Beauty and the Beast (1991) VS BELLE-Which is Better?

“Beauty and the Beast”, the 1740 fairy tale written by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, has been adapted to film numerous times. Perhaps the most famous is the 1991 Disney film of the same name, which remains one of three animated movies to receive a Best Picture nomination at The Academy Awards. That movie’s impact has been felt since, inspiring other directors to invert the story while keeping its messaging intact. One such director’s Mamoru Hosoda, whose 2021 anime film, BELLE, was well-received by the public. Yet even with sharing a similar source of inspiration, the question remains: which is better?

As per usual, this’ll be subjective and contain spoilers. You’ve been warned.

Let’s kick this off with…

Story:

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The basic premise involves a beastly figure developing feelings for a maiden under unusual circumstances. In Beauty and the Beast, the backstory involving the beast’s transformation is because of greed. Told through narration and stained glass windows, the beast was once a young and spoiled prince who was transformed after denying shelter to a disguised-as-homely enchantress in exchange for a magic rose. If the prince learned to love someone unreservedly before his 21st birthday, the spell would be broken. If not, he’d remain a beast.

From here, we’re introduced to Belle, a young woman living in the countryside. Belle’s a bookworm dreaming of a better life, to the chagrin of everyone else. She routinely avoids advances from Gaston, the local hero with a fancy for Belle’s hand in marriage. When Belle’s father goes missing while venturing to the local fair, she ends up at the beast’s castle and sacrifices her freedom in exchange for her father. From here, Belle and the beast learn to love one another, all while Gaston becomes more desperate to marry Belle.

In BELLE, Suzu Naito hides the scars of her mother’s passing as a child by being socially-awkward. When her best friend, Hiro, invites her to the online social media app U, Suzu takes on the persona of pop diva Bell. Her concert performance is one day interrupted by a beastly figure being chased by U’s unofficial police. Confused and curious, Suzu and Hiro track down the identity of this beast, all while Suzu begins opening up socially.

BELLE has more going for it narratively than Beauty and the Beast. Not only does it run past 2 hours, it also has several subplots. There’s a running “will-they-won’t-they” story about Suzu’s friendship with classmate Shinobu, who feels a protectoral responsibility for her stemming back to childhood. There’s also a story point about the beast’s identity that takes up much of the runtime, and it has various red herrings. And there’s a story thread about Ruka and Kamishin, two of Suzu’s schoolmates, that’s slowly revealed as the movie progresses. All of these are interesting, but they’re not the primary focus; in fact, there might be too much going on here.

Beauty and the Beast has none of that excess because of its length. This might be one of Disney’s tightest scripts ever, having absolutely no fat. Sure, there are gaps in logic and “rushed” plot points, and I think its opening’s a little cruel given the prince’s age, but all of that can be excused with this being a fairy tale. It operates on fairy tale logic, with all of its writing executed brilliantly.

It’s for that reason that I prefer the story of Beauty and the Beast. It might not be as thematically or narratively rich, but it’s more cohesive.

Winner:

But a movie’s premise is only as good as the characters in its world, which leads me to…

Cast:

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If there’s one area both movies excel in, it’s their characters. Beauty and the Beast’s Gaston’s so memorable that not only can I imagine him existing in real life, but his counterpart in BELLE’s two characters, and ones not nearly as interesting. Justin’s his charisma and arrogance, while Tomo and Kei’s dad’s his violent turn. The parallels the two share with Gaston are so obvious that it’s a missed opportunity for them to not be the same person. This is especially true given that Justin becomes a non-entity after Suzu uses him to unveil herself in U and earn Tomo and Kei’s trust.

I’ve heard critiques that Beauty and the Beast is about Stockholm Syndrome, and that Belle’s relationship to the beast is why. Ignoring my issues with Stockholm Syndrome, distilling the relationship to that does it a disservice. Remember, Belle leaves the castle twice, the second time with the beast’s blessing, and both times she willingly returns. That alone disproves the Stockholm Syndrome theory.

