# Belle (Disney character)

Belle is a fictional character in Disney's Beauty and the Beast franchise. First appearing in the 1991 animated film, Belle is the book-loving daughter of an eccentric inventor who yearns for adventure and reprieve from her mundane village life. When her father is imprisoned by a cold-hearted beast, Belle offers her own freedom in exchange for his. Despite his outward appearance, she gradually befriends the Beast, who learns kindness and compassion in return.
The character was created by screenwriter Linda Woolverton, who Disney executive Jeffrey Katzenberg had hired to adapt the "Beauty and the Beast" fairy tale into an animated musical starring a strong heroine. Determined to create a proactive and liberated heroine, Woolverton drew inspiration from the women's movement and actress Katharine Hepburn's portrayal of Jo March in the film Little Women (1933). Some story artists challenged Woolverton's vision for a more liberated character, despite the filmmakers' overall efforts to modernize Belle and distinguish her from previous Disney heroines, particularly Ariel from The Little Mermaid (1989). Belle's supervising animators, James Baxter and Mark Henn, drew inspiration from various sources to design a beautiful and graceful yet believable heroine, specifically referencing Impressionist paintings of ballerinas and several classical Hollywood actresses. Disney auditioned 500 actresses for the role of Belle before casting Paige O'Hara based on her mature-sounding voice and Broadway experience.
Belle has garnered widespread acclaim from film critics who appreciated the character's bravery, intelligence, and independence. Reception towards her feminism, however, has been more mixed, with commentators accusing the character's actions of being romance-oriented. The fifth Disney Princess, Belle is often ranked among the franchise's best members. Highly regarded as one of Disney's strongest examples of a feminist character, critics agree that Belle helped spearhead a generation of independent film heroines while changing the reputation of a Disney princess. Also one of Disney's most iconic characters, Belle was the only animated heroine nominated for the American Film Institute's greatest heroes in film ranking. The character also appears in the film's several sequels and spin-offs, as well as her own live-action television series. American actress Susan Egan was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for originating the role the Broadway adaptation of the film, and Emma Watson played Belle in the 2017 live-action remake.

## Role

Belle debuted in Beauty and the Beast (1991) as a beautiful bibliophile who, although praised by her fellow villagers for her unrivaled beauty, is at the same time ridiculed for her intelligence and non-conformity. Having grown weary of her uneventful provincial life, in which she is relentlessly romantically pursued by an arrogant hunter named Gaston, Belle longs for adventure. After her father's horse returns without its rider, she willingly ventures into the woods in search of her father. She persuades the Beast that she will trade her own freedom in return for her father's, since her father is ill in the dungeon, promising to remain with the Beast in his castle among his staff of enchanted objects forever. Belle's curiosity leads her to the forbidden west wing where she discovers an enchanted rose without realizing that it is tied to the Beast's fate; and the Beast's rage at her trespassing causes her to flee the castle on horseback. Belle is pursued by wolves in the woods but they are driven off by the Beast, afterwards Belle helps the injured Beast back to the castle and nurses him back to health. Although she initially dislikes her captor, Belle gradually learns to accept the Beast in spite of his appearance and eventually befriends him. Belle and the Beast's strong bond greatly envies Gaston to the point of which he storms the castle and mortally wounds the Beast, though Gaston falls to his own death in the process. However, Belle breaks down and confesses her love for the Beast just in time to break the spell under which he had been placed by an enchantress as punishment for his selfish ways, and the Beast ultimately transforms back into a handsome prince.
In Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas (1997), Belle attempts to reignite the castle's waning spirit by reintroducing and celebrating Christmas, in spite of the Beast's strong resentment towards the holiday. Meanwhile, a solemn pipe organ named Forte grows determined to sabotage Belle and the Beast's burgeoning friendship because he longs to maintain his co-dependent relationship with his master. Tricked by Forte into retrieving a large Christmas tree from a frozen pond, Belle nearly drowns, only to be rescued by the Beast. The Beast, however, having been misinformed by Forte, wrongly accuses Belle of trying to escape again, and locks her in the dungeon as punishment. When the Beast finally discovers the truth, they forgive each other, and Belle helps him thwart Forte's plan to destroy the castle. Belle's Magical World (1998), depicts Belle as she interacts with both the Beast and his enchanted servants in various segments, exploring themes such as forgiveness, friendship, cooperation and respect.

