Beauty and the Beast

A recent film that I have seen is Beauty and the Beast. This is a very well known Disney film, some people class Disney as its own genre due to all the typical codes and conventions ( codes and conventions are defined as certain apects of a film e.g. sound, lighting and iconography) that we see throughout the films. When watching a Disney film there are many frequent and recognisable characters that we expect to see. There is a very well known theorist called Propp who explains the names and roles of the most common characters in fairy tales; the princess, the hero, the villain, the helper, the donor.  

-In this case we have;

Belle (Beauty) the princess

 the Beast - the hero 

Gaston - villian 

Phillipe  (her horse) - helper

 the magical house mates - donor

At the start of Disney films we usually see a damsel in distress usually living with only one parent or step parent, a little further in the film the girl will usually set off on a task to then go on a journey to find out a lot about herself. There will then be a villain who gets in the way of the girls journey, in this case a man called Gaston is ruining Belles journey of going to save her farther from a mysterious castle by trying to gain her hand in marriage, unfortunately her quest to save her farther results in her then being locked in the castle in placement of him. Belles journey is joined by some house mates from the castle who are people that have magically been turned into living house objects such as a talking clock and a candle stick and help Belle to feel comfortable in the castle they also help by giving her important information she needs whilst living in the castle. Her horse Philllipe helps Belle get to where she needs to be and to get through a pack of wolves in the woods. The end of all Disney films results in happy endings with the girl getting the man she wants. Other iconic things that happen along the way involve curses for example the Beast was originally a selfish price who was cursed to be a beast until someone falls in love with him. Belle falls in love with him and breaks the spell resulting in him turning back into the handsome Prince he originally was.

The majority of Disney films usually conform to Todorov's theory to understanding the traditional narrative of a film or story. Todorov believes that they all begin with an equilibrium meaning that all main characters, settings and the storyline is introduced with everyone being happy, for example Beauty and The Beast starts with a typical small town filled with happy people with the scene containing Belle on her average day and also helping her father with his latest invention. The next stage is known as the disruption of the equilibrium which is where a villain will step in to disrupt the happiness of the main characters meaning that the full storyline will become clear, Gaston is seen harassing Belle by trying to woo her into giving him her hand in marriage, Belles father also goes missing and is stuck locked away in an old castle after going the wrong way to an inventions fair. The middle of the film is when the disruption has been recognised and tension starts to build whilst the hero attempts to find a solution to any problems caused for example Belle using her horse to go to the castle and take the place as prisoner in the castle in placement of the father. The final 2 stages of Todorovs theory are the hero making their attempt to repair any damage which usually ends in all issues being solved and a new equilibrium being put in place. In this case the beast discovers that he has fallen for Belle and she also discovers her love for him, to put things right the beast offers to release Belle but instead the power of true love turns the Beast into the prince he originally was, the magical house objects back to people meaning they can spend their life together.

This is a theory that Disney films follow as it is the most traditional way to tell a story and the audience know the film will end happily meaning that people will not be upset and can leave the film feeling happy giving them all a sense of escapism as to believing that all things will have a happy ending despite the issues faced.
A classic Disney film is hand drawn and made by animation. The bright colours and happy endings in the films appeal to the younger target audience they aim towards but also make it fun for adults to watch.