The Appeal to Disney's Belle

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Has anyone else noticed that Belle from Beauty and the Beast seems to be the most popular Disney heroine? Whenever I create polls asking people of their favorite Disney heroines, Belle always wins. I'm not trying to impugn Belle's character, but why do you suppose she appeals so much to people?

Probably because she's the most intellectual "princess." She is also not passive, unlike Sleeping Beauty and Snow White. She quite awesomely loves books. :-] I think the pursuit of knowledge is quite popular here.

I agree with the above. Belle is the most normal of all the 'princesses'. She gets in fights, she has likes and dislikes that are normal, she really cares about her dad, and she reads. Out of any of the females in a Disney cast, she's the one real people can identify with the most.

She's not really a princess, at least not during the movie, whereas most of the others are. So maybe people relate more to the girl next door than a true princess? She's also not over-feminized like some of the others and wears more modest clothes.

she's sweet, intellectual - not conventionally feminine-shallow (she dresses simply). She also accepts the Beast as a friend. I won't say Belle is "normal" - being nice and intellectual isn't the most common combination. But at least she's not "classically becautiful" - blonde and blue-eyed. We can relate to her that way I suppose.

Personally, I think her character sends out a bad message to young girls. It appears that if the guy you're with acts like an insensitive boorish as*hole, then don't worry, with enough love, you can change him.

I know Gaston was supposed to be the bad guy in the film, but what was the real difference between him and the beast at the start of the film, apart from less hair?

I think the beast had already lost his arrogance at this point, and was just locked in a shell of self-loathing and bitterness.

Whereas Gaston was quite sure of himself, and anything but self-loathing.

Maybe the two are different breeds of as*holes. Gaston is full of himself,thinks everyone wants to be like him, and if they think differently from him they must be crazy.The whole town (sidekick,those three blond girls who serve as his plastic groupies, and all) seems to agree. He has an entire self titled *song* that sings his praises for crying out loud!

The beast on the other hand,has no such delusions of grandeur.Sure he's mean. Doubtless he's a dictator. And of course, he's a tactless jerk. But he doesn't gloss it over. There's a lot of shame there. A lot of pain.He's had years to think over his assholery and thinks no one could ever love him--And that's just in the first few minutes of the film before the opening screen.

This is just a guess, but maybe the beast feeds into young womens' caring impulses better than Gaston because he's needy. The beast is alone, he doesn't have any friends,people hate and fear him on sight because of how he looks.Weaknesses...that...make him a more appealing as*hole.If that make sense...

Last edited by Dark_Red_Beloved on 12 Apr 2010, 11:53 am, edited 1 time in total.

Well I don't know about the rest of you, but Belle's always been my favorite Disney princess because she reminds me a lot of myself: Growing up in a quite little town, always day dreaming about excitement and adventure, not falling in love with the most popular (and egotistical) guy around, etc.

Personally I have always liked Pocahontas the most, even though she's not technically a princess.

I'm not very fond of the whole "princess" thing, and I'm a sucker for anything remotely historical as well as a nice bit of drama in the form of song. Pocahontas quite clearly has all of this.

I think Belle, being more "normal" than real princesses/Pocahontas is something kids identify with more.

I think Belle, Mulan, and Tiana would probably be the most relatable characters in the Disney Princess collection...even though none of them really are princesses.

Belle is for the bookworms, a geeky daydreamer and all.

Tiana is an All-American girl wanting to pursue the American dream. She believes that she needs to devote herself to hard work in order to achieve her dreams but sometimes she works a little too hard and doesnt take time to think about love.

Mulan is my favorite one...and not because she is Asian like me, but because she tries so hard to fit into her own society only to get crapped on for her own flaws. Her worst fear is failure because she knows how much of an affect it would have on her family. Plus consider how much she had to put up with in the army. Not very pleasant but people eventually came to accept her. I also liked that she has a little bit of a slacker klutzy personality in her.

I never really liked Belle... I thought she was boring lol. Sure she reads, but she didn't really do very much it seemed. Also, color was very important to my young self, so I always liked Ariel and Jasmine best. They had the most appealing character designs. And I was pretty obsessed with mermaids when I was a toddler, so Ariel was my idol until I was about 8.
I miss being able to wear green stockings in the bath tub so I could pretend I was a mermaid. Ahh, the good ol' days.

Why isn't Nala considered a Disney princess?

I'm guessing cause she's not human.

Is Nala even considered a princess?

Why do the Disney pricesses have to be human?



Since she is bethrowed to Simba, yes she is in a way. At least she is more of a princess than Mulan is.