## Development
### Creation and writing

After the success of Disney's first feature-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Walt Disney himself had attempted to adapt the "Beauty and the Beast" fairy tale several times, notably during the 1930s and 1950s. The project was shelved due to challenges encountered adapting the fairy tale's static main characters and plot, and Walt Disney was particularly wary about animating Belle's imprisonment. Inspired by the success of 1989's The Little Mermaid, Disney chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg greenlit another attempt at adapting the story under director Richard Purdum. However, Katzenberg was dissatisfied with Purdum's dark, somber interpretation, and ordered that the film be completely reworked into a musical starring a strong heroine, similar to The Little Mermaid. Largely fueled by some critics' condemnation of Ariel's characterization in The Little Mermaid, Disney encouraged a "feminist twist" on the "Beauty and the Beast" story. After hearing some of her ideas about Belle during a story meeting, Katzenberg hired screenwriter Linda Woolverton to write the film's screenplay.
Woolverton is credited with creating the version of the character that exists in the final film. Woolverton felt Disney had typically portrayed its female leads as victims before Beauty and the Beast, with Belle's lack of agency in early drafts of the script proving contentious among its writers. While the studio still wanted Beauty and the Beast to evoke their older films, the writers by contrast envisioned Belle as "a woman that was ahead of her time". As the first woman to write a feature-length animated film for Disney, Woolverton decided to use Belle as an opportunity to create a female character who would ultimately be better received than Disney's previous animated heroines, specifically Ariel. Aware of the task's daunting nature due to the mermaid's popularity, Woolverton fought relentlessly to create "a new kind of Disney heroine". Inspired by the women's rights movement, the screenwriter conceived Belle as a brave and book smart feminist to avoid creating another "insipid" Disney princess. She believed contemporary audiences would not relate to Belle unless she was updated to resemble "a woman of the '90s". Refusing to watch Jean Cocteau's 1946 film adaptation of the fairy tale, Woolverton instead based Belle on actress Katharine Hepburn's portrayal of Jo March in the 1933 film adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's novel Little Women. Similarly, story artist Brenda Chapman drew inspiration from Hepburn's on-screen bickering with actor Spencer Tracy for certain scenes with the Beast.
Beauty and the Beast's story team was predominantly male. Woolverton often argued with some of the more traditional-minded story artists over Belle's role and personality, but continued to be supported by Katzenberg and lyricist Howard Ashman, the latter of whom also lobbied for "a thinker and a reader" who "wasn't a victim". Woolverton said the story team challenged virtually everything she wrote for the character, on one occasion replacing what Woolverton had scripted as Belle indicating where she wishes to travel on a map with the character baking a cake. Arguing that the liberated Belle would not even know how to bake, Woolverton compromised by having the character read a book instead, which ironically some writers considered too passive an activity. To resolve this, Woolverton ultimately scripted Belle walking while reading, an activity in which she herself partook in as a child. Despite constant rewrites she found "regressive", Woolverton's overall vision for Belle generally remained intact.
In the original fairy tale, Belle has two selfish sisters who have their own love interests, all of whom Woolverton omitted to focus on Belle's dynamic with Gaston. The writer also eliminated the subplot surrounding Belle asking her father for a rose. Supporting characters from Purdum's treatment, such as Belle's younger sister Clarice and cruel Aunt Marguerite, were also discarded, the former to emphasize Belle's loneliness, and the latter replaced by Gaston as the film's villain. In Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont's fairy tale, Belle is essentially forced to replace her father as the Beast's prisoner. To emphasize the character's independence, Woolverton re-wrote Belle to willingly venture to the castle in search of her father, where she confronts the Beast and ultimately trades her own freedom in return for Maurice's. To demonstrate that the character is not perfect, Woolverton described "a little wisp of hair that keeps falling in her face," which was the only direction she used to describe Belle's physical appearance. During Gaston's climactic fight with the Beast, the character's line "Time to die!", which had already been animated, was changed to "Belle is mine!" to refocus the story on Belle.

### Voice

Disney auditioned approximately 500 actresses for the role of Belle. They originally considered re-hiring Ariel's voice actress, Jodi Benson, but decided she sounded too young and American for the character they had created. The filmmakers wanted Belle to sound closer to a woman than a girl, citing actress Judy Garland as an inspiration. Actress and singer Paige O'Hara was performing on Broadway when she first read about Disney's then-upcoming animated film Beauty and the Beast in The New York Times. O'Hara immediately booked an audition once she learned the studio was specifically recruiting Broadway talent for its female lead. Familiar with O'Hara's work in the Broadway musical Show Boat, Ashman had already been considering her for the role. O'Hara auditioned five times over the span of two weeks, first solely for casting director Albert Taveres. She also mailed recordings of herself singing "Heaven Help My Heart" from the musical Chess to Disney in Los Angeles. At her first in-person audition, O'Hara originally spoke and sang in a higher register but the filmmaker's preferred her natural voice. In addition to Katzenberg and Ashman, O'Hara's last few auditions were attended by directors Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale, producer Don Hahn, and composer Alan Menken. The songwriters initially listened with their eyes closed to avoid being influenced by her physical appearance. An hour after her fifth and final audition, Disney telephoned O'Hara to inform her she had been cast, which coincidentally occurred on her birthday. The actress was fairly confident she had been cast before it was official, for which she credits Ashman.
Already 30 years-old by the time of her audition, O'Hara naturally imbued Belle's voice with maturity despite her character's young age, reflecting Woolverton's vision. In addition to sharing Belle's love of reading, O'Hara empathized with her character being ostracized by her peers due to unconventional interests, explaining, "I was into musical theater ... while people were going to Led Zeppelin concerts ... I had a one-track mind, and I think that Belle was like that a lot". The actress worked on the film on-and-off for over two years, and completed the entire script during her first day of recording. She identified the scene where Belle is gifted the Beast's library among the fastest she recorded due to her own love of books, "so all I had to imagine was that my husband gave me that library".
She initially found it challenging to soften her voice during recording sessions due to having been trained to project as a stage performer. Despite its costliness, O'Hara and actor Robby Benson, voice of the Beast, were granted permission from Disney to record in the same booth as opposed to separately, becoming some of the few voice actors to do so for a Disney project. O'Hara credited these intimate recording sessions with helping Belle and the Beast's relationship sound more convincing. Although the actress would occasionally ad-lib per her directors' encouragement, none of her improvisation was included in the final film. Despite her successful stage career, O'Hara was virtually unknown to Hollywood when she was cast in Beauty and the Beast; she was one of the last obscure actors cast in a feature-length Disney animated film before the studio shifted towards casting celebrity talent in subsequent animated projects.
Since the film's release, O'Hara has reprised her role in a variety of follow-up films, tie-in media, and merchandise, including its direct-to-video sequels Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas (1997), Belle's Magical World (1998), and Belle's Tales of Friendship (1999). In 2012, O'Hara described Disney as her "main employer for 20 years". In 2011, actress Julie Nathanson began voicing Belle in certain media appearances, a time during which O'Hara admitted that she found maintaining her character's high pitch more strenuous compared to 20 years prior. O'Hara partnered with Disney Fine Art – Collector’s Editions to create a collection of original artwork inspired by the film, entitled "Belles by Belle".

