With all the excitement surrounding the live action version of Beauty and the Beast starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens, it’s always a fun idea to revisit the original version. While there’s no Hermione Granger to be found, there are a few surprising facts you may not have known about the Disney classic such as the true name of Beast. Prepare yourself for a wave of nostalgia and as you learn 14 things you didn’t know about Beauty and the Beast!
1. The stained-glass window seen in the prologue has the Latin phrase “vincit qui se vincit.”
The phrase means “He conquers, who conquers himself” which refers to the overall theme of Beauty and the Beast.
2. Beast’s true name is Prince Adam.
Although his real name is never mentioned in the film, it is confirmed by the Broadway Musical of the film that Beast’s true name is Prince Adam.
3. Beast is a combination of multiple animals but always retains his blue eyes.
He has the mane of a lion, the beard of a buffalo, the tusks and nose bridge of a wild boar, the heavily muscled brow of a gorilla, the legs and tail of a wolf, and the big and bulky body of a bear. However, his eyes always remain blue to reflect the humanity he still has inside him.
4. The sculptures seen in the castle are different earlier versions of Beast.
5. Belle is the first brown haired Disney princess.
6. Belle’s blue and white dress and hairstyle were inspired by Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz.
7. Belle unknowingly reads her own story.
In the first song when Belle is reading a book on the fountain, she sings about a girl who meets Prince Charming but she won’t discover that it’s him until chapter three. The same music is repeated during “Something There” when she begins to fall in love with Beast.
8. Rupert Everett auditioned for the role of Gaston but was told he didn’t sound arrogant enough.
He remembered this when he later voiced Prince Charming in Shrek 2.
9. Cogsworth’s line “Flowers, chocolates, promises you don’t intend to keep… ” was improvised.
10. Chip is the only member of Beast’s staff to call Belle by name.
11. The name of Gaston’s sidekick, Lefou, means “The Fool” in French.
12. Jackie Chan performed the voice acting and singing for Beast in the Chinese dub of the film.
13. The final dance between Belle and Beast in the ending is reused animation from Sleeping Beauty.
The animators ran out of time during the production of the movie so they drew over the original Sleeping Beauty Couple with the new Beauty and the Beast couple.
14. The smoke during the transformation at the end is actually real smoke, not animated.
It was originally used in The Black Cauldron and was reused for Beauty and the Beast.
