Prompt 6: Beauty and the Beast

The element of magic is what stood out to me the most when comparing the Cocteau’s movie to Beaumont’s version of Beauty and the Beast. In this written version, the merchant father finds an “immense castle,” but the detail of him exploring the “house” makes it sound pretty normal. The way that Beaumont sneaks the element of magic in is by having the father say, “Surely…this palace belongs to some good fairy who has taken pity on me” (34). This conveys that all of the seemingly natural events explained, were actually caused by the supernatural. As for the introduction of the castle, Beaumont downplays the magic. Meanwhile, Cocteau uses the small detail of magic in the castle to create a big dramatic scene for the singing merchant father. There are moving human arms attached to all the candle lights in the hallways that turn on and off according to where the father (or Belle) goes. Similar arms can also be found at the dinner table, serving food, as well as opening curtains for the guest. The music in the background has a mystical and mysterious sound that is also eerie. The creepy statues in the dining room, as well as many other rooms, have heads that move to follow the guest. Their eyes also light up, as if they can see. Another magical aspect is that the horse, Magnificent, somehow knows exactly where to take Belle and the father. As if all of this is not enough, Cocteau emphasizes magic even more when Belle is getting accustomed to the mysterious castle. The doors sing to her to tell her which room is for her, and the mirror sings to give instructions. Also, the bed prepares itself for Belle by pulling back the sheets. Clearly, Cocteau took a fairly small detail that Beaumont kept a bit hidden, and exaggerated to make this part of the story more exhilarating.