### Personality

According to producer Don Hahn, the original fairy tale's Belle is an "incredibly passive" character, the personality of whom he likened to Aurora from Sleeping Beauty (1959) and Cinderella, as well as American actress Doris Day, describing them as women who are "capable, but filling a role that women might fill in the 1950s and 1960s". In a concerted effort to update the story and character for the 1990s, Woolverton and the filmmakers painstakingly reworked Belle into a more three-dimensional character by imbuing her with goals and aspirations beyond romance and marriage, adapting her into an unusual, more inquisitive heroine. Woolverton worked particularly closely with Ashman to create a proactive character "who was a thinker and a reader and she wasn't about what she looked like and she wasn't a victim". Although Belle being well-read is mentioned in the original fairy tale, this trait is hardly integral to its plot. Thus, Belle's passion for reading was greatly expanded upon for the film, borrowing elements from both Little Women's Jo March and Woolverton's own love of reading to demonstrate the character's intelligence and open-mindedness.
Both Woolverton and O'Hara encouraged the filmmakers to emphasize the intelligent and book-loving aspects of Belle's personality, but the animators sometimes struggled to realize Woolverton's vision. Originally, Belle was depicted constantly crying throughout her imprisonment which Woolverton resented, arguing that the character was much more likely to spend her time either planning an escape or simply "be intrigued that she was living in an enchanted castle". On the other hand, Woolverton recalled that "Once everybody realized she wasn't going to be this typical Disney female, they would go to the extreme" and make her "bitchy", a manner the screenwriter argued that Belle was far to intelligent to act in.
O'Hara considers Belle to be both revolutionary and the first Disney heroine of her kind in several regards resulting from her personality and aspirations. Chapman, who tried "to portray a different kind of female heroine from other Disney movies", echoed these sentiments, describing Belle as a strong female character "who wasn’t waiting around for things to happen to her", and one of her favorite projects. Wise was distinctly aware that comparisons to Ariel would be inevitable due to similarities between the two films, and sought to make her personality distinct from the mermaid by making her older, wiser, more sophisticated, and extremely protective of her father, in contrast to Ariel's "All-American teen-ager" naivety and impulsiveness. A few years older than Ariel, Belle's love of reading makes the character more worldly and mature than her predecessor, who unlike her does not fall in love immediately. Henn believes Belle is "probably" the oldest of Disney's princesses. Both he and O'Hara estimated her to be in her early 20s, while animation historian Jim Korkis estimates her to be 18 or 19 years-old.

### Design and animation

Before being assigned to Gaston, Andreas Deja had originally wanted to animate Belle. Belle's supervising animators were James Baxter and Mark Henn. Baxter was selected for the character because "his work has this graceful effortlessness to it", according to Wise, and he oversaw a team of eight animators who worked on Belle. The animator said drawing a beautiful character such as Belle can pose unique challenges because "she can become very ugly very quickly--all it takes is a few misplaced lines". Baxter based Belle's appearance on preliminary sketches Chapman and story supervisor Roger Allers had already done for the character, retaining her rounder face and European features. They decided the character should be brunette, a hair color Disney had never used for their prior princesses. Baxter studied the work of French impressionist Edgar Degas, whose ballerina portraits inspired the animator to incorporate "graceful, swan-like movements" into Belle's gait, as well as video footage of ballerinas. Despite these inspirations, Baxter avoided relying too heavily on the ballerina motif to prevent Belle from becoming overly prissy and feminine at the cost of her believability. They also wanted her movements to reflect her self-reliance, capability, and practicality, despite her beauty and grace. Trousdale said that, compared to a fantasy character like Ariel, animating Belle left less room for imagination because "Everybody knows how a pretty [human] girl looks and walks". Baxter described maintaining her locomotion as "very tricky" due to the subtlety and realism required to animate it, compared to a cartoonish character like Mickey Mouse.
Wanting Belle to have a more European appearance than Ariel, the animators drew her with fuller lips, narrower eyes, and darker eyebrows inspired by British actress Vivien Leigh, while her statuesque physique was inspired by teen idols Jennie Garth and Alyssa Milano. Additional influences included Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz (1939) and Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music (1965). Belle was Henn's second Disney heroine, after Ariel. He worked on select scenes from out of the studio's Florida division. For visual inspiration and reference, Henn decorated his workstation with photographs of several classic Hollywood actresses, including Natalie Wood, Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly, and Audrey Hepburn. He said Belle's final appearance began to materialize once he heard O'Hara's voice for the first time, from which point on the animators married their designs with her performance. O'Hara found the photographs of "all these beautiful women" intimidating, but animator Lorna Cook reassured her that they would reference her own photographs as well. While working on Beauty and the Beast, Henn rarely met O'Hara aside from select occasions when he would travel to California for production meetings. Meanwhile, the animators dissuaded O'Hara from seeing unfinished drawings of her character.
Animators videotaped O'Hara's recording sessions to incorporate some of her mannerisms, expressions, and gestures into her character. Actress and writer Sherri Stoner also served as the character's live-action reference model. Because she had provided the same service for Ariel, Stoner made a concerted effort not to recycle some of Ariel's habits such as lip biting, which was deemed "not in Belle’s character". Belle's tendency to brush strands of hair away from her face was inspired by both Stoner and O'Hara, which Henn had noticed the latter doing constantly "no matter how much hairspray she uses". It became a physical manifestation of the character's personality. The animators also borrowed elements of O'Hara's eyes, cheekbones, and eyebrows; some of her family members immediately recognized her physical traits in Belle upon watching the film. O'Hara felt early versions of Belle looked "too perfect", and expressed concerns that children would find her difficult to relate to the animators redesigned her. Animation historian Charles Solomon observed some quality inconsistencies in Belle's appearance throughout the film, writing, "The prettiest and liveliest Belle waltzes with Beast in his marble ballroom and weeps over his body before he's transformed into the Prince", while "The Belle who receives the library from Beast has wider-set eyes and a more prominent mouth than the noticeably slimmer Belle who sings 'Something There'."
Belle undergoes four distinct costume changes in the film. Her ball gown was inspired by a costume Audrey Hepburn's character wears in the romantic comedy Roman Holiday (1953). Hahn and a small team of male filmmakers designed the dress while consuming pizza and alcohol. The film's marketing department had originally wanted the dress to be pink to appeal to female audiences, but art director Brian McEntee preferred gold to differentiate Belle from other Disney princesses. McEntee also suggested that Belle be the only character in her village dressed in blue to emphasize her ostracization. The Beast also wears blue, signaling to audiences that they belong together. The colors Belle wears throughout the film mirror her emotions, with blue indicating sadness, loneliness, and goodness, in direct contrast to Gaston's red. Coincidentally, O'Hara wrote blue on several occasions while involved with the film, including her audition and premieres. McEntee confirmed that, despite the film being set in the 18th century, much of Belle's aesthetic is lifted directly from 1990s trends, drawing inspiration from cover girls Isabella Rossellini and Cindy Crawford.

