Beauty and the Beast

A closer look at the story

Belle lives with her father Maurice in a small French town; she is clever, kind-hearted and devoted to books, and she has no time for the persistent attentions of Gaston, the town's vain heartthrob. Fleeing wolves on his way home from a journey, Maurice takes refuge in a deserted castle, and when he picks a rose from the garden to take back to Belle, the castle's master, the Beast, throws him into a dungeon. Belle agrees to remain a prisoner in her father's place. The Beast is in truth a prince transformed by a curse, the same spell that has turned his servants into household objects, and only true love can break it. Directed by Bill Condon, the 129-minute 2017 film stars Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Josh Gad and Kevin Kline in a live-action retelling of the classic fairy tale.