Ryan Gosling could have starred as the Beast
As Emma Watson's live action update of Disney's much-loved 'tale as old as time' prepares to waltz into cinemas, we've trawled the archives to bring you some unexpected pieces of behind-the-scenes trivia from both the original animation and the 2017 re-boot. As everyone's favorite talking candlestick would put it, 'Be our guest'...
Our favorite leading man turned down the part to appear in La La Land opposite Emma Stone, which worked out rather well for him. Emma Watson, meanwhile, ditched La La Land to appear in Beauty and the Beast…
Robert Pattinson was also reported to be in the running...
Rumors that the Twilight star would join Beauty and the Beast emerged once it was revealed that Bill Condon would be behind the camera (he directed Breaking Dawn: Parts I and II).
...While Kristen Stewart was one of the first actresses considered to play Belle
The angst would have been off the scale.
Singer-songwriter Jamie T was asked to audition
In one of the strangest almost-castings of all time, the man best known for indie singalongs like 'Sheila' and 'Sticks and Stones' was approached by Disney to audition for the Beast. ‘I’ve been asked to do musicals and I got asked to audition for Beauty and the Beast.
They said Emma Watson’s playing the Beauty and we want you to audition for the Beast,’ he told Q. ‘Then I called back and asked, “How much?”’
Ewan McGregor (Lumiere) had to re-record his dialogue after filming had wrapped
He was worried that his accent had ended up sounding Mexican instead of French...
Belle’s town is named Villenueve after Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, the author of Beauty and the Beast
Her story La Belle et la Bete is the oldest known version of the fairy tale; later abridged by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont (who did not credit Villeneuve as the original author).
In this original story, the Prince was transformed into a beast when he refused to marry an evil fairy, not because he was cruel and selfish
The ‘Beauty’ character believes herself to be a merchant’s daughter, but she is actually the offspring of a king and the very same evil fairy, who tries to kill Beauty.
It’s hardly surprising that Disney reworked the original tale to do away with some of the less than family-friendly elements...
Jackie Chan was the beast in the Chinese version of the original Disney film
When we think of superstar Jackie Chan, we think of fun martial arts fighting and action-adventure that makes us laugh. We do not usually think of the voice behind the animated version of the Beast. But Chan performed as the voice of the Beast for the Chinese translation of the 1991 animated film, speaking Mandarin for the role. But it gets better: Chan also sang the male part on the title track of the movie with Sarah Chen.
That’s right, Chan is not just an actor, martial artist and all-around funny guy: he also sings—and he’s surprisingly good. Check out the video above of Chan showing off his vocal prowess. Believe it or not, Chan is a classically trained opera singer, too. Is there anything he can’t do?
There was a Beauty and the Beast TV Show in the ’80s and ’90s
Believe it or not, there was a fairly successful television series based on Beauty and the Beast that ran from 1987 through 1990. The show starred Linda Hamilton (of Terminator fame) and an as of then unknown actor, Ron Perlman, as the beast. Hamilton portrayed a district attorney seeking to make her city a better place, while Perlman’s beast was a sensitive soul with a lion mane who lived in the sewers and helped her on her cases.
In this version of the story, the Beast never transformed into a prince. The show intimated that he was a mutant, of sorts, which gave reason for his inhuman appearance. The series launched Perlman’s career and carried him into other heavy prosthetic-using roles, including that of Hellboy.
You can now book a stay in Beast’s castle
If you have visions of dancing around a grand ballroom in a castle fit for a Disney princess, you are in luck. Château de Chambord, the castle that inspired Beast’s castle in the Disney movies, is now available for stays. The château, the largest in the Loire Valley that inspired animators for the 1991 film, has rooms available for around $500 per night, which isn’t really that much when you consider that it’s an actual 16th century castle once lived in by French nobility.
That price even gets you access to the castle’s private gardens, where you can stroll around the greenery, book in hand, just like Belle did in the movies. If you’re looking for talking teapots, though, it’s unlikely you’ll find them there.
Beauty and the Beast was also the first full-length animated feature to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Picture
It held this record until 2010, when Pixar’s Up was nominated.
The Russians have their own version of the story
The story of Beauty and the Beast seems to have its own version for nearly every country and culture on Earth. The Russians had their own adaptation of the story called, “The Scarlet Flower.” Written in 1856 by Sergey Aksakov, the Russian story follows a wealthy merchant with three daughters. When the merchant travels on a business trip, he asks his daughters what they want him to bring back for them. The youngest, Nastenka, asks for a scarlet flower.
As in the other stories, the merchant takes the flower from the Beast, who wants the merchant’s daughter in return. Nastenka eventually falls in love with the Beast, who becomes a prince again, his spell broken. This version of the fairy tale was the subject of a 1952 animated Soviet film.
Belle was the first Disney princess to have brown hair
Think of all the classic Disney princesses: Snow White, Aurora, Ariel and Cinderella. They have a variety of hair colors, but one hair color missing from that group is brunette. Enter Belle in 1991, and that makes her the first brown-haired Disney princess to ever appear in an animated film. But that’s not all.
Because if you look at all the other Disney princesses, Belle remains the only brunette in the group. But it’s this brown-haired intellectual that audiences fell in love with, and thanks to that, Belle quickly became a favorite with little girls and Disney fans all over the world. Of course, Disney princesses have changed a lot since then, but Belle was one of the first to exhibit an enhanced intelligence and love for reading.
Belle’s iconic dress in the Disney movies was almost pink
The gorgeous and flowing ball gown that Belle wears in one of the most iconic scenes was almost something completely different. Yes, we’ve come to know and love Belle’s signature ball gown as this yellow number full of puffy satin and chiffon, as she flows across the dance floor with Beast, but there were some Disney employees who worked on the 1991 animated movie who thought that Belle’s dress would look better in pink. The reasoning behind this?
There was an assumption at the time that pink was the color that little girls would prefer. Fortunately, saner heads prevailed and we now have Belle’s iconic yellow dress that will forever stand the test of time in the “tale as old as time.”
Belle makes a cameo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame
She can be spotted walking through the streets of Paris, her ‘nose stuck in a book,’ then appears in the celebratory parade towards the end of the film.