must earn another's love before the last petal fell from the rose. It never said he had to be alive when it happened.
• Exactly Exty Years Ago: According to Lumiere, the curse has lasted for ten years. Since the curse is in its final stages, this also means the Enchantress gave the Beast roughly ten years to break it.
• Expressive Ears: The Beast has these, although they’re so small compared to the rest of his body that it’s hard to tell.
• Eye-Dentity Giveaway: The only similar trait between the Beast and his original human form is his blue eyes. When the Beast is transformed back at the end of the film, Belle doesn't truly recognize him until she looks in his eyes.
• Eyes Never Lie: This is how Belle realizes the transformed prince really is Beast; his eyes were the only part of him not affected by the curse, so they remain the same when he turns back into a human.

F

• Facepalm:
  • The Beast does this after causing Belle to flee terrified from the West Wing, and looks as if he's going to break into tears.
  • Belle does a double-handed version of this the moment she becomes Beast's prisoner, due to sorrow.
  • The Beast also does it in the prologue, wrapping both arms around his head in shame and despair.
• Falling-in-Love Montage: The aptly titled "Something There". Poor Beast is trying so hard for her.
• False Reassurance:
  • "I'm sorry, Gaston, but I just don't deserve you!"
  • "Don't worry, Maurice, we'll help you out!" They then chuck him out of the bar.
• Family Eye Resemblance: Mrs. Potts and Chip have the same shade of blue eyes.
• Family-Unfriendly Death:
  • During the castle invasion scene the wardrobe jumps off a second story balcony and lands on a guy with enough force to shatter the floor, all onscreen. This is a comedy fight so you normally wouldn't think about it, that is until we cut back to see the wardrobe fighting someone else still standing atop the mangled corpse of the guy she killed...
  • There's also the Beast's death after being stabbed in the back by Gaston (who falls off the roof into a canyon seconds later), the placement of the wound and the way he struggles to breathe makes it clear he has a punctured lung and slowly bleeds to death in Belle's arms (an agonizing way to die). It's okay, though, he got better.
  • It was also originally intended that Gaston would have suffered this trope: Specifically he would have survived his fall, albeit with a broken leg, and ended up encountering the wolves from earlier. Apparently they felt it was too gruesome even for someone like him.
• Family-Unfriendly Violence: The Beast is on the receiving end of this several times (being one of the few Disney characters to actually bleed). He's noticeably cut up and bloody after the fight with the wolves, takes Gaston's arrow to the shoulder, and has a large bleeding wound on his side after Gaston stabs him.
• Fangs Are Evil: The Beast’s fangs are more clearly and individually drawn whenever he’s supposed to look threatening.
• Fanservice Extra: Besides the Bimbettes trio and Babette, in the song "Belle", while Belle is riding on the back of a carriage cart, one of the merchants selling bread to one of his female customers and is very clearly eyeing her very noticeably exposed cleavage.
• Feet-First Introduction: The Beast remains in silhouette until the dungeon scene, when Belle asks him to come into the light. This trope then occurs (with a brief cutaway to Belle's face up close and horrified).
• Feminist Fantasy: Belle is an intelligent, free-spirited heroine that loves to read and dreams of living a life of adventure. She stands her ground against Jerk Jock Gaston and the titular Beast, calling them on their behavior and refusing to change herself to suit others. The Beast ultimately earns her love by treating her with gentleness, respect and selfless caring, not to mention by embracing her passion for books, while Gaston, who does just the opposite of all those things pays with his life in the end.
• Feigning Intelligence: A subtle one during Cogsworth's tour of the castle; the architectural terms he uses are nonsensical and frequently contradictory, indicating he has no clue what he's talking about.
• The Fighting Narcissist: Gaston is an unusually manly example. He has a rather effeminate pose when he sings about his skills in decorating. Said decorations are all animals he's hunted and killed.
• Finger-Forced Smile: During the song "Gaston", LeFou tries to make Gaston smile with his fingers and gets Punched Across the Room.
