Fairy tales are stories based on folktales and are sometimes later changed into versions that are suitable for contemporary children to read. One such popular fairytale converted was Beauty and the Beast. It is well-known that scriptwriters most often change the details of the story for better entertainment, and these changes might change the moral of the story slightly. However, although changes were made in the 2017 movie version of Beauty and the Beast, the moral of the story actually remained the same as the original version. Beauty and the Beast tells a story about a girl who is trying to save her father from the “Beast” and forced to stay in the beast’s castle. Eventually, she falls in love with the beast. Besides the customary plot, however, some major changes in the movie consist of amplifying magic, changing the beast’s personality, and the absence of Belle’s sisters, but these changes do not alter the moral.

First of all, the increased presence of magic does not change the moral of the story. In the original version written by Jeanne-Marie LePrince de Beaumont, the concept of magic is barely mentioned. Nevertheless, magic is a main selling point in the 2017 movie version. For instance, a curse turns the prince into the beast and all his servants into talking forfeitures, which is very entertaining for the public to watch. Using the concept of magic and cool special effects makes this movie not only attractive to children, as a fairy tale, but also to adults. Furthermore, the rose that represents the lifespan of the beast also does not exist in the original story. The prince was cursed, who later becomes the beast, and in the movie if he fails to find his true love before the rose withers, he will live in the form of a beast forever. Hence, the magical rose creates a timeline in the movie that brings audience a sense of urgency and makes the film more thrilling. The presence of magic only increases the intensity and entertainment of the movie, but it does not change the moral at all.

Secondly, the changes in the beast’s personality do not modify the moral of the story, but the changes do exist. It should be said that the moral is this: one should not judge others only based on their appearance. Fittingly, although the beast has an ugly appearance, what wins Belle’s heart is his internal beauty. And, even though this is the same in the original story as it is in the movie, there are some differences in the beast’s personalities in both that are noticeable. In the movie, the beast acts more like a savage when he first met Belle. Belle was treated as a prisoner in beast’s castle in the movie version while she was treated as a princess in the original. “Welcome Beauty, banish fear, You are queen and mistress here. Speak your wishes, speak your will. Swift obedience meets them still.” This is what’s written on the door of Beauty’s room. In the movie, when the beast finds out that Belle snuck into the room where he put the magic rose, he is irritated and yells at Belle. Although there’s a slightly difference in both the movie and the book, the outcome stays the same that Belle falls in love with the beast, so that the moral of the story does not change. In this second  body paragraph, there is not a clear distinction directly stated about the difference in his personality. Just FYI. Are you saying he was nicer in the original tale??

And, last but not least, the absence of Belle’s sisters in the movie does not change the moral of the story. In the original, Belle has two sisters who are extremely snobbish and materialistic. “The two eldest said, they would never marry, unless they could meet with a duke, or an earl at least.” Belle lives under the same roof with her sisters, but she shows an entirely different personality that she is hard-working, kind and optimistic. Therefore, the two sisters serve as a foil to Belle deliberately by the author. Furthermore, two sisters ended up becoming statues as punishment for being materialistic and judge others based on their appearance. This plot equals to the scene that the prince was cursed and becomes the form of beast for the same reason as the sisters. The absence of sisters in the movie does not change the moral of the story because their role in the story is bringing out the moral instead of eliminating it.  

To put it in a nutshell, there are obvious differences, including the increased presence of magic, the change of beast’s personalities and the absence of two sisters, between the 2017 movie version of Beauty and the Beast and the original version written by Jeanne-Marie LePrince de Beaumont. However, these changes do not alter the moral of the whole story.