Custom sometimes fails to let us see how complete and well made this film is. A story about the recognition of beauty within the narration through the adventures of Belle, a young French girl who, to help her old father, finds herself trapped in an enchanted castle where Beast lives, whom she teaches how to love. Behind this narration many more things are hidden. The role of the woman (very different from the first Disney princesses) who doesn't want to take on the role of traditional wife as people from the village expect, who enjoys reading and dreams of independence and adventures in far-away places. It's a pity that in the ending, in which her dreams come true, the idea of independence disappears.
Another important, somewhat more objectionable, element hidden in the narrative is the role of the servants of the castle, punished for the mistakes of their Master and changed into simple cuttlery and such. At one point they even remark that they don't "feel whole without a soul to wait upon", reminiscient of the black slaves singing happily in the cotton fields in The Birth of a Nation 75 years earlier. This classist, and perhaps racist, view is hidden under the happy and funny characters who give a magical touch to the film.
Taking all this into account, the animation of each of the characters is amongst the best ever made, from the square minded Ding Dong (the clock of the castle) to the appealing and charismatic villain Gaston. Last but not least, the soundtrack, an unforgetable collection of songs which set the rhythm of the film.
What is most important is the final result: an all-time musical animated feature.
From a child's story to animation films
An exhaustive exploration of the meaning and trascendence of children's novels brings us a series of conclusions. I dedicate this space to this exploration.
First, I stop at one of THE children's novels: Alice in Wonderland.
- Universal plots in Alice in Wonderland.
This way I explain the trascendence of the novel, which I use as the main example of a children's story, so frequently adapted for the screen.
Disney's version is the best known of all the cinema adaptations. However, it's not the best of Disney's films. So, to find examples of interest in some of Disney's classics, I review Beaty and the Beast and Jungle Book.
- A brief critical view of Beauty and the Beast.
- Aesthetic comentary on Jungle Book (available only in Spanish).
I concentrate on these two examples, which come from different Disney periods to construct my thesis. For more references it is interesting to study the development of feminity and feminism throughout the history of "Disney princesses" or cultural aspects for which Pocahontas and Aladdin provide good examples.
Going back to Alice in Wonderland, its transcendence inspires creators in various fields of the arts, in music for example. But the influence of children's stories goes beyond art reaching other subjetcs like politics and sociology.
- Transcripction of the radio musical program: Homage to Alice in Wonderland.
- The children's story as a satirical resource.
lunes, 21 de abril de 2008
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