## Characterization and themes

Woolverton created Belle as part of "her self-directed mandate to move women and girls forward." The Express-Times described the character as an intelligent young woman who "sings songs about reading and wanting to gain knowledge, rather than falling in love." Woolverton credits Belle's knowledge and love of books with providing the character with a "point of view of her life and that doesn't necessarily involve a man getting her there." One of the film's main themes, Belle is considered an outsider because her love of reading provides her with knowledge of the outside world as opposed to her "narrow-minded" village peers. Writing for Wired.com, Matt Blum dubbed Belle "the geekiest heroine of any Disney animated film", exemplified by an opening number that demonstrates just how much she does not fit in with her peers due to her intelligence and active imagination. Similarly, Boxoffice's Amy Nicholson coined the character "Disney's Smartest Heroine", while Rob Burch of The Hollywood News observed that the character "comes across as arrogant at times" because she "spends much of the first act complaining." In her book Sex, Love and Abuse: Discourses on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, author Sharon Hayes described Belle as "the quintessential beautiful young ingénue." Comparing Belle's personality to that of the princess in the Brothers Grimm's fairy tale "The Frog Prince", The Meanings of "Beauty and the Beast": A Handbook author Jerry Griswold described the character as a similarly "feisty and outspoken" heroine. Writing for St. Francis Xavier University, Dawn Elizabeth England observed that Belle possesses equally as many traditionally feminine as she does masculine traits, citing her bravery, independence and assertiveness as masculine, and her sensitivity and fearfulness as feminine. According to Hard Bodies: Hollywood Masculinity in the Reagan Era author Susan Jeffords, "Belle's credentials as heroine are established ... when she is the only one of the town's single women not to swoon over Gaston," while the character's love of reading is essentially manipulated "to mark her as better than the rest of the townspeople." Writing for The Statesman, David O'Connor cited Belle's intelligence and bibliophilia as "in stark opposition to the insensitive and significantly dim-witted Gaston." Critics continue to debate over whether Belle or the Beast is the film's protagonist. Susan Jeffords, author of Hard Bodies: Hollywood Masculinity in the Reagan Era, felt that although Belle appears to be the protagonist in Beaumont's original fairy tale, the character becomes "less the focus of the narrative" in Disney's adaptation and more of a "mechanism for solving the Beast's 'dilemma.'" In her article "The Tangled Evolution of the Disney Princess," Noelle Buffam felt that Belle arrived just in time when Disney's heroines were "in a dire need for some change," awarding her "the red stamp of approval" for her intelligence and spirit.
Analyzing ways in which Disney's heroines have evolved over time due to "the approach to the characterization of the princesses chang[ing]" as the characters gradually transformed from passive young women into heroines who "had ambitions and desires aside from finding true love," critics often divide the Disney Princesses into three separate categories and rank Belle among the middle of the timeline, with Kit Steinkellner of HelloGiggles.com observing that the character improved upon "the Disney princess archetype" by simultaneously serving as both a "dreamer" and a "doer" in her film, as opposed to exclusively the former. Film historian Paula Sigman Lowery explained to the Daily Express that Belle's personality is a combination of Ariel's spirit and burgeoning independence, and Pocahontas' maturity, while Belle is "a little older [than Ariel] and a little further along in their journey towards independence." About.com's David Nusair believes that Belle belongs to a category of Disney Princesses known as "The Lady Vanishes", in which the heroines, in spite of being brave, outspoken and independent, nonetheless "are forced to behave passively as others help them achieve their respective goals." Michelle Munro, writing for Durham College, felt that even though Belle shares several traits with her more passive predecessors, the character introduced "new possibilities for princesses." Girls in Capes wrote that Belle pioneered a generation of princesses who taught "about ambition, self-discovery and the pursuit of what we want." Additionally, Belle remains Disney's first and only princess to have hazel eyes.

