Second, I watched a high school production of the musical Beauty and the Beast. It's the musical version of the Disney cartoon. As I was watching it, I got to thinking about the character of Gaston, and what an empty role it is. I don't expect a lot from Disney in terms of multi-dimensional characters, in particular the villains. Disney likes heroes with one or more dead parents, and villains with no depth, so it's easy to kill them at the end of the movie. Gaston is this horrible man who wants to force Belle to marry him because she's the prettiest girl in town, and he's willing to do anything to make that happen. But why? What is Gaston's motivation in this? Firstly, Belle is beautiful, sure, but she's also the village pariah, and everyone thinks she's weird. Her dad is an inventor that everyone thinks is crazy. She's not much of a catch, even if she is beautiful, from the perspective of any person of that time period.
And then there's this continuous need on the part of Gaston to have other people tell him how great he is. Psychologically, that suggests something going on internally, a void that he's constantly seeking to be filled. He's down when Belle rejects his proposal, and is only cheered up by the village idiot telling him over and over how great he is, and all the ways he's great. What do other people get out of telling him he's great?
While I was watching the play, I thought about how interesting it would be as a director to instruct all the village characters to play their roles as if they really hate Gaston, but they're supporting him and reinforcing his self-image because they want something from him.
Anyway, I think it would make a more dynamic storyline if Belle was cut of a similar cloth to Gaston, if they were always considered meant for each other because they possess all the best characteristics of the village, they bring together two great families, blah blah blah, right? And then Belle's father is a noble man who may have become a little eccentric in his later years, maybe he went a little nutty after his wife (who we never hear even one word about in the entire play) died. Crazy Old Maurice goes on a journey, gets lost in the woods, and ends up a prisoner of the Beast. Belle has evidence that he's lost in the woods, and goes after him. Maybe Gaston goes with her and they get separated. Belle decides to stay if Maurice can go, and Maurice makes it back to town, where Gaston is having a rough time of it since he couldn't find Maurice and lost Belle in the process. Maurice telling him that Belle is in a magic castle with a big beast doesn't help his mood any and he tries to placate the old man with pandering, but has the boys escort him back home when he won't let it go.
Belle, meanwhile, succumbs to Stockholm Syndrome, and begins to develop feelings of sympathy for the Beast. Over a period of several months - not like, 24 hours, which is the period of time the play seems to take place in. Belle is desperately homesick, but she also starts to see the there's more to the Beast than she thought, and that her and Gaston's life and worldview might be the more monstrous.
Maurice goes crazier every day, wandering in the woods searching for his daughter, until Gaston has him locked up for his own good, and he wastes away in an insane asylum.
Belle and the Beast get into an argument, and she runs away, and the Beast saves her from ravaging wolves, and she realizes he's actually a good person who has shut himself away from the world for so long he doesn't know how to relate to people. Or whatever. She falls for him, and he realizes he has to let her go, and he shows her her father wasting away in the asylum and she leaves the castle and goes to the asylum to get her father released. Gaston hears about it second-hand, and it really angry that she returned but didn't even bother to tell him herself. He finds out she's in love with someone else and is like, What? That's what you've been up to these last few months? And I've been here totally worried! And she's like, Yeah.
And then she goes off to be with the Beast again, not realizing that Maurice is legit crazy now, and thinks she's under a spell and the Beast is going to eat her or something. So Maurice gets Gaston and the village worked up, showing them the image of the Beast in the magic mirror and convincing them all to go save her in the woods. And they go off and have a battle.
Meanwhile, Belle and the Beast kiss and break the enchantment, then discover the castle is under seige by the people of the village. Or something.