• Flipping the Table: Gaston does this when he loses a game of chess.
• "Flowers for Algernon" Syndrome: Years of the curse has slowly made the Beast’s mind more bestial. By the start of the film, he’s growling, barely wearing any clothes, and walking on all fours. As Belle and him fall in love, he starts acting more like a human again. Later, when the Beast believes he’s never going to see Belle again and be a beast for the rest of his life, his heartbreak and despair deteriorate him into making animalistic roars, growls, and whimpers again. Thankfully, his sanity vastly improves when Belle returns and fully recovers when he’s turned human again.
• Fluffy Dry Cat: When the Beast is done with his bath, he shakes his fur dry, and it fluffs up.
• Foil: Beast to Gaston, as the pair are polar opposites.
  • Gaston is handsome, vain, beloved by the town, yet is in reality is a brutal psychopath who cares about no one except himself. The Beast, in contrast, may appear to be a thoughtless monster, feared by practically everyone, but is in reality a kind hearted individual capable of acts of selflessness and bravery.
  • It is evident in how the pair treat Belle. Gaston shows up at her house to propose and marry her on the same day, expecting that she will just accept his offer without a second thought. Gaston tries to win her over by telling her how she'd serve him, and doesn't give a second thought to what she wants or what she would be interested in. Beast, in contrast, wants to do something nice for her, so he gives her access to the castle's vast library which plays right into her interests. Additionally, Beast expends the first half of the story feeling that Belle doesn't deserve him and trying to earn her love is a lost cause.
• Foreshadowing:
  • During the Crowd Song "Belle", LeFou says, "No beast alive stands a chance against you, and no girl for that matter." We all know how well it went when he went for the prize beast and the prize girl.
  • Belle's favorite part of her book is the part where the heroine "meets Prince Charming, but she won't discover that it's him 'til chapter three". Belle herself meets a prince, but is unaware of this until act three of the story. Also, the illustration shows the story she will soon be living.
  • At the end of the opening number, Gaston climbs on the rooftops to reach Belle. Later, the climax involves him and Beast fighting on the castle rooftops.
  • "I'll have Belle for my wife, make no mistake of that!''
  • In Maurice's first scene, he tells Belle that the woodchopping machine "will be the start of a new life for us" when he wins first prize at the fair for it, which will kickstart his career as an inventor. Since it's getting lost on the way to that fair that leads him to the Beast's doorstep, it is the start of a new life for them, if not the one they planned. Later it is later used by Chip to break them free, which lets Belle get back to the castle and sets off the chain of events which breaks the curse and begins their new life in the restored castle.
  • "No one takes cheap shots like Gaston!" Gaston stabs the Beast in the back during the climax, seconds after the Beast spared his life.
  • "It's my favorite! Far off places, daring sword fights, magic spells, a prince in disguise!" That's a pretty good approximation of the entire plot.
  • After first being rejected by Belle near the beginning of the film, Gaston falls out her door into a puddle of mud. Instead of looking immaculate and poised as normal, his clothes and hair are a mess, and he immediately rages at LeFou over his rejection, foreshadowing that he is a much darker and more serious character than his initial oafish Jerk Jock depiction indicated, and also foreshadowing how he winds up looking more like a beast during the climactic fight than the titular one.
  • Belle establishes the townsfolk being prejudice against anyone or anything they deem different with the majority of their lyrics being about how Belle doesn’t fit in with society. Gaston, meanwhile, is a song in praise to a man who is clearly a machismo brute, something they don’t realize. This all leads to The Mob Song with them joining Gaston without a second of doubt to kill the Beast, ignoring Belle’s pleas that he’s not a monster, with them only paying attention to his appearance.