## Appearances
### Film and television

In Belle's Tales of Friendship (1999), a spin-off of the film series, Belle owns a bookshop in which she teaches valuable lessons to children by reading and retelling well-known stories and fairy tales, narrating four Disney animated shorts: The Three Little Pigs (1933), Peter and the Wolf (1946), The Wise Little Hen (1934), and Morris the Midget Moose (1950). For the first time, Belle appears as both animated and live-action versions of herself, voiced and portrayed by actresses Paige O'Hara and Lynsey McLeod, respectively. In the television series Sing Me a Story with Belle (1995–97), Belle, in a role reprised by McLeod, runs her own music and bookshop, where she is visited by children to whom she tells and sings stories.

## Reception
### Critical response

Belle has received largely positive reviews from film critics, who praised her bravery, intelligence, independence, and maturity. Jennie Punter of The Globe and Mail described Belle as a "smart, courageous ... 'take-charge kind of gal'", crowning her the film's "main attraction". Both Emma Cochrane of Empire and Annlee Ellingson of Paste enjoyed the character's feminism, with the former hailing Belle as "more rounded than previous Disney characters". According to Stephen Hunter of The Baltimore Sun, Belle is "no passive fairy tale princess, but a real live girl, with a spunky personality and her own private agenda". A reviewer for TV Guide felt the film's familiar plot was improved by Belle's confidence and independence, concluding, "Unlike Disney heroines ... Belle is smart, knows what she wants, and doesn't spend her time pining away for the love of a handsome prince". Marc Bernardin of Entertainment Weekly dubbed Belle "the hero" of Beauty and the Beast, while the same publication's Christian Blauvelt opined, "Unlike previous Disney heroines who needed to be rescued by a prince themselves, Belle not only saves the Beast's life, she saves his soul". TLC's Vicki Arkoff reviewed Belle a "smart" and "sharp-tongued", crediting the character with "break[ing] Disney's passive-princess mold". About.com's David Nusair described Belle as an "admirable" heroine. AllMovie's Don Kaye and Perry Seibert echoed each other's reviews of the character, with Kaye describing both Belle and the Beast as "three-dimensional ... complex individuals who defy stereotyping and change over the course of the story", and Seibert calling Belle a "strong female character" who "sidesteps most of the clichés surrounding Disney heroines". Common Sense Media hailed Belle as "one of Disney's smartest, most independent heroines". In 2022, Matthew Stewart and Paul Sheehan of Gold Derby ranked Belle as the second best Disney Princess writing, "Belle is one of the smartest, bravest, and most tender-hearted characters the Disney company has ever created, and her story becomes more and more relevant all the time. By daring to improve her mind even when ridiculed for it, fortifying herself against Gaston's oafish advances, and making her own choice when it comes to love, she serves as a source of inspiration for all women."
Several critics also voiced their preference for the character over her immediate predecessor, Ariel. Hal Hinson of The Washington Post described Belle as a "compelling" character who is "more mature, more womanly and less blandly asexual" than Ariel, as well as "a more worldly girl", describing her as "a bookworm, with gumption and a mind of her own". Similarly comparing Belle to Ariel, John Hartl of The Seattle Times wrote that, in Beauty and the Beast, "there's rarely a sense of déjà vu, perhaps because the heroine is so different from 'Mermaid's' dependent Ariel, and her dilemma is more poignant", while Boxoffice scribed, "Undoubtedly in response to criticism that the cute little 'Mermaid' Ariel was nothing more than a precocious sexpot, the idea-people behind this beauty—aptly named Belle ... chose to make her an icon of self-reliance and a voracious reader with a curiosity and love for everything around her".
Meanwhile, Belle's relationship with the Beast has also been met with positive reviews. About.com's David Nusair wrote that "the palpable chemistry between Belle and The Beast ensur[es] that Beauty and the Beast lives up to its reputation as one of the most memorable romances of all time." Describing it as an "unconventional romance", Charles Solomon of the Los Angeles Times opined, "The idea of a young woman learning to love a gentle heart hidden beneath a baleful exterior represented a major break with tradition." Likewise, critics enjoyed O'Hara's performance. According to Variety, Belle was "magnificently voiced by O'Hara." The Star-Ledger's Stephen Whitty enjoyed O'Hara's "pretty soprano". John Hartl of The Seattle Times wrote, "O'Hara does a spirited job of investing the character with warmth, intuition and maturity," while the Sun-Sentinel's Candice Russel felt that O'Hara "does a good job of creating Belle as intellectual, wisely feminine and disarmed by the stirrings of her heart."
One of the character's few negative reviews was written by Ethan Alter of Television Without Pity, who opined:
   [T]he movie ... present[ed] audiences with a willful female protagonist that was firmly in control of her romantic destiny and regularly placed reading books above chasing after boys. And it's true that in that respect at least, Belle stood in stark contrast to past Disney heroines ... Still, the filmmakers didn't do the character any favors by swapping out that boy crazy trait for a pronounced maternalistic streak that comes across as a little creepy. Besides being utterly devoted to her father, Belle's relationship with the Beast possesses a distinctly mother/toddler dynamic ... Their romance also lacks spark because – due to the fundamental set-up of the narrative ... it's always clear that he needs her far more than she needs him. Particularly when compared to some of the dynamic animated heroines that came after her ... today Belle can't help but seem ... bland.

