by Patricia N. Saffran
“Tale as old as time, True as it can be,” so sings the animated tea pot to her tea cup son in both the animated 1991 and live-action 2017 remake of Walt Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. When the song writers first wrote this Oscar winning song for the animated version, they could not have foreseen just how old the fairytale really is.
Recent research reveals that the tale is 4000 years old, around the period of the spread of horse domestication from the grasslands of Kazakhstan, and the western Steppe to Europe and Asia. Horses were used for riding and as a source of milk and meat. Other recent research shows that horses’ cognitive and communicative behavior around humans, in evidence today, may have made them valuable in the distant past. The magnificent white Spanish horse, Philippe, belonging to Belle and her father in the latest film version of the fairytale, behaves in magical ways that are not just from an enchantment but hark back to the ancient mystical bond between humans and horses.
The original tale was preliterate. It was probably told in an extinct Indo-European language, predating European languages, including French, the original language of the first published version of the fairytale in 1740. La Belle et la Bête was later abridged and rewritten in 1756 by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont. The Disney films are based on these two written versions. Disney, in addition, borrowed visual effects from Jean Cocteau’s surreal black and white 1946 film, La Belle et la Bête, where the Beast’s enchanted servants are semi-human. Cocteau also featured a magical white horse.
In the 2017 Disney movie, a courageous bookworm, Belle (Emma Watson) is held captive by an enchanted Beast (Dan Stevens) who happens to have a huge private library. They have a contentious relationship, unlike the original fairytale, which is more about courtly love and chivalry. Eventually, when Belle admits her love for the Beast, he is transformed back into a handsome Prince. Belle arrives at the castle when she trades places with her father, Maurice (Kevin Kline), who had first been held captive in the enchanted Beast’s castle. To get to the castle, both Belle, and her father before her, travel on their lovely svelte white horse Philippe, and for the second trip together to the castle, Belle and her father hitch up Philippe. The horse intuitively knows the path to reach the castle.
Disney fans of the animated version will remember that Philippe previously was a Belgian draft horse. In the written fairytale, De Beaumont writes about Belle’s father reaching the castle, “His horse, who was following him, seeing a large open stable, went inside; and having found hay and oats (du foin et de l’avoine), the poor animal, who was dying of hunger, eagerly set about eating. The merchant [Belle’s father] secured him in the stable, and walked toward the house [castle].” Then when the merchant departed the Beast’s castle, de Beaumont writes, “His horse, all by himself, took one of the paths in the forest, and in a few hours, the good man arrived in his little house.”
The current Disney film, like the animated version, adds a handsome villain, who wants to marry Belle, Gaston (Luke Evans), and a comic companion, LeFou (Josh Gad.) There are also added threatening computer generated wolves in the snowy woods. Since wolf populations today are fairly depleted, Disney could have chosen a better foe.
Amongst the cast who ride, actress Emma Watson as Belle had already taken riding lessons for her role as Princess Kelsea Glynn in the film Queen Of The Tearling. She stated, “That was pretty intense. I had to not just walk around on a horse, I had to really gallop. I had two months. They normally say it takes six months to learn to be a confident horse rider so, it was a quick process, but I actually really enjoyed it.” Her lessons paid off as Ms. Watson as Belle looks very comfortable in the saddle on Philippe. Even though she is a competent rider, a stunt double is used for fast scenes for insurance purposes, as would be the case for most actors.
In the animated Disney version, the cartoon Belle is on and off horses riding astride in a long dress and silk slippers, which didn’t sit well with Emma Watson. She had her village costume designed with bloomers and a pair of riding boots. The actress told Vanity Fair, “The original sketches had her in her ballet shoes, which are lovely – don’t get me wrong – but she’s not going to be able to do anything terribly useful in ballet shoes in the middle of a French provincial village.” Besides her costume, Emma Watson gave serious thought to her characterization of Belle, “She’s not a passive character – she’s in charge of her own destiny.” Ms. Watson went one step further and had a feminist author check her portrayal of Belle.
Luke Evans as Gaston rides a gelding, called Magnifique in the movie. As to Mr. Evans’s horsemanship, he mainly walks his horse and has one chase scene, which probably used a stunt rider. He has ridden before, notably for his role as Aramis in The Three Musketeers, which was filmed in Germany. Mr. Evans used to be a stage actor for ten years before making action movies. To keep himself physically fit for his demanding movie rolls, the actor does serious workouts with a trainer to boost his stamina and core strength so he can fight and ride horses.
Editor's Note: Parents should know that the US rating for this movie is PG, but in Russia, where protections are more seriously followed, it is restricted to 16 years old and up.