• Forgiveness: Maurice at first understandably thinks the Beast is nothing more than a monster; the Beast imprisoned him and took his daughter in Maurice's stead. He fears the worst when he's not even allowed to say goodbye. Then Belle rescues him from the snowstorm, and explains how the Beast became her friend. They then get locked up thanks to Gaston attempting a Scarpia Ultimatum, and Belle desperately tries to get herself and her father out of the cellar to save the Beast from Gaston. Maurice knows his daughter is no fool and goes with her on the rescue. At the end, he's crying Tears of Joy at the wedding, showing he accepts the Prince as his son-in-law.
• Foreboding Fleeing Flock: Played for laughs when the birds eating from Beast's hands fly away from him right before Belle hits him with a snowball.
• For the Evulz: Asylum owner Monsieur D'Arque's response when Gaston asks him to imprison Belle's father Maurice just to coerce Belle into marrying Gaston.
  Monsieur D'Arque: Oh, that is despicable...[Evil Laugh]...I love it!
• Fourth-Date Marriage: Parodied with Gaston, who arranges a wedding for him and Belle outside her house without them ever even dating...or him proposing; something he cheerfully jokes about to the wedding party.
• Freeze-Frame Bonus:
  • Pausing during the part of Gaston's death scene◊ where his face is closest to the camera will allow you to see the skulls the animators painted into his pupils for that scene, to remove any doubt he wasn't going to survive his fall.
  • The sign Belle passes by◊ has faded references to the California cities of Valencia (home to CalArts where many Disney animators studied) and Anaheim (home to Disneyland) that are barely readable.
  • A couple frames during the "Gaston" musical number reveal that the various animals whose heads Gaston mounts on his wall don't just include typical hunter's targets like deer or moose, but also include raccoons, owls, rabbits, turkeys, and cats.
  • During "Belle (Reprise)," watch carefully during the part right at the beginning where Belle sings "Madame Gaston, his little wife." She kicks a barrel, causing two buckets atop it and corn to go flying. The goats and chickens that are there with her all reel back in alarm, their eyes going wide and their mouths agape.
• Freeze Sneeze: Maurice first enters the Beast's castle while soaked by a drenching downpour of rain. Maurice sneezing into Cogsworth's face prompts Lumiere to say "Oh, you are soaked to the bone, Monsieur. Come, warm yourself by the fire."
• Friend to All Children: Belle pats a little girl's head at one point as she wanders through the village reading her book and later becomes a close friend to Chip.
• Funny Background Event:
  • The whole song "Belle" is full of these.
    • Look closely while Belle is at the fountain with the sheep. A woman is washing her laundry, looks around, and leaves in apparent annoyance.
    • As Belle strolls over a wooden two-wheeled wagon, a man bends down to get a bag flower from the wagon. As Belle walks off, the pully lifts up and hits the man in the chin, causing him to spin around in a silly cross-eyed daze and flop to the ground unconscious.
    • You can see a kid chasing a piglet, just to be chased away by its mom, and a woman complaining why her fish comes with a squirrel. Among other things.
  • When Gaston is ranting about Belle turning him down, LeFou has two beers in hand. He gives one to Gaston and goes to take a sip of the other, only for Gaston to take both. You can see LeFou search for his beer while Gaston continues ranting.
  • Near the end of "Something There", there's Beast getting owned by Belle in a snowball fight.
  • In Cogsworth’s segment of “Human Again,” Lumiere is shown brushing Phillipe. When he hops away to help Cogsworth, the brush keeps moving. The best part is Phillipe reacting in surprise before moving out of shot.
  • During the Enchanted Objects' fight with the villagers, specifically in the scene where a villager is "eaten" by a chest that burps, there is a shadow cast on a pillar of a man being attacked by a mace in his own hands, putting a twist on the classic "Stop Hitting yourself".

G

• Gasp!: Belle does a quick one and turns away when she first sees Beast.
• Gentle Giant: In the film's second half, the massive and tall Beast is also a sweetheart thanks to Love Redeems.
• Get It Over With: This is the Beast's reaction to Gaston attempting to kill him, when he thinks Belle has left him forever.
• Getting the Boot: Poor Maurice gets the boot thanks to Gaston being unwilling to believe him. "We'll help you out."