### Feminist analysis

Disney has marketed Belle as a feminist since 1991. In the book Hearing a Film, Seeing a Sermon: Preaching and Popular Movies, author Timothy B. Cargal said the character represents Disney's "efforts to reshape their heroines for a more feminist age", which Girl Culture: An Encyclopedia author Claudia Mitchell believes was influenced by rising social concepts such as third-wave feminism and Girl power. Upon the film's release, most critics and advocates applauded Disney's efforts to depict Belle as more feminist than her predecessors. Culture commentators observed that the character's intelligence and courage, departures from earlier Disney heroines, resonated with girls during the 1990s, and Hayden Manders of Nylon dubbed her "the internet's favorite feminist princess". According to Constance Grady of Vox, Belle's agency, which dates back to the original fairy tale, is the key reason most critics argue that she is an empowered feminist heroine. Although some journalists consider her a feminist icon, feminist critics and academics have long debated the character's feminist qualifications, offering reevaluations about whether she is "feminist enough". According to Kathi Maio of New Internationalist, the film's marketing campaign initially convinced most critics by highlighting Belle's feminist traits, but argued that the character's love of reading remains her only genuinely feminist strength. Some critics have contested that Belle is hardly shown reading during the film and found her literary interests limited to fiction, fairy tales, and fantasy. Jezebel acknowledged that Belle is often regarded "as the standard of the 'feminist' Disney princess", but questioned why her actions are afforded more grace than Ariel's.
The interpretation of Belle's role and what she represents to its audience has been widely debated and remains divisive among audiences. Although the animated film was initially praised for starring a progressive feminist, some critics agree that, despite Belle's open resentment towards Gaston, the story remains a romance about a girl seeking her "ideal man". Manders noted that, despite her intelligence and independence, by the end of her story Belle "still winds up like every other princess: with a prince in a nice castle", which complicates her personality. Twilight and History author Nancy Reagin felt Belle still perpetuates the idea of marriage fulfilment, while Kathleen Maher of The Austin Chronicle cited her as an example of pseudo-feminism because she rejects one man in favor a prince. While commending Belle for "seeing past the beast's appearance", Judith Welikala of The Independent ultimately accused the character of reverting to domesticity once he turns back into a prince. Fairy Tale author Andrew Teverson deemed Belle Disney's attempt to address "feminist criticism of its representation of women in earlier films", but ultimately criticized the character's curiosity for not extending beyond romance, while exercising hostility towards "common men and women". Beyond Adaptation: Essays on Radical Transformations of Original Works author Phyllis Frus said what remote feminism Beauty and the Beast had achieved via Belle was ultimately reversed by inducting her into the Disney Princess franchise. In Refinery29's "Definitive Ranking Of Disney Princesses As Feminist Role Models," author Vanessa Golembewski ranked the character eighth but described her personality and ambitions as "confusing". HuffPost writer Claire Fallon acknowledged that, with hindsight and the advent of more empowered Disney heroines, it seems unlikely that audiences once embraced Belle as an independent feminist. However, she maintains that this view emerged because at the time Belle was heavily compared to the heroines who came before her, and regardless she "laid the groundwork for today's badass cartoon heroines". Muireann O’Shea of the College Tribune believes there are stronger feminist advocates than Belle in the Disney Princess franchise alone, citing Elsa, Tiana, Moana, Pocahontas, and Mulan as better examples.
Much of the feminist discourse surrounding Belle was revived by the film's 2017 live-action remake, for which Belle actress Emma Watson heavily promoted the perceived feminist aspects of her character, as well as her intention to update her into a more independent woman. According to O’Shea, Belle already meets feminist requirements if one equates feminism with having "agency in her own actions", and Watson's revisions does little to harm nor improve the original film's morals. In retrospect, some pundits have criticized Belle's relationships with the Beast, accusing it of romanticizing domestic abuse, and suggesting that women are responsible for reforming their male romantic partners. Melanie Hamlett of Paste observed that the major male characters in Beauty and the Beast either want to own, imprison, or be saved by Belle. Writing for the University of Central Florida, Faith Dickens felt that Belle becomes little more than "a vehicle for exploring the Beast's dilemmas", with her passion for adventure being replaced by romance, and criticized her lack of character development compared to the Beast. Similarly, scholar and culture critic Henry A. Giroux felt that Belle serves as little more than "a prop for resolving the Beast's problems". Anna E. Altmann, author of Tales, Then and Now: More Folktales as Literary Fictions for Young Adults, found Belle's relationship with both the Beast and Maurice to be overly motherly. Sonia Saraiya of Nerve ranked Belle the sixth-most feminist Disney Princess, writing that, unlike Ariel, Belle's sass is rooted in intellect rather than " teenage rebellion". Saraiya commended Belle for resisting "her village's expectations of what her life should look like," crediting her with being "the first princess to express some skepticism about married life." While calling Belle's sacrifice "brave", the author also labeled it "not much of a step for womankind," in the end accusing her of falling "for a domineering man." Similarly, writer Kit Steinkellner expressed concern over the "abusive undercurrents running through Belle and Beast's relationship", despite her proactivity. Bustle's Mary Grace Garis also commended Belle's aspirations and love of reading, but criticized her relationship with the Beast.
Over time, some critics have argued that Belle exhibits Stockholm syndrome, suggesting that she develops feelings for the Beast while being held captive. Woolverton refuted this interpretation, stating that Belle's love and kindness lead to the Beast's transformation without compromising her own identity. Rebecca Lewis of Metro initially supported the Stockholm syndrome argument but later reassessed her stance, concluding in 2017 that Belle's autonomy in her decisions makes her "a feminist ... character that women around the world need right now". In 2017, psychiatrist Frank Ochberg, who had originally helped put the term into use, stated that "the case for Beauty and the Beast not being Stockholm syndrome is stronger than the case of it being Stockholm syndrome", explaining that Belle's dynamic with the Beast lacks much of the trauma bonding required to qualify for the condition. Ultimately, Ochberg described Belle as brave, courageous, and "a nice heroic story from a feminist point of view". Discussing Belle's mixed reception, Rebecca Farley of Refinery29 described her as "the Disney princess we all love to hate", noting that some of her actions have been viewed as questionable. However, she also regarded Belle as a compelling heroine due to her unconventional nature. Additionally, Belle has been criticized for being portrayed in isolation from other strong female characters, which some argue suggests that she is "the only worthwhile woman around"/

