Maisey Yates has a new post about Disney's Beauty and the Beast. She talks about the Beast as a vulnerable alpha hero. I always thought that B&B was remarkable for the character of Belle. She's lovely and likable, but she is not perfect. She is has emotions and she isn't always kind and forgiving. Although at the beginning of the movie Belle isn't fooled by Gaston's pretty face, she does learn over the arc of the story to see past the Beast's appearance to see the man underneath. A man who becomes a better man for her.
Ariel and Aurora are flawless ideals. Belle is a person and she opened the door for other Disney heroines that break the princess model like Mulan and Giselle. Mulan pretends to be a boy. If you haven't seen Enchanted, I'll clue you in: Giselle isn't very bright. These are the characters that my kids loved the best. In truth, we don't love a character in spite of their flaws; we love them because of their shortcomings.
"In truth, we don't love a character in spite of their flaws; we love them because of their shortcomings."
ReplyDeleteThat's a very true and very wise statement, Julia! A perfect character can't have a story at all, because there's no arc, no room for them to grow and change. A character's imperfections allow us to relate to them, to warm to them, in a way a flawless ideal never can.
Ah, but the difference between the understanding and the execution...
ReplyDeleteI agree with waitingforthecall :) - that's a great statement and something we should all try and achieve in our writing. It gives our characters depth and helps readers to get emotionally attached to them (for good or bad). Hopefully we can all put that into practice for 2011 :)
ReplyDeleteI get emotionally attatched to the characters, too. I have to fight the temptation to make things too easy for them.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Julia :) I hope you have a fantastic New Years! xx
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lacey! See you next year!!
ReplyDeleteI like your comment about the 'stories stripped to their essentials.' I love how well executed some of the Disney movies are at creating a conflict that will entertain the whole family.
ReplyDeleteIt's a hard thing to find a movie tame enough to want little kids to see it, but still amusing enough that I'd sit through it. I have not a few friends who let their younger kids watch R rated movies. Heck, they're often at the theater when we go to the movies.
ReplyDeleteMy kids couldn't even watch all the Disney movies when they were little. Patience was 5 when she saw the Tigger Movie and a decade later still remembers Pooh, lost and alone and afraid. Yeah, I had to turn it off and she still cried for a solid hour. And she was the brave one.