Fortunately, BELLE has the upper-hand with something I don’t think could be helped given where Disney movies were narratively in the early-90’s: Suzu, the “Belle” archetype, has a character arc. Not to demean Belle, but she’s not interesting and doesn’t really grow. She’s a conduit for the beast, who goes from a loud animal with a fowl temper to a soft and caring prince. It’s a radical shift, but it’s at the expense of Belle’s development.

Suzu lacks this problem. Being the focus of BELLE, she goes from excessively introverted to more confident. She has the backstory, she’s the one who changes. She even helps Kamishin connect with Ruka! (It helps that Ruka, the popular girl, is receptive to Suzu and doesn’t begrudge her childhood trauma.)

The beast in BELLE doesn’t change, however. He’s revealed later on to be Kei, and he takes on the role of a human shield for his dad’s abuse, but outside of being less cranky and distrustful he’s the same as he was during his first appearance. Not that he needs to change, though, as he’s interesting in his own right. And that he puts on a façade to hide his scars and bruises makes him instantly sympathetic; after all, why wouldn’t he be distrusting? Why wouldn’t he lash out at those trying to help him?

As for the rest of the characters in both movies, they’re all fun. I like how the servants in Beauty and the Beast are objects that match their names, essentially being visual puns. Lumière and Cogsworth come off as a bickering couple with their arguing, while Mrs. Potts is the doting mother and Chip is the cute teacup. Contrast this with the characters in BELLE being more human, feeling more like friends at a gathering than a family you get to know well. Which you prefer is a matter of personal choice.

Personally, I’m going with BELLE, and for one reason: Gaston feels like a dated stereotype. It’s a common critique for early Disney movies that they coded gay stereotypes into their antagonists, and it shows with the stereotypically-metrosexual boorishness he displays around Belle and LeFou. He’s so over-the-top and arrogant that while his incel behaviour feels real, it’s also a little homophobic in 2025. Justin and the abusive father, while not the same character, are more tangible adversaries nowadays.

Winner:

But a movie needs to look pretty too, which leads me to…

Aesthetic:

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Animation’s an under-appreciated medium for storytelling, and these films are proof of why. While both are a product of different decades, they take advantage of the technology available at the time. In the case of Beauty and the Beast, it was one of the earliest films to use CAPS for its animation, with high-quality digitization rendered traditionally. Some scenes, like Belle’s dance with the beast, feel dated given the advances in technology, but in 1991 it was impressive to see an overhead shot of a chandelier slowly swerve and zoom in to the characters. It’s also a really great moment.

As for BELLE, it too looks impressive, made better by the 30-year leap in digital technology. The world of U’s a busy and lived-in place, taking on an intricacy that only exists online. It’s reminiscent of OZ from Summer Wars, another Hosoda movie, but it improves on that by not cheating with its depiction of the online world. It contrasts with the real world setting of Japan, one we only see a fraction of, but get enough visual information to be tangible. I like how the climax, where Suzu searches for Kei and Tomo, and flashback scenes involving Suzu’s mother’s death take place in the rain. It’s a nice parallel.

While both movies have technical limitations, BELLE hides them better. That said, it’s also restricted visually by homages to the 1991 Disney movie, most-notably the beast’s castle and when Bell dances with the beast. It was inevitable that’d happen, since BELLE wouldn’t exist without Beauty and the Beast, but it’s no less-noticeable.

As for the designs, both movies have drawbacks. Beauty and the Beast looks amazing, but some of the crowd work is pre-rendered instead of being natural. It’s as if Disney was strained by traditional animation, preferring to transition to CGI. BELLE lacks this, but while the characters are fluid and moving, they lack detailed shading and shadows. Plus, they fall victim to Manga Iconography, which is used for comedic effect, but is distracting to look at. Especially since faces are expressive without that.

It's tough to pick a victor. While BELLE lifts from Beauty and the Beast, it does enough to stand out. Conversely, I think aspects of Beauty and the Beast’s animation are dated. So it’s a tie.

