Tale as Old as Time: Christianity in Disney's Beauty and the Beast
“Ever since Walt Disney began turning out feature-length animated films, scholars, theologians and journalists have plumbed the depths of the simple morality tales for deeper religious meanings and messages.” (Stammer)
In Disney’s Beauty and the Beast religious teaching is laced throughout the story by the themes of love, transformation, and redemption. There are many christian ideals which are represented at points during this movie, many of which will be examined throughout this website.
A ball for Prince Adam at the beginning of Beauty and the Beast (2017) before he is transformed into the Beast
In the case of most Disney films, the religious themes present throughout the stories are undeniable- This truth is especially prominent for Disney's Beauty and the Beast: “Beauty and the Beast is actually the name for a long textual tradition that spans literature, drama, and the visual arts.” (Era 53)
A stained glass window which appears in the opening sequence of Beauty and the Beast (1991)
This story is truly a "tale as old as time", as it has been retold throughout most cultures, spanning across the history of humans telling stories. “The essential theme of a virgin and a monster appears from the very beginning of storytelling. The tale has been retold in various guises through time, as pagan mythology, a Catholic morality tale, and more recently (In Disney’s animated version of 1991), as a sanitized and idealized children’s story.” (Gould)
Belle as a Good Christian
The representation of Belle in both the 2017 version (top) and the 1991 version (bottom)
Belle represents innocence and purity throughout this story- in my opinion she is a representation of a good christian: She is kind, generous, forgiving, and she makes sacrifices for the people she loves. Because of her sacrifices and in acting, inadvertently, as a good christian she receives redemption at the end of the story.
The Transformative Power of Love
Belle and the Beast dancing in the 2017 version (left) and the 1991 version (right)
Beauty and the Beast is like most Disney films in that it portrays the transformative power of love, but it is special as it shows this message with an underline of christianity. “Like many Disney films, the new Beauty and the Beast is exploring what it means to find true love. But unlike many Disney films, and most films in our secular culture, it’s exploring love in truly Christian ways.” (Judy) This is what will be explored throughout this site: the ways which christianity is intertwined within this story.
Belle and the Beast with the household objects and the enchanted rose from Beauty and the Beast (2017)
The Christian themes found throughout fairy tales are prominent because these stories reveal truths about what it means to be a human person- which is ultimately what religion is about as well. Many people believe the reason these tales are still relevant in our culture is actually because these stories reveal truths about God. "These stories have continued to capture our imagination. This enchantment expands beyond time, place, and culture. Scholars such as J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis argue that the reason these fairy tales are so intertwined in the fabric of culture is because they ultimately reveal truths about God." (Lawrence 110)
For the purpose of this project, I am going to be using both the 1991 animated version of Disney's Beauty and the Beast, as well as the 2017 live-action version of Disney's Beauty and the Beast to examine the christian themes throughout this story.