• Get Out!: The Beast to Belle after she ventures into the West Wing. He gives a much colder delivery to Gaston after utterly destroying him and revealing him as the coward he truly is in the finale.
• Gilded Cage: When Belle trades herself in for her father in the Beast's captivity, she initially thinks that she'll be kept in the dungeons, but the Beast takes her to much better arrangements in a guest room. She has the Beast's entire servant staff waiting on her and most of the castle to herself — none of which keeps her from remaining well aware she's his prisoner.
• Glowing Flora: The Beast's rose emits a powerful rose glow. Justified, as it's a magical rose, and its glowing shows the power and importance of the flower.
• Gonk: Most of the villagers are rather cartoony looking, especially LeFou.
• Ye Goode Olde Days: Belle's walking along the street with her nose in a book. A woman throws water out of the window, but she blocks herself with a street sign. If the story takes place in the time it was written, then that wouldn't be water. It'd be dung from the crockery pot...
• Good Castles, Evil Castles: While the very beast is not a villain, before he was transformed his castle was very bright and colorful. After he was transformed his castle was transformed into a darker version with darker gloomy colors, beast face-shaped doorknockers, gargoyles, etc.
• Good Is Not Nice: The Enchantress, who cursed a child and his servants along with a spoiled and selfish prince. The child was a brat and the servants could be considered guilty to some degree, but still it's disproportionate.
• Good Is Not Soft: The castle inhabitants demonstrate this when Gaston leads an angry mob. A coat hanger engages in some Good Old Fisticuffs and is visibly winning, while pots and pans deliver head injuries strong enough to kill a person. Lumiere and Mrs. Potts show how well they can deliver on third-degree burns with candle flames and tea respectively. The Wardrobe demonstrates this best when she wrestles her way out of Belle's room, leaps from the upper levels with an operatic scream, and crushes a man. He's still lying in the impact point as she grapples with two more villagers.
• Good Parents: Maurice cares about Belle's wellbeing. When she talks about how this village isn't good for her, that she doesn't have friends, he reassures her that if he gets more income, they can move and start a new life.
• Goofy Print Underwear: A villager at the bar is revealed to wear some, and Belle's father, Maurice, has a pair.
• Gossipy Hens: The entire village, including the children. Well, the Bookseller is not seen gossiping.
• Grand Romantic Gesture: Discussed by Beast, Lumiere, and Cogsworth which leads to the Beast giving Belle the library.
• Grand Staircase Entrance: Both Belle and Beast make one before their big dance. They meet in the middle.
• Gray Rain of Depression: During the Beast's Disney Death, the rain adds to the tragic and sorrowing atmosphere.
• Guns Do Not Work That Way: A blunderbuss is a single-shot weapon, but Gaston is able to get off several shots without reloading.

H

• HA HA HA—No: Zig-zagged with Gaston when he and LeFou are laughing about Belle's "crazy" father. When Belle tells them not to talk that way about her father, Gaston rounds on LeFou and conks him on the head and repeats Belle's admonition to him. Then something blows up in the lab and they both start laughing again, and then Gaston Dope Slaps LeFou again... but then goes on laughing.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: The Beast has this for half of the movie; realizing it made Belle run away was the first step in him overcoming it.
• Hammy Villain, Serious Hero: Belle and Gaston are polar opposites in every way imaginable. Belle is kind, patient, calm, and intelligent. Gaston, meanwhile, is rude, impulsive, loud, and dumb. These negative qualities are, understandably, way too much for Belle to handle, which is why she continuously rejects Gaston's advances, no matter how hard he tries, acting super loud and impulsive all the while. No one is hammy like Gaston!
• Hands Looking Wrong: When the Beast transforms into a Prince, he looks at his hands.
• Happily Ever After: The final scene shows a party for The Prince and his (presumed) fiancee. All the castle inhabitants are human again and Maurice is there too. Chip actually asks Mrs. Potts if Belle and the Prince "...are gonna live Happily Ever After", to which Mrs. Potts answers, "Of course, my dear."