## Cultural impact

Deemed an "iconoclast" by Boxoffice Pro, Belle has been cemented as a cultural icon for her role in Beauty and the Beast. According to Time and Harper's Bazaar, the character holds the distinction of being Disney's first feminist princess. Commentators believe the character's reputation as one of Disney's first strong female characters is responsible for changing the way in which women would be depicted in subsequent animated films. Emma Gray, Senior Women's Reporter for HuffPost, said "For women who grew up in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, few characters loom larger than Belle ... with her interest in learning and reading, and her lack of interest in being married off to a walking caricature of toxic masculinity, presented a portrait of a more empowered Disney princess". According to Kevin Fallon of The Daily Beast, before Belle "being a Disney princess meant singing songs about how much you love combing your hair with a fork and giving away your voice if it meant you got to marry the guy with that dreamy chiseled jaw". Animation historian Charles Solomon considers Belle to be among four Disney Princesses responsible for breaking "the bonds of convention". About.com's David Nusair agreed that Belle successfully "updated the princess formula for an entirely new generation". The Atlantic's Lindsay Lowe echoed Nusair's sentiment, citing Belle as the character responsible for ending Disney's "history of ... docile heroines". Cathy Schmidt of The Daily Campus recognized Belle and Ariel as "the beginnings of the more modern Disney princesses". Writing for Virgin Media, Limara Salt believes that the character "proved that audiences could fall in love with a brown-haired intellectual". A survey conducted by Disney after the film's release determined that Belle's love of books inspired young women to read. In 2015, writers for Time said Belle is arguably one of the most well-known bookworms in pop culture. Justin Humphreys of The Hook expressed, "Belle remains a most successful princess because people can relate" to her. Elina Bolokhova of Parenting believes that Belle's "bravery and independence helped redefine the meaning of a Disney princess". According to Emily Rome of Uproxx, "Belle became an immediate favorite for any girl who, like Belle, would rather have her nose stuck in a book than doing just about anything else". The character is also revered as a positive role model for young women.
Belle is the fifth member of the Disney Princess franchise, and one of its most popular and celebrated inductees. According to Tyler B. Searle of Collider, who ranked the character the second-best protagonist from the Disney Renaissance, Belle is often considered to be "one of if not the best Disney princesses". Vogue's Patricia Garcia called her "a welcome exception to the Disney princess stereotype" due to her bravery, adventurousness, and love of reading, and Kayleigh Dray of Stylist declared her "one of the least two-dimensional characters in the original Disney Princess line-up". According to a 2020 poll reported by Marie Claire, Belle was voted the most popular Disney Princess in nine countries, the fourth highest-ranking. The character was declared the best Disney Princess in a ranking by E!, while Cosmopolitan and Seventeen ranked her fourth and fifth, respectively. Similarly, BuzzFeed also ranked the character fifth, praising her love of reading. Ranking Belle fifth, IGN's Cristina Alexander called her "one of the first modern Disney Princesses to break the stereotype of how princesses behave". A reader poll conducted by BuzzFeed also determined that Belle is the most popular Disney Princess, having garnered 18% of votes. A similar poll conducted by ComingSoon.net also ranked Belle as the best Disney Princess, with 17% of the vote. Belle is the fifth most successful Disney Princess in terms of box office revenue, with Beauty and the Beast having grossed over $350 million. However, Belle was the lowest-selling Disney Princess on eBay in 2013, with sales of less than $7,000 despite the fact that she is often cited as a customer favorite.
   As Disney heroines go, Belle was an iconoclast. Her strong-willed, independent personality feels invigorating in a medium where most damsels are in distress. That was definitely true 20 years ago when Beauty was released, and it's still half-true today.
Belle is widely regarded as one of Disney's most beloved heroines and princesses. In 2023, The A.V. Club ranked Belle the 10th greatest animated Disney character of all-time and deemed her integral to Beauty and the Beast's enduring reputation as one of Disney’s greatest films. Business Insider readers voted Belle the 15th most iconic female movie character of all-time. In 2016, Scott Huver of People said the character's "popularity remains a force to be reckoned with" over 25 years after the film's release. Belle was the only animated heroine nominated for the American Film Institute's 50 greatest heroes ranking. According to the Daily Mirror, Belle is Disney's second most iconic character, behind only Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Meanwhile, PopMatters ranked her Disney's second-best hero. People described her as one of "The World's Most Beautiful Cartoon Characters" in 2016. The character was ranked 64th on UGO's list of the most attractive female cartoon characters, and 14th on Complex's "25 Hottest Cartoon Women of All Time". Considered to be a style icon, E! ranked Belle the second best-dressed Disney Princess. Her ball gown is widely considered to be one of the most famous dresses in film history. Belle appeared on Stylist's list of the "Best beauty looks in Disney" twice, for both of the character's hairstyles. As of 2022, Entertainment Weekly ranked Belle's hair seventh in the magazine's "Disney Princesses: Ranking Their Hairdos – and Don'ts!"
Belle helped establish Woolverton as a prolific screenwriter, who has since been commended for her dedication to creating strong female characters. Ever since Belle, the majority of Woolverton's female characters have been headstrong, independent women, namely Nala from The Lion King (1994), Mulan from Mulan (1998), Alice from Alice in Wonderland (2010), and Maleficent from Maleficent (2014). Susan Wloszczyna of IndieWire wrote that Woolverton's Belle "set a new standard for fully fleshed-out fairy-tale heroines", in turn paving the way for Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games series, and Anna and Elsa from Frozen (2013). Woolverton remains protective of Belle, explaining, "[she] was my first-born child, so there's a little bit of possessiveness, which really I had to let it go". In Beauty and the Beast, Belle performs the film's opening number, "Belle", which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 64th Academy Awards in 1992. In 1998, O'Hara was nominated for an Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement for Voice Acting in a Feature Production for reprising her role as Belle in the second of Beauty and the Beast's three direct-to-video sequels, Belle's Magical World. To commemorate her work on Beauty and the Beast and various contributions to Disney, O'Hara was honored with a Disney Legends award on August 19, 2011. Disney hired Spanish actress Penélope Cruz to pose as Belle in photographer Annie Leibovitz's Disney Dream Portrait Series.

