Belle (Beauty and the Beast) help them achieve their respective goals." Michelle Munro, writing for Durham College of Applied Arts and Technology, felt that even though Belle shares several traits with her more passive predecessors, the character introduced "new possibilities for princesses." Girls in Capes wrote that Belle pioneered a generation of princesses who taught "about ambition, self-discovery and the pursuit of what we want." Additionally, Belle remains Disney's first and only princess to have hazel eyes. Belle debuted in "Beauty and the Beast "(1991) as a beautiful bibliophile who, although praised by her fellow villagers for her unrivaled beauty, is at the same time
Beauty and the Beast (1991 film) Beast" was the most successful animated Disney film release, and the first animated film to reach $100 million in the United States and Canada in its initial run.<ref name="http://www.thetech.org/about-us/media-room/disneys-animated-beauty-and-beast-celebrates-10th-anniversary-worldwide-large"></ref> In its IMAX re-release, it earned $25.5 million in North America and $5.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $31 million. It also earned $9.8 million from its 3D re-release overseas. During the opening weekend of its North American 3D re-release in 2012, "Beauty and the Beast" grossed $17.8 million, coming in at the No. 2 spot, behind "Contraband", and achieved the highest opening weekend for an animated