Beast

### Personality

Gruff, impatient, immature, aloof, childish, stubborn, grim, ill-mannered, mysterious, lonely, tortured, hot-tempered, intimidating, frustrated, selfish, spoiled, arrogant, unkind, rude, vicious, hostile, aggressive, serious, merciless, unconfident, bitter, suicidal, miserly, pessimistic, depressive, gloomy, grumpy, harsh, cold, callous, heartless, cruel, strict, irascible, abusive, overbearing, short-tempered, miserable, mean, stern, impulsive, argumentative, ferocious, grouchy (all formerly) (Later) Kind, gentle, humble, polite, innocent, giving, compassionate, selfless, heroic, sensitive, romantic, insecure, hopeful, mature, emotional, trustworthy, daring, cunning, empathetic, protective, slightly shy and clumsy, powerful, good-hearted, strong, remorseful, loving, caring, regal, proper, mighty, courageous, brave, refined, disciplined, mild-mannered, sympathetic, supportive, understanding, charitable, bookish, generous, resilient, animal-loving, nice

### Loves/Likes

Freedom, reading, books, classical music, waltzing, dancing, being treated as an equal, King Arthur, birds, animals, Belle, his friends and family, silence, being loved, snowball fights, roses, fairness, justice, sensitive

### Hates/Dislikes

Isolation, being alone, being judge by his appearance, prejudice, insensitive, mistreatment, cruelness, judgment, sexism, racism, discrimination, being treated as a monster, scaring people, upsetting Belle, intruders, disobedient, Gaston, being a beast, the spell, strangers, solitude, judgment, unfairness, injustice, threats to the kingdom, his friends, family and Belle in danger, gloomy music, betrayals, lies, manipulative, Forte, Christmas (formerly)

### Goal

To break his curse and become human againTo protect Belle

### Allies

Belle, Cogsworth, Lumière, Mrs. Potts, Chip Potts, Maurice

### Enemies

Gaston, Forte, Villagers (formerly), Maurice (formerly)

### Fate

Returns to his human form after the spell is broken by Belle; they marry sometime thereafter

### Relatives

Belle (wife)Maurice (father-in-law)Unnamed mother-in-law †Unnamed parents (deceased)

### Pets

Sultan (dog)
Thunder (Arabian horse; formerly)
Unnamed cat

### Affiliations

Beauty and the Beast franchiseDisney Princes

### Qoute

"I let her go... because I love her."

**The Beast (real name, Adam)** is the deuteragonist in Disney's 1991 animated feature

film "Beauty and the Beast." He is also the main protagonist of the direct to video midquel, Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas

## Background

### Personality

From his first introduction, the Beast is sentient and capable of human speech. He originally appeared to be irritable, spoiled, selfish, and temperamental, and came off as very hostile, even towards his servants. Yet he also had a very bitter outlook on his life and was quick to become frustrated and pitch a fit when things did not work his way, showing a spoiled side to his personality. Though these sides of his personality seemed contradictory, they both stemmed from his upbringing as a prince, since his privileged life made him selfish and inconsiderate during his youth, and also led to his curse in the first place when he refused to offer hospitality to strangers. The Beast's dire situation only exacerbated his temperamental nature further but introduced a deep sense of insecurity and shame because of what his past actions had cost him.

The Beast's greatest conflict was dealing with his hideous appearance and the retention of his humanity. Although he desired to break the curse, the Beast's dual nature made him truly uncertain of ever becoming human again, especially when many could not even recognize him as once being human. The Beast was ashamed of the monstrous aspect of himself; it was a reminder of both what he had done and what he had become. His shame held a stronghold on him, where often the first thing that often set off his temper was when others reacted to his appearance or his inhuman instincts. These cases created a self-fulfilling cycle, where the Beast reacted with a vicious behavior because he was seen as a vicious creature. Despite appearing infuriated when this became an issue, it was indicated that he could feel guilty for his behavior afterward; his first interactions with Belle left him feeling morose believing she would only see him as a monster, and later on when his temper got the better of him that he unintentionally scared away Belle, which only supported his doubts, so much so that he saves her life afterward to make up for his earlier behavior.

Though the Beast is stubborn and lacks manners, he is not without a kind side; the Beast can care for others but has difficulty in overcoming his own flaws to express empathy. In addition, his temper belies the Beast's naivety with the world and how to display his feelings towards it. He is best described by his animator Glen Keane as "a twenty-one-year-old guy who's insecure, wants to be loved, wants to love, but has this ugly exterior and has to overcome this". His softer nature was hinted at during his first appearance when he appeared to feel genuinely regretful towards Belle after he sent her father away without letting her say goodbye. Though seemingly aloof, the Beast is not completely apathetic, as he was able to also empathize with Belle and her own misery from his past experiences as a fellow outcast.