### In other media

In 1994, Susan Egan originated the role of Belle on Broadway in the stage adaptation of the film. Egan's manager insisted that she audition despite the actress initially having reservations that staging a cartoon on Broadway "was a terrible idea". She ultimately turned down callbacks for productions of My Fair Lady, Carousel, and Grease because she had always wanted to originate a Broadway role. Egan had never watched Beauty and the Beast prior to auditioning, and instead relied on her "creative instincts" to avoid imitating O'Hara's work. Her performance received critical praise and a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical at the 48th Tony Awards. At least 20 actresses played Belle on Broadway until the show closed in 2007, with Anneliese van der Pol in the role. Sarah Litzsinger remains Broadway's longest-running Belle, while Christy Carlson Romano was the character's youngest performer, at age 19. Singer Toni Braxton was the only Black woman to play Belle on Broadway. The ballad "A Change in Me" was written specifically for Braxton when she joined the cast in 1998, and has been retained in the musical ever since.
Emma Watson played Belle in the 2017 live-action remake of the film. Watson suggested several changes to modernize the character's personality and costumes, including refusing to wear a corset and opting for riding boots to preserve her mobility. In this version of the film, Belle is also an inventor like her father, and uses her inventions to grant herself more time to read. Her mother is revealed to have died when Belle was a baby, resulting in Maurice being overprotective of her. Critics noted Watson's performance as a standout in the remake, although reactions to her singing were mixed. In 2022, H.E.R. portrayed Belle in a musical television special commemorating the 30th anniversary of the animated film, becoming the first Afro-Filipino to play the character onscreen.
Belle has appeared in several other Disney film and television projects outside of the Beauty and the Beast franchise. She has a cameo in the animated film The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) during the "Out There" musical sequence. The character is briefly shown from above walking while reading a book, in a similar setting to her Beauty and the Beast hometown. Belle appeared in the animated television series House of Mouse (2001–2003) and its two direct-to-video films. The animated series Sofia the First features a guest appearance from Belle in the episode "The Amulet and the Anthem" (2013). She shares several scenes with other Disney Princesses in Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018), and appears in the Walt Disney Animation Studios short film Once Upon a Studio (2023). Emilie de Ravin plays a version of Belle on the television series Once Upon a Time as the love interest of Rumplestiltskin, the show's iteration of the Beast. Keegan Connor Tracy plays the character in the Descendants film series (2017–2019), in which she is the Queen of the United States of Auradon and shares a son, Ben, with the Beast.
Belle was the main character in various comic book adaptations of the film, including a graphic novel by Bobbi J. G. Weiss, and 1995 Marvel Comics series set during Belle's stay at the castle, specifically some time after the Beasts gifts her the library. A prequel series set several years before the film was published distributed by Disney Comics. Belle and the other characters from the first film appear in the stage show, Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage at Disney's Hollywood Studios, Walt Disney World. Belle also appears in a meet-and-greet attraction at Magic Kingdom's Fantasyland called Enchanted Tales with Belle, along with meet-and-greets in all of the other parks worldwide.
Belle has appeared in various video games. Belle is featured throughout the Kingdom Hearts video game series as one of the Princesses of Heart, seven female characters whose hearts lack any darkness or potential for corruption, and thus pose a danger to the games' antagonists. Belle appears as a playable character to unlock for a limited time in the video game Disney Magic Kingdoms. An alternate version of Belle appears as a playable character in the video game Disney Mirrorverse. She is also featured as a character the player meets during their adventures in Disney Dreamlight Valley alongside Beast and Gaston. In the kart racing game Disney Speedstorm (2023), Belle is a playable racer who can use her enchanted mirror to a variety of effects, including summoning obstacles in front of opponents. Game Rant ranked her one of the best characters in the game.
In 1992, Belle presented the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 64th Academy Awards, alongside the Beast and Chip.