Beast (Beauty and the Beast) the villagers. Beast (Beauty and the Beast) The Beast is a fictional character who appears in Walt Disney Animation Studios' 30th animated feature film "Beauty and the Beast" (1991). He also appears in the film's two direct-to-video followups "" and "Belle's Magical World". Based on the hero of the French fairy tale by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, the Beast was created by screenwriter Linda Woolverton and animated by Glen Keane. A pampered prince transformed into a hideous beast as punishment for his cold-hearted and selfish ways, the Beast must, in order to return to his former self, earn the love
Gaston (Beauty and the Beast) to the Beast", whose personality ultimately helps make the Beast a more appealing hero despite the latter character's own flaws. While the Beast maintains "a heart of gold" despite being hideous in appearance, Gaston boasts a handsome exterior but remains "rotting on the inside"; the Beast risks becoming like Gaston on the inside if he fails to change his ways. Gaston represents "the difference between outward beauty and beauty of the soul", one of the film's central themes. The fact that Gaston's cruel nature is not mirrored by his handsome exterior "further emphasiz[es] the film’s message about inner beauty." A