• Heel–Face Turn: The Beast; Royal Brat to Wise Prince.
• Held Gaze:
  • Belle and the newly transformed Prince do this, and it is as Belle is gazing into the Prince's eyes that she recognizes that he is indeed her Beast, which is then succeeded by the "kiss the whole castle was waiting for", according to the script.
  • The dance scene has them doing this as well.
• "Hell, Yes!" Moment: As the Beast transforms back into a human, Lumiere's grieving turns into a giant grin. He realizes that it means that Belle broke the curse and it is now truly over.
• Heroic BSoD: The Beast has a near suicidal one after he lets Belle return to her father since he believes she would never return of her own free will. Therefore he feels he will never break his curse nor will he ever see the woman he has come to love again.
• Heroic Bystander: Chip of all the enchanted objects is this. He stows away in Belle's bags to ask her why she left and find a way for her and the Beast to be happy. It means he witnesses Gaston locking her and Maurice up, and decides to bust them out using Maurice's woodchipper to break the cellar door. We see that he was very close to getting smashed, but merely says they have to try using this machine sometime. Not bad for a china teacup!
• Heroic Resolve: Beast gets this, once Belle's return shows him she loves him. This is bad for Gaston.
• Heroic Sacrifice:
  • Belle trades her freedom for her father's despite not knowing if the hideous monster she had just bargained with would let her out of the tower, or even let her live.
  • When Beast lets Belle go, he believes she will never return of her own free will thus dooming him to be a beast forever. Yet he does it anyway because he loves her.
• "The Hero Sucks" Song: "The Mob Song" which is sung by the village mob and Gaston about how scary and mean the Beast is.
• Hidden Depths:
  • Yes, the Beast is a jerk; however he is also brave, cunning, determined, and in his own harsh, angry way merciful. The castle staff even state that he really isn't that bad once you get to know him; he's just angry and very, very depressed.
  • Despite initially coming across as an egotistical meathead, Gaston showcases he's versed in Shakespeare, able to use complex terminology, and can manipulate the entire town when it suits his needs.
• Hit Flash: A double impact during the battle in the castle was censored when televised.
• Hold Up Your Score: In the "Gaston" song, Gaston spits after LeFou sings "In a spitting match nobody spits like Gaston!" saying "I'm especially good at expectorating... phooey!" The villagers sing "Ten points for Gaston!" and three of them hold up scorecards reading "10," but amusingly another holds up "9.8."
• Hollywood Costuming:
  • Continuing with Disney's trend of putting the main character with contemporary fashions, Belle's dress in the famous ballroom scene resembles less of an 18th century sack back and more of a late 1980s/early 1990s evening gown◊ that resembles a Victorian style what with that crinoline, hourglass waist, and off-the-shoulder neckline.
  • Belle's blue peasant outfit is not historically accurate either, the main problems with it being that she's not wearing any headwear or stockings. Going bare-headed and bare-legged were major taboos in the 18th century. This is referenced briefly in the film; when imagining being Gaston's wife, Belle holds a cloth around her head like a shawl.
• Homage:
  • That seemingly inanimate objects could move of their own accord (and speak in voiceover) in the Beast's castle in Jean Cocteau's film version was detailing that became the direct inspiration for the Enchanted Objects. Both versions have a villain added in the form of a man who wants to marry Belle, though this may not have been a deliberate callback to the Cocteau film.
  • Tony Jay's casting as the head of the insane asylum is a nod to his role as the major villain in the TV series Beauty and the Beast.
  • Several elements of the movie, like Belle being bookish, her brown hair, and the horse, may have come from Robin McKinley's 1978 novel Beauty: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast.
  • The screenwriter, Linda Woolverton, says that she based Belle on Katharine Hepburn's version of Jo March.
  • The library in the Beast's castle bears a strong resemblance to the oval reading room of the Richelieu Building at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris.
