MovieChat Forums > Beauty and the Beast (1991) Discussion > So, mild spoilers, his staff were not ag...

So, mild spoilers, his staff were not against Maurice staying but the Beast gets angry and imprisons him?


Why Lumiere and his other staff, and even in their enchanted form, don't have anything against Maurice staying the night but when the Beast arrives, he gets to imprison him without any of the staff protesting, why such a huge gap in the difference here? Why were they happy to have him and the Beast wasn't and yet he wasn't stopped or anything until Belle showed up?

Also. Yeah, funny how, Maurice got used SO quickly to all those enchanted objects, even if, beyond their supernatural appearance, they weren't threatening him at all, but with the Beast, although also with his temper and oppressive behaviour, he gets freaked out? Also, how was Maurice's journey back to the village in that carriage, did he manage alright or was it creepy in some way and uncomfortable in other?

I've read (yet, even HERE people brought up modern law, where would we be without it even in a Disney fantasy animation set in 1700s and in a fictional fairy-tale world to boot?) how people also have stated that this is either deserved or totally unfair and even illegitimate imprisonment. Then again, with how he got lost in the woods and all, and they even accepted him? Just differences of opinion or did the Beast have a power over them all, like that?

And why wasn't the castle and its doors LOCKED?

Cheers.

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Hmm....

If you look closely, Lumiere was having the staff helping out Maurice and working independently of the Beast's commands. I think the servants were bored, were excited at finally having someone to help out and serve, and felt sorry for a poor old man who had suffered bad luck on the road. I'm thinking that maybe Lumiere was hoping they could help the old man for one night and get him out of there without the Beast's knowledge, but they had gotten sloppy and underestimated the Beast's ability to hear and smell what was going on in the castle.

Keep in mind that the Beast was in charge there. It was his castle, the servants answered to him (well, most of the time). It was his decision to imprison Maurice, even if it was considered wrong by everyone. The servants had no say in what their master did. That kind of power structure dates back to antiquity.

Maurice is not a normal guy, even for the 18th century. You'll note he's a little bit smarter than the average villager, and is a curious guy, wanting to learn and figure things out, which is one reason he's an inventor. He has a scientific mind, able to look beyond average superstitions and not let them drive him away from something interesting like moving, talking objects in an enchanted castle. It's one reason Belle is so smart. She partially gets it from her dad.

Think about this. You've gotten lost in the woods, you lost your horse and your wagon, you got chased by wolves, you walked into a castle, trying to find shelter from a nasty thunderstorm, and get to meet strange, if nice, talking objects willing to help you out. You're intelligent enough to see that they aren't hurting you, so they don't scare you much after a few minutes. Suddenly, a big, scary monster comes into the room, stalking you and roaring menacingly in your face, asking threatening questions. You really think you would still feel the same about the monster as you would about the harmless animated objects? (Plus, Maurice wasn't aware he was sitting in the Beast's favorite chair, so that was another infraction against him in the Beast's mind).

Keep in mind that the Beast was still a selfish dick at this time in the story, and saw Maurice as an intruder. He was extremely disinterested in having anyone come into his castle without his knowledge, and he was probably angry that the servants were even helping this guy out. Remember how he once treated the "old beggar woman" in the past. The Beast was not the charitable type at that time in the story. Throwing him into the dungeon was perfectly on par for a mindset like that.

Yeah, I don't think Maurice enjoyed the ride home in that carriage. It looked like a prison carriage, to be honest. Chances are, it took him to the edge of the village and dumped him on the ground before walking back to the castle, and that's when Maurice ran to the tavern, begging for help.

Actually, I seem to recall that Maurice came to the front doors and banged one of the knockers, and the doors opened automatically, practically inviting him in. Chances are that the castle itself let him in, seeing him as a non-threat. Either that, or there was fairy activity afoot, as I've mentioned in a previous post. ;)

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Because the Beast was an asshole and the staff weren't, but he was still their master so they still has to listen to him.

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"Because the Beast was an asshole and the staff weren't, but he was still their master so they still has to listen to him."

True, for a while. But then SPOILER, towards the end, when he did NOT give the order to defend the castle when it was under attack ("Just let them come"), they still disagreed with (disobeyed?) his command and went full blow into violent defence.

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Because they did not want to die like the Beast (thought he) wanted at the time. Duh.

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Well... Yeah, I did pretty much think that. Although he was also very much under duress in that scene and I am guessing in a critical situation like that, his word can be somewhat overruled. I also wonder, as objects, are they just as capable of being hurt and even killed like regular humans or even cursed Beasts?

Mild spoilers - almost none of them were killed or even for the most part seriously hurt in that battle. And they all proved to be superior in fighting to that of angry human mob.

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Because Disney had to somewhat stick to the original story and had to get Belle to the castle somehow. They couldn't really have Maurice stealing a rose, and then exchanging Belle, even if it was of her own free will, so he could be set free. This way we get the cute little songs, and the majority of the dark parts of the movie are because of Gaston, and not the Beast.

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2 sslssg - watch (one day, maybe) - the Russian/Soviet animation "The Scarlet Flower" (1952) (Alenkiy Tsvetochek) as that version of the story actually hinges on taking that magic flower. :)

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Thanks for the suggestion. I'll look for it.

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Its on YouTube but not sure if its with English subtitles.

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