‘Beauty and the Beast’: Disney’s Beast Was Almost an Insect or Bird, Say the Directors
Disney celebrated the 30th anniversary of Beauty and the Beast, one its most beloved classics. Released in November 1991, the film went on to make history as the first animated movie to win a Golden Globe for Best Picture – Musical or Comedy and earned several Academy Award nominations.
The fairy tale featured Paige O’Hara as Belle and Robby Benson as Beast, delivering unforgettable images of both characters that audiences have come to know on screen, in books, and on merchandise. 1991’s Beast is immortalized, but he could have looked way different.
‘Beauty and the Beast’ directors dish on Beast’s early sketches
To highlight the film’s milestone anniversary, Total Film spoke with Beauty and the Beast directors Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale. They were not Disney’s top choice, but they inherited the gig after impressing the studio with a short film.
Picking up the mantle, they set to work on creating their best storytelling arc and the characters’ looks. Beast proved to be challenge. He could’ve been a bird, boar, or bug.
“I can’t tell you how many different versions of the beast there were. Some were more insect, some more avian. I remember one was like a wild boar with a pig nose,” said Trousdale. Another Disney animation whiz came up with Beast’s design. Chris Sanders — who later directed Lilo & Stitch — applied his talents to the job.
“The one Chris came upon was a little more exaggerated with the bear, bison, wolf and different components that went into the Beast’s back legs, face, horns and the Frankenstein creation it became.”
Wise noted that they wanted to retain his creature-like qualities and decided that Beast should be a mashup of various animals with the propensity to behave like a princely man. They wanted to chronicle his journey from animalistic hermit to full human.
Previous incarnations of Beast include a boar and bear
As a standalone story, Beauty and the Beast has a long history as an oral and written tale. A mid-18th century French rendering of Beast depicted him as a bear. In 1896, children’s illustrator Walter Crane drew the character with a boar’s head. And interestingly, early versions of the story also exclude Disney’s Gaston and his cronies.
Before Disney tapped Trousdale and Wise for the famous 1991 version, someone else had a different vision for the character. “The previous crew had been working with a design that was just a large, barrel-chested man with claws and literally a baboon head, with the colorful snout and everything,” Trousdale said.
Lumiere and other characters added intentionally
On another note, the directors purposely added characters in the castle for Disney’s animated outing. Original Beauty and the Beast tales only had Beast living alone in a magical palace, but Trousdale and Wise wanted others to play a role in Belle’s story.
Enter beloved additions such as Lumiere, Mrs. Potts, and Cogsworth. Not only did fans find them endearing, but these characters also provided some of the movie’s most memorable musical numbers. In 2017, Trousdale and Wise’s work morphed into a live-action release for the studio, and the story itself remains a fan favorite. Stream both versions of Beauty and the Beast on Disney+.