  • In "The Mob Song", when Gaston says "Screw your courage to the sticking place", this is a reference to Shakespeare's Macbeth. He also says "If you're not with us, you're against us" which is from The Bible.
• "Home Alone" Antics: The battle between the Enchanted Objects and the Angry Mob is an unusual example in that the defenders and the traps are one and the same. The film was originally released a year after the trope namer, as it happened, so one of the kid-skewing television ads actually focused on this sequence (with an announcer's voiceover that even dropped the phrase "home alone"). A sequence which barely takes up 3 minutes of the entire film, and that's counting cutaways to things like Chip freeing Belle and her riding back to the castle.
• Horned Humanoid: The Beast has horns and a very basic human figure. It’s downplayed, however, as the outline is very basic. It also doesn’t help he walks on all fours for a bit of the first act.
• Horns of Villainy: Invoked. The Enchantress added a pair of horns to the “scary monster transformation” she placed on the Prince.
• Horrible Judge of Character: The Village qualifies, no doubt. Even though Gaston makes no secret of his Jerkass nature, such as audibly stating things that imply his plan to marry Belle involved locking up Maurice in the asylum under intentionally false pretenses so as to blackmail her into marrying him, they still love him.
• Horse Returns Without Rider: While Maurice is riding his horse Philippe to the fair, the both of them are chased by wolves and Maurice ends up falling off, leaving him to seek shelter in the Beast's castle. Later, Philippe makes it back home. Belle realizes that something dreadful has happened to her father and takes off to search for him at once.
• Hourglass Plot: The Character Development of Belle's two potential Love Interests. Gaston, who starts off handsome and well respected, if smug, descends into bestial villainy, while the Beast's increasing humanity wins Belle's heart and his own restoration.
• House of Broken Mirrors: The West Wing is a mess because of Beast's initial rage at what happened to him. There's also slashed portraits.
• Howl of Sorrow: More of a roar, but there is a bit of a howl in there when the Beast watches Belle depart.
• Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: While the Beast's exact height is open to debate, the consensus is that he's around seven feet tall and definitely towers over Belle. Once he's human again, it's closer to One Head Taller.
• Hunk:
  • Gaston is the most eligible bachelor in the village for this reason. The bimbettes say he's "dreamy".
  • The Beast's true form is a blonde haired, blue-eyed, prince.
• Hunting Is Evil: Gaston hunts birds, and it's implied he hunts deer too because he decorates with antlers, and while he doesn't kill anyone, he's still bad news, wanting to marry Belle despite her not wanting to be his wife and throw Maurice in the asylum even though he's not crazy.
• Hybrid Monster: The beast has the mane of a lion, the beard and head of a buffalo, the brows of a gorilla, the eyes of a human, the tusks of a wild boar, the body of a bear, and the hind legs and tail of a wolf.
• Hypocritical Humor: Gaston laughs when LeFou pokes fun at Maurice. Belle takes exception to it, and Gaston's tone changes completely.
  Belle: Don't talk about my father that way.
  Gaston: Yeah. Don't talk about her father that way. (hits LeFou on the head)

I

• I Am a Monster: The Beast believes himself to be one because of his appearance.
  Beast: I'm just fooling myself. [Belle will] never see me as anything more but a monster. It's hopeless.
• I Gave My Word: Belle promises to stay in the castle with the Beast forever if he let her father go, but when the Beast goes into a furious rage after she trespasses in the West Wing, she breaks the promise and flees the castle fearing for her life. However, after the Beast saves her from the wolves and falls unconscious both honor and compassion cause her to help him back to the castle instead of leaving him to his fate in the snow.
• I Have You Now, My Pretty: Gaston always made aggressive advances towards Belle and after she rejects him he tries to blackmail her into marrying him.
• I Just Want to Be Normal: The Beast's and the servants desire after being transformed is to become "human again". The servants even sing a song about it.
• I Love You Because I Can't Control You: Gaston could have any other lady in the village, but goes after Belle, the only one who is not attracted to him. There are lots of beautiful ladies who would have married him on the spot like he wanted, but he set his sights on the most unattainable.