Tie:

However, visuals are only as good as the audio attached to them, which leads to…

Sound:

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Despite being over 30 years old, the music and sound mixing of Beauty and the Beast hold up. This is especially true of the songs, which the movie’s 2017 remake couldn’t escape. Perhaps my favourites are “Gaston” and “The Mob Song”, with “Beauty and the Beast” a close third. For “Gaston”, you get a sense of Gaston’s pompousness and reverence in ways only a musical number could bring, while “The Mob Song” cements Gaston’s villainy through a crowd riot. “Beauty and the Beast”, aside from being one of Disney’s best songs, is also a really lovely and well-written ballad. Even the limited edition “Human Again”, while redundant and initially cut from release, has its charms. The movie doesn’t have a bad song in it.

BELLE’s songs, while excellent, lack the instant memorability of Beauty and the Beast. Perhaps that’s unfair, as the movie’s only a few years old, but they need more time to marinate in the public consciousness. It also doesn’t help that they lack conventional rhyme because they were translated from Japanese, which doesn’t use that. It’s probably unfair, since English is my first language, but it’s noticeable. Yet if I had to pick favourites, “Millennium Parade” and “Gales of Song” would be them.

A more pressing nitpick involves the background music in Beauty and the Beast. While the orchestrations are amazing, they never let the background noise immerse you. I know Disney could never get away with dramatic silence, lest it “bore” people, but some artistic silence could’ve benefitted the experience. That’s something BELLE never struggles with. In fact, while reusing many compositions, it has plenty of dramatic silence.

One more note I should point out is the voice acting. We expect top-tier acting from Disney movies, and Paige O’Hara as Belle steals the show. However, I appreciate Kylie McNeill’s singing voice for Suzu in BELLE. For all my complaints about Japanese songs, McNeill captures the beauty of the translated lyrics in a way I don’t think her Japanese counterpart does. Even with the dub’s roster of veteran VAs and up-and-coming newbies, she still stands out. She even stands out in her non-singing moments, fitting Suzu’s socially-introverted vocal inflections.

It'd be easy to give BELLE the victory here; after all, it has dramatic silence and takes bigger risks with its music! But I think people underestimate how good and ambitious the music is in Beauty and the Beast despite that. This was the late-Howard Ashman’s dream-child, even supervising the songs before dying from AIDS before the movie debuted. The music’s so good, in fact, that future Disney musicals couldn’t live up to it, and that says something! So while BELLE might be more artistically daring, Beauty and the Beast is more artistically memorable.

Winner:

To bring it home, this is…

Entertainment factor:

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I really like these movies. Not only do they raise the bars for their respective studios/directors, they show the power of animation and timelessness of “Beauty and the Beast”. That said, I have to pick a winner. And it comes down to, “Which do I enjoy more?”. So, which do I enjoy more?

It’s close. Both movies have a cheer-out-loud moment, for one. Rumour has it the beast’s transformation sequence at the end of Beauty and the Beast elicited a thunderous applause from test audiences, and it’s easy see why when you watch it. Conversely, I feel like applauding when Suzu reappears as her Bell avatar while singing “A Million Miles Away”. Considering she asked Justin to unveil herself in order to gain Tomo and Kei’s trust, U’s Five Voices rewarding her vulnerability, all while singing a song her late-mother taught her, works as a satisfying moment. Both movies have great climaxes with great payoffs.

Both movies also feel like they’re in conversation. With the Disney movie, Belle’s the main character, but the beast has the character arc. For the Hosoda film, the beast, or Kei, never changes, but Suzu does. Yet despite the imbalances, these decisions feel natural and earned. They don’t feel cheap.

Both movies also deal with abandonment and estrangement, with BELLE touching on the psychology of abuse. These elements are why this is such a timeless tale worth retelling constantly. After all, beauty’s skin deep. And appearances can be deceiving. It’s a lesson we keep forgetting.

I’m going to give this one to Beauty and the Beast. While BELLE has more going for it narratively, its script’s also messier. The most-notable moment is when Hiro and Suzu stop a rumour about Suzu and Shinobu. It’s a fun moment, but it’s a derailment involving lies, misunderstandings and Tactical MMORPGs. The movie always loses me at that point, making me wonder if I’m unintentionally watching the wrong movie. Beauty and the Beast, however, is a lean 90+ minutes, with no derailments or loose ends.

No offence to BELLE, a movie I adore, but Beauty and the Beast is better overall.

Overall winner:

Thank you for reading, and I’ll see you next time!