Enchanting Facts About Beauty and the Beast

#1 Walt Disney considered remaking the fairy tale as far back as the 1930s.

Walt Disney liked to take his time mulling things over, and while he was pondering Beauty and the Beast, a live-action version of the movie was released by French filmmaker Jean Cocteau. Perhaps not wanting to release an animated version of a movie that had just been released, Disney tabled the idea.

#2 A Non-Musical version was commissioned in the late 1980s

In the late '80s, Disney hired British animator Roger Purdum to direct a non-musical version of Beauty and the Beast, with Linda Woolverton writing the script. But the company wasn't happy with the result of 10 weeks of storyboarding (which you can see here)—the story was too dark and depressing.

#3 Jackie Chan contributed to an international version.

Jackie Chan dubbed the Beast’s voice for the Chinese translation of the movie—including the singing. Here he is performing the title track in Mandarin with Sarah Chen:

#4 "Human Again" was cut from original movie

The song “Human Again” was cut from the original movie, in part because it added 11 minutes to the film, and partially because it created a problem with the passage of time.

#5 Best original song oscar nomination.

Many people remember that the title song from Beauty and the Beast took home the “Best Original Song” Oscar in 1992, but it was just one of three songs nominated from the movie.

#6 Co-director started his career

Co-director Kirk Wise started his career drawing caricatures for tourists—but not Disney tourists. While attending art school, Wise made extra money by working at Universal Studios.

#7 Mashup of various animals.

He’s got the mane of a lion, the beard and head of a buffalo, the brow of a gorilla, the eyes of a human, the tusks of a wild boar, the body of a bear, and the legs and tail of a wolf ... and a little something extra. Animator Glen Keane claims that “Beast actually has a rainbow bum, but nobody knows that but Belle.”

#8 Die hard fans would've noticed this one right away

The coat rack Chappeau is an original character created for the film, named for the hat shop "Chapeau" from the animated version.

#9 The beast stayed a beast.

Keane wished that the Beast had stayed a Beast instead of transforming into his princely human form. To help bridge the gap, he penned a funny line for Belle to say at the end:

“I had them record Belle saying, ‘Do you think you could grow a beard?’ It was a good idea. It’s not in the movie. We should have put it in there.”

#10 Just a few minor changes here and there

In the animated version, during the song "Be Our Guest", Lumiere sings "for 10 years we've been rusting", which means the prince would have been eleven at the time of the curse. In 2017 this was changed to"for too long we've been rusting" so the Beast's backstory could be altered.

#11 Belle gets a bit of a realistic upgrade

Emma Watson wanted Belle to wear boots instead of black flats since, as an inventor, Belle never would have worn such flimsy footwear. Similarly, Belle's hair in this version is mostly worn in a messy bun rather than a ponytail.

#12 Struck in the face

According to Emma Watson, when her character Belle had to be intentionally struck in the face by a snowball, the whole sequence required numerous attempts until a good hit was accomplished. In the end, Emma had to keep moving her face into the line of fire in order to increase the chances of a direct hit.

#13 I've always wondered about this one

In the original fairy tale, Belle's father is caught by the Beast when he tries to steal one of the Beast's roses for his daughter. To make Belle's offer to trade places with her father more logical, the screenwriters changed the plot from the animated version to this one.

#14 Expensive music.

At $160 million, this is the most expensive musical ever made, unadjusted for inflation.

#15 We can never forget who brought us all together

During Belle and Beast's waltz, the letters WD can be seen in the coat of arms design on the floor as a nod to Walt Disney.

#16 New song.

Alan Menken, who scored the animated version, returned to score this remake and included new songs rather than including the four songs that only appear in the stage version.

#17 Spooky!

When Maurice first enters the castle, he takes a second glance at the sconce holding up a lantern, as it resembles a human arm. This is a nod to the 1946 French film version, where the halls of the castle are lit by human arms holding up candelabras.

#18 I never noticed it as a kid but now that you mention it...

During the final battle, LeFou mockingly suggests Mrs Potts is Chip's grandmother. This is an inside joke alluding to the popular complaint among fans that the human version of Mrs Potts in the animated film looks too old to plausibly be Chip's mother.

#19 A musical with no music? Preposterous!

Disney wasn't sure if they wanted to do the adaptation as a musical until director Bill Condon spoke up and said, "With all due respect, I think you're crazy. The songs are too good. You're going to spend all this time making a huge, gorgeous live-action Beauty and the Beast and not do 'Be Our Guest'?"

#20 If you've seen the sequels you'll appreciate this one

As an homage to the scene in animated sequel Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas where Belle is transported into a book she reads, the Beast uses a book to transport Belle to Paris.

#21 Gaston truly becomes the villain in this one

The song "Gaston" has new lyrics that were written by the late Howard Ashman, but never made the final cut of the 1991 film. As a result, the song is slightly longer and is more mature themed.

#22 We need more remakes like this!

Beauty and the Beast is the fifth Disney live-action fairy tale themed musical, after Cinderella, Enchanted, Into the Woods, and Mary Poppins, but this is the first live-action adaptation of animated film to be similarly treated as a musical.

#23 How serendipitous!

Emma Watson, Emma Thompson who plays Mrs Potts, Nathan Mack who plays Chip, and Luke Evans who plays Gaston all share the same birthday (April 15) which was coincidentally the first cast read through.

#24 Gay character.

Le Fou is Disney's first openly gay character in a feature-length film.