• Inevitably Broken Rule: When Belle offers to stay in the Beast's castle, he warns her to never go into its West Wing. She finally goes there and discovers the enchanted rose, but also disappointing the Beast.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: The reason the Beast allows Belle to leave when they learn her father is sick and lost in the woods, even though the time in which his curse can be broken is fast dwindling, and she hasn't yet admitted she loves him. The Objects, also threatened by the curse, find out ("He did WHAT?") and must confront the irony that in learning to love someone for the first time, he's sealed his and their fate by letting her go.
• "I Want" Song:
  • "Belle", especially the reprise, showcases Belle's desire for adventure and someone who would understand her. It also outlines Gaston's plans for Belle.
  • "Human Again" from The Musical, originally planned for (and eventually ported back into) the movie. Obviously it's about being human again.
• I Warned You: Cogsworth savours this trope after Lumière letting Maurice in infuriates the Beast and gets the former locked up:
  Cogsworth: *snide* Ooh, couldn't keep quiet, could we? Just had to invite him to stay, didn't we? "Serve him tea, sit in the master's chair, pet the pooch!"
  Lumière: *sulking* I was trying to be hospitable.
• I Will Show You X!: When Maurice intrudes into Beast's castle:
  Maurice: I just needed a place to stay...
  Beast: I'll give you a place to stay.
• I Wish It Were Real: Belle's favorite story, which is full of magic and excitement and which includes a prince in disguise whose real identity the heroine doesn't know at first, sounds more than a little like the movie's plot.
• I'm Not Hungry: Belle refuses to eat dinner with the Beast (at first), with these exact words.
• Impairment Shot: Maurice has fuzzy vision as he wakes up after Belle sent him back home.
• Implausible Deniability:
  • After all that Belle had seen, Cogsworth still tries to deny that the castle was enchanted. Note that Cogsworth himself is enchanted; a definite no-win situation there.
  • When Cogsworth prefers to avoid something (like the fact that Belle is not coming down for dinner or the West Wing), he pretends he doesn't know what they're talking about.
  Belle: (literally on the steps to the West Wing) What's up there?
  Cogsworth: Where? There? Oh, nothing.
• Impossibly-Low Neckline: Belle's yellow ball gown, in some shots, looks too low to stay on properly. Specifically when they're on the ballroom terrace after the title song.
• Improbable Hairstyle: As a human, Fifi has bobbed hair. Because this film was set roughly in the 18th Century, the bob hairstyle does not become popular until the 20th Century.
• Improbable Weapon User: The Enchanted Objects are this in the final battle. Mrs. Potts and the teacups scald people with boiling tea, Lumiere burns Tom in a blowtorch fashion, and we see other unnamed objects fighting in humorous ways, like boxing hat racks and dressers.
• Improvised Weapon: Gaston tears off a spiky, conveniently club-shaped chunk of architecture to wield against the Beast during their fight.
• Informed Attractiveness: Belle is certainly pretty, but she's described as an unparalleled beauty in the movie, which also depicts every other woman as busty and very attractive, particularly the Three Bimbettes. It may be due to her seeming unattainable, unlike most of the other women who absolutely swoon over Gaston. In addition, Belle is designed to be taller and more slender, thus giving her a different kind of beauty than the other women.
• In Harm's Way: Belle craves adventure, because her hometown is safe and happy and tedious.
• Innocent Awkward Question: The song "Something There" ends with Chip Potts (a little boy enchanted to be a sentient teacup) asking what his mother and her friends mean when they say there's possibly "something" there which wasn't there previously. They're referring to the growing infatuation between Belle and Beast, but Mrs. Potts feels that romance is too adult a subject for a child his age, so she says, "I'll tell you when you're older".
• Innocently Insensitive: After the Beast lets Belle go, ergo giving up his chances of becoming human again, Cogsworth comes in cheerfully proclaiming how swimmingly everything is going and how he always knew the curse could be broken.
