Beauty and the Plothole

[fuyu]

The KH-induced nostalgia finally reached breaking point. I sat down to watch Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin back to back last night, and man, did it take me back. Really, it kind of kicks ass to go back and watch these movies again and realize that Disney is actually a lot cooler than we thought. (That fight between Beast and Gaston? BADASS. Aladdin vs. Jafar? HOLY CRAP. This was good damn stuff, man!)

However, as much as I enjoyed this nostalgia trip, I was somewhat dismayed to realize that Beauty and the Beast, one of my favorites, had a bunch of timeline issues I couldn't figure out and had never noticed as a wee thing, such as events that should only have taken a day starting before the "Something There" montage and not resolving until after it. So I talked to princeali_m_fan, since she's the biggest Disney fan (and font of Disney knowledge) I know.

voodoobob: Also. Lumiere says they've been not doing much of anything for ten years. The Beast is about 21 because the rose is wilting. ... does that mean the enchantress cursed an 11-year old?
princeali_m_fan: I think so. We discussed this somewhere...*goes to find it* XD
voodoobob: XDD
voodoobob: Dear enchantress: DUDE. HE WAS ELEVEN. Give him a few years to grow up, woman. XD
voodoobob: (and, but, the portrait in the west wing. not an eleven-year-old boy. WHAT.)
princeali_m_fan: He ate his veggies! XD
voodoobob: XDDD
voodoobob: Argh. XD It just bugs me that one of my favorite childhood movies just turned out to have a plotline that doesn't make sense as to what happened when. XD
princeali_m_fan: XDD usually in situations like that we don't listen to the songs because there's always something in there that throws off the plot
princeali_m_fan: Lumiere is going crazy. He doesn't know what he's talking about xD
voodoobob: XDD
voodoobob: That doesn't solve the snowman-Lefou and what-was-poor-Maurice-just-wandering-all-winter problems, though. XD
princeali_m_fan: LeFou is a bit slow, so he really did just sit there until Belle came back XD. Maybe when we see him again it just so happens to be another day when it snows
voodoobob: BUT HE WOULD HAVE DIED OF HYPOTHERMIA FIFTY TIMES OVER. XD
princeali_m_fan: HE HAS A GOOD JACKET
voodoobob: WHAT DID HE EAT
princeali_m_fan: THE DEER THAT GRAZED BY
voodoobob: IN A TOWN?
princeali_m_fan: LEFOU IS HARDCORE

(LJ-ify your IMs before pasting!)

Comments

[risingdragon.livejournal.com]

I'll quote Mookie to give you storylogic:

THE CAT TALKS.

[bean-bunny.livejournal.com]

NO ONE DICKS UP THE TIMELINE LIKE GASTON

[princealia.livejournal.com]

WELL HE IS. HE ALSO BRUSHED HIS TEETH WITH SMALL TWIGS. HARDxCORE, BIOTCHES.

Ah, Disney plotholes. How we love ye! You cause us to lose sleep trying to figure out a logical explanation even though there isn't one! :D

[bassclefsolo.livejournal.com]

XDDDD

..they could have avoided the whole "ten years" issue entirely by replacing the lyrics, but no...
Actually, that's kind of bugged me too. Maybe the prince, or the entire castle, was under some kind of time warp/displacement spell?

And why did no one in the Tiny Quiet Village remember there being a huuuuge castle nearby, if it was only ten years ago? What.
Or, no, wait. They probably did know about it, because the Angry Villagers manage to find it in one song's time; maybe Prince Beast just didn't rule over them before he was cursed. What DID he rule over, anyway? The principality of The Middle of Nowhere's Dark Scary Forest? Did he just have the shiny castle and that's it? D:

Were you watching the DVD release? They actually address some of the continuity issues during the commentary; whether with an explanation (where was Philippe?) or just "we have nooooo idea how LeFou survived all winter!"
Also, their comments on how they realized the Beast didn't have a name crack me up. :D

On a somewhat related note, I've seen the stage musical version, and "Home" is my favorite song that isn't in the movie.

[skinship.livejournal.com]

Well hello thar brainclone. I just watched Aladdin last night (I had to buy a speshul collector's box to get it, but BOY was it worth it) with hallowd and we both came to the conclusion that Jafar = hardcore. Think about it, he didn't waste a minute, did he? Efficient, smart, but alas, with an overblown ego and power-hungry, which was his downfall in the end. Now there's a villain I can believe in.

And the songs, yow! Alan Menken, how you ruled my childhood.

I'm afraid I can never bring up Aladdin without mentioning that OMG THE FINNISH DUB PWNS. So, there it is. XD

[syvia.livejournal.com]

Once again, the two of you have killed me.

I hope you're happy!

*snerking*

[elanor-pam.livejournal.com]

You know, it always sort of made sense to me that Beast& wouldn't get older. If the curse lasted 20 freaking years, the poor prince would end up 40, the older castle inhabitants would probably die of old age, the little chipped teacup I forget the name of would suddenly be an adult who NEVER DEALT WITH TESTOSTERONE and the dog would die as a footrest.

She may have been a Sorceress, but she still had a heart, yanno?