As a side effect of the curse, he was somewhat primal and had a habit of animalistic behavior, from serious social regressions like growling and roaring when angry to arbitrary, slightly humorous traits like forgetting his table manners or shaking himself when wet to dry off. These traits also likened him to that of an untamed animal towards strangers. According to the film's producer Don Hahn, the Beast's spell is not just physical but psychological as well. The longer the Beast is under the spell, the more feral he becomes (meaning if he stays a beast longer, he becomes more like an animal). If Belle had never arrived at the castle, he would have eventually stopped speaking, walking upright, wearing clothes altogether, and would have gone to live in the woods among the wild animals to fend for himself.

The film's commentary also implied during the wolf attack scene that he was suicidal, or at least did not value his life too strongly, due to the hopelessness of ever breaking the curse. This was further supported in the Marvel Comics where the Beast, after saving Belle and Chip after they were trapped in a very serious snowstorm, thanked Belle for saving his life, as her presence caused him to realize his own life was not "meaningless" after all and in the climax to the film with his refusal to defend himself or even his servants when the castle was attacked by the villagers and Gaston, instead insisting that Mrs. Potts just let them come in to kill him and then taking Gaston's attacks with a depressed look on his face and waiting for the finishing blow, only counter-attacking when he realized that Belle had returned to him.

Once the Beast begins to care for Belle after rescuing her from a pack of wolves, he changes from brutish and temperamental to becoming more agreeable and gentle. He even attempts to become civilized again for Belle's sake, relearning table manners and feeding birds, despite his beastly mannerisms. In turn, Belle's acceptance of him despite his appearance begins to show his more positive side, and he becomes progressively selfless. Learning to care for Belle also reveals a fiercely loyal side to him, as he was willing to give anything and everything to protect Belle and keep her happy, even if it meant sacrificing his own happiness by letting her leave him, even before she can return his love to break the curse.

In contrast to his earlier personality where he was bad-tempered and easily irritated, near the end of the enchantment the Beast has matured significantly. For instance, he is unfazed by Gaston's taunts over his ugliness during their duel on the castle rooftop, much to the chagrin of Gaston who was expecting these insults to goad the Beast into a straight-up fight where Gaston would have the advantage. The Beast instead relied on patience and cunning to gain the element of surprise and upper hand over Gaston.

### Physical appearance

The Beast is not of any one species of animal, but a chimera, a mixture of several animals. He has the head structure and horns of a buffalo, the arms, claws and body of a bear, the eyebrows of a gorilla, the jaws and mane of a lion, the tusks of a wild boar and the legs, teeth, and tail of a wolf. The Beast also bears resemblance to mythical monsters like the Minotaur or a werewolf. His size was described by Maurice to be close to 10 feet (3.05 meters). The fur of the Beast has three distinct variations. The main colour of his body is light brown. His neck mane, front hair line, forehead, elbow hair and ears are sepia. His nose and beard are amber. His brows are pale ivory and his mascara and horns are hickory. He also has blue eyes, the one physical feature that does not change whether he is a beast or a human.

Originally, the Beast is seen shirtless, with ragged, dark gray breeches, and a ragged reddish-colored cape with a golden-colored circular-shaped clasp. Despite the actual color of the Beast's cape being a dark wine red, it is more often referenced to be purple and has often been re-colored purple in subsequent productions like *Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas*, *House of Mouse* and the *Kingdom Hearts* games. The reason for this change in color is unknown, although the most likely reason is that the color purple is often associated with royalty.

After the Beast saves Belle from a pack of wolves, his dress style changes, reflecting a more refined personality, as it becomes more disciplined. On the day he showed Belle the castle's library, the Beast wore a white long-sleeved collared shirt, dark blue pants, and a dark blue cape with a blue clasp. While having lunch with Belle, the Beast wore a green coat with gold trimmings and light green lapels, a white dress shirt, a white kerchief, and black pants. When feeding the birds outside with Belle, he wore a white dress shirt with black pants and a light blue sash, as well as an indigo cape with magenta underneath and a white scarf. During the film's ballroom dance sequence, the Beast wore what became his most famous form of dress, which consists of a golden vest over a white dress shirt with a white kerchief attached to a gold brooch with a medium blue gem, black dress pants trimmed with gold, and a navy blue ballroom tailcoat trimmed with gold. He also tied the back of his fur similar to a ponytail adorned with a medium blue ribbon while wearing this suit. In the film's climax, the Beast wore another white long-sleeved collared shirt, dark blue pants, and his signature red cape.

The Beast's human form is that of a tall and slender young man named Prince Adam (though not as tall as the height of the Beast). He has fair skin, shoulder-length light auburn hair, while also retaining his bright blue eyes. Other than the immediate aftermath of regaining his human form (wearing the clothes he wore as the Beast at that time, minus the cape), he is only ever seen in a more "human" version of his ballroom attire, including a pair of brown dress boots with light brown folded sleeves and his hair tied in a low ponytail adorned with a blue clip. In *The Enchanted Christmas*, the human form's ballroom outfit has darker brown dress boots with gray folded sleeves.