• Insecure Love Interest: At first, the Beast thinks Belle could never love him because of his appearance.
  Beast: Oh, it's no use, she's so beautiful and I'm...well look at me!
• Insecure Protagonist, Arrogant Antagonist: The two main protagonists are insecure in different ways: Belle feels out of place in her village for liking books and for wanting true love rather than just an attractive partner. The Beast is a dark, brooding Byronic Hero who angsts over his Forced Transformation curse and must learn how to love. The antagonist, Gaston, is The Ace in Belle's village, being a narcissistic, overly-macho hunter and the most handsome and beloved man there.
• Insult Backfire: "Gaston, you are positively primeval." "Why thank you, Belle."
• In the Back: Near the end, the Beast lets Gaston live after he wins their fight. He goes over to Belle, who has just returned. At that point Gaston cheats and climbs up to the Beast so he can stab him from behind. When the Beast lashes out after getting knifed, Gaston subsequently loses his footing and plummets to his demise.
• Involuntary Smile of Incapacitation:
  • LeFou gets a dazed smile three times—first when Gaston bonks him on the head, second when he gets smacked in the face by a tree branch that Gaston had been holding back, and third when Gaston drops a table on him.
  • Stanley gets a dazed smile when two drawers hit him in the head.
• Ironic Echo: (In front of Belle's house) Belle: "Please, I know he looks vicious, but he's really kind and gentle." (Later on castle roof) Gaston: "What's the matter Beast? Too 'kind and gentle' to fight back?"
• Irony: There are two requirements that must be met to lift the curse, in the order given. First, Beast must learn to love. Second, he must earn that love in return. He does learn to love, thus meeting the first requirement. But in so doing, he realizes he cannot hold Belle prisoner especially while her father is sick and lost in the woods. So, because he loves her, he releases her, thereby forfeiting the chance to meet the second requirement of the curse^note This may have actually allowed the second requirement to be fulfilled - Belle could not truly love him if she was in any way compelled to be with him, such as being a prisoner in the castle.
• It's All My Fault:
  • Belle says this when she and Maurice are trapped in the cellar while Gaston and the mob are on their way to the Beast's castle because she used the magic mirror to prove that the Beast existed. She says it again after the Beast is stabbed.
  • This is so the Beast's (silent) reaction when he learns Belle's father is sick and lost, because it is his fault for throwing him out. His face says it all.◊
• It's Personal: The final showdown between the Beast and Gaston. As the latter said:
  Gaston: Take whatever booty you can find, but remember: the Beast is mine!

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• Jabba Table Manners: At breakfast together, Belle is visibly sidetracked to see Beast snarfing at his porridge like an animal. Chip, on the other hand, is amused at the sight, and is seen giggling over it until Mrs. Potts ahems and glares at him. He thus helpfully nudges the Beast his spoon... which leads to Beast dripping the porridge into his waiting jaws. Belle offers a compromise by lifting her bowl up, and they both drink.
• Jerkass:
  • Beast's Character Development leads him to go from a jerk with a temper to a Jerk with a Heart of Gold.
  • Gaston, on the other hand, is a textbook example of a Jerkass, through and through; insensitive, manipulative, ungenerous, etc.
• Jerkass Has a Point: While the Beast should not have flown into fury when Belle intruded into the West Wing, he had no clue what would happen if she was touching the enchanted rose. In addition, she would deliberately disobey the one and only rule he imposed on her (that was arguably as much for her own protection as it was to protect the rose and guard what little dignity he had).
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Cogsworth is snooty, negative and a bit disrespectful, but he's really just as good-hearted as Lumiere and he can also be very supportive. The song "Human Again" gives the impression that a lot of his attitude comes from being incredibly stressed out; he noted, when introducing himself to Belle, that he's the head of the household. This little clock is the one who keeps the place running while their master is storming around in his beast form.
• Just in Time: Belle declares her love for Beast, thus enabling the spell to be broken, right before the last petal falls.

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