Belle

"Some people use their imagination."

- Belle

Princess Belle ("Belle" meaning "beautiful" in French) is the female protagonist of Disney's 1991 film Beauty and the Beast and the protagonist of its 1997-98 direct-to-video saga midquels, The Enchanted Christmas and Belle's Magical World.

In all of the above media, her speaking and singing voices are provided by Broadway icon, Paige O'Hara. In 2011, Julie Nathanson assumed the role as Belle's official voice actress, beginning with Kinect Disneyland Adventures.

A stage version of the 1991 film debuted on Broadway on April 14, 1994 with the 'live' role of Belle originated by Susan Egan (who would later go on to voice Megara in Hercules), and finalized by Anneliese van der Pol.

Belle is the 5th official Disney Princess.

Physical Appearance
Belle is a very attractive 17-year old girl; however, she is modestly beautiful because she doesn't give much thought to her own appearance. Although she is known throughout her village for her beauty, she isn't vain or concerned about her looks, but ironically greatly aware that her fellow citizens think of her as "odd" and "peculiar". Belle pays very little attention to her appearance, unlike the very much conceited Gaston, whom only wishes to wed her because she is attractive and cares little for her personality, her intelligence (he hates the very idea of a woman thinking or reading) or the way she wants to live her life.

Belle has long brown hair, most often tied back in a low ponytail, and possesses captivating hazel eyes, full lips, rosy cheeks, and a sculpted figure. One of her more distinct features are the strands of hair that are constantly slipping loose from her ponytail and falling in front of her face, she is often seen brushing them back into place when nervous or trying to be polite.

Throughout the film, Belle wears various outfits depending on the occasion. Her most elaborate and renowned is her golden ball gown, in which she shares her first dance with the Beast in the "Beauty and the Beast" sequence. With this outfit, she wears some of her hair in a neat bun, but the majority of it trails down her neck in a beautiful, flowing motion, resembling a ponytail.

The storywriters and producers of Beauty and the Beast wanted to give Belle's movements an air of elegance, so they studied the movements of ballerinas during the course of Belle's development. Like ballerinas, Belle walks diligently and swiftly on her toes no matter what types of shoes she is wearing, or where she is located. The designers and artists wanted Belle to be more noticeable in a crowd, so they payed extra close attention to her wardrobe, making sure that Belle would be the only member of the town to wear blue, whilst the other townsfolk sported more rustic and earthy colors, such as red, green, orange and brown.

It is made quite obvious in the early chapters of the film that Belle has a beautiful singing voice, courtesy of Broadway actress and singer Paige O'Hara.

Personality
Belle has gained a significant amount of intelligence over the years due to her love of books, providing her with a wide vocabulary, active imagination and open mind. She is very confident and outspoken in her opinions, and seldom likes being told what to do. Unlike most characters in the film, Belle isn't concerned about hers or other's appearances, and is able to look past how people appear and into their hearts. This is how Belle managed to break the Beast's enchantment, and restore love and laughter to the castle.

Belle is somewhat a women's-libber for her time, and refuses to be mistreated, undermined, demeaned or controlled by any man, especially and specifically Gaston (in fact, he makes it quite clear that his ideal marriage with Belle includes her having "six or seven" good-looking sons with him, massaging his feet, cooking his dinner, scrubbing the floors, and above all, no reading as he considers intelligence in women to be ridiculous; this is taken one step further in his song in the musical, in which he sings that womankind "occasionally" serves a purpose in marriage, specifically "extending the family tree"). However, Belle willingly listens to her father, Maurice, and considers the opinions and directions of the Beast, because they are both able to treat her as an equal (the Beast eventually learned how throughout the course of the film), while Gaston is not. She is quite obstinate when it comes to stating her points, upholding her opinions, and maintaining her ideas.

Belle's personality transforms throughout the film. At first, she frequently dreams about a life of adventure and romance, not realizing that sometimes adventures might take a turn for the worst. As Belle begins to spend more time with the Beast, and their relationship blossoms into a strong friendship, she begins to fall in love with him without realizing it. As she matures during the course of her imprisonment, her pure heart breaks the enchantment. Belle realizes that having dreams is great, but sometimes you need to look beyond them and find what you're truly looking for.

Abilities
Most of Belle's abilities are based on knowledge and intelligence, instead of physical strength.

One of Belle's more obvious abilities is her use of vocabulary. Possibly due to her love of books and constant reading, Belle is able to call out many words off the top of her head and use them in the correct context in order to prove a point or state a fact, such as "primeval" and "provincial".

Belle is quite witty, and is able to use this trait to her advantage. When in an argument with the Beast, Belle was able to hold her ground and challenge each of the Beast's points with a cunning comeback, such as "If you hadn't frightened me I wouldn't have run away", or "You should learn to control your temper." Each of these facts left the Beast stunned and at a loss for words. Belle managed to think of these comebacks without much thought or hesitation. When Lumière and Cogsworth were attempting to lead Belle's curiosity away from the West Wing, she challenged them by saying the West Wing wouldn't be forbidden if the Beast wasn't hiding something in it, also briefly stunning them.

Belle has a strong sense of character, and is able to use this trait in a variety of ways, even to her own advantage. On Belle's first night in the castle, following the "Be Our Guest" sequence, she develops an urge to explore the castle, and asks for a guide. Observing Cogsworth's "authoritative" personality, she immediately knows that Cogsworth would be the best candidate. At first, Cogsworth is quite reluctant of the idea, but when Belle says she's sure he knows everything about the castle, he agrees.

Although Belle is quite ignorant of her own beauty, she does somewhat manage to use her feminine charm to her advantage. When Gaston proposed to Belle, she pretended to be clueless and at a loss for words, however, she was secretly leading Gaston toward the door, and when cornered against it, opened it and sent him flying into a mud pond.

Although Belle displays few athletic abilities, she is able to ride a horse at quite stunning speeds with ease and skill, and subconsciously navigate her way through a crowded street while reading, without colliding with any other people or objects (although having several near-misses). She also has enough strength to not only break free of Xaldin's hold, but also stun him with an elbow to the gut.

My Disney Experience
Belle has her own storybook adventure when she finds Beast and the enchanted friends who welcome her to the castle.

Beauty and the Beast
Belle is a young woman living in a small unnamed French village. Although she is well known for her beauty and friends with the villagers she feels out of place there and longs for adventure and excitement and does not want to be the "little wife" of conceited, arrogant, muscleheaded hunter Gaston. Her father, Maurice, goes to a fair with his newest invention, but gets lost.

Belle rides to a mysterious castle on her horse in possibility of finding him. She finds her father locked away in a dungeon, and begs the dungeon master to free him, offering her own freedom in exchange for her father's. On the condition that she stay with him forever, the dungeon master, a hideous beast, frees Maurice from the dungeon, however he is deeply moved by her beauty and affection towards her father, and can't help but feel touched by her boldness and bravery.

Belle is originally hesitant to interact with the Beast, but after he saves her from a pack of wolves and develops a more civilized manner, aided by enchanted furnishings, a bond is formed. The Beast gives Belle his enormous library and Belle helps him to act more like a gentleman. The Beast falls deeply in love with her, but fears that she will ever love him in return. Belle is soon granted right to leave on behalf of her sickly father, who tries to rescue her. But after denying Gaston her hand in marriage again, a mob of villagers, led by Gaston, plots against the Beast. After a grueling tussle between Gaston and Beast, the Beast is fatally stabbed. Gaston falls to his death when he loses his balance. Belle is able to lay the Beast on a balcony, and he dies in her arms. Belle sobs over the Beast's dead body and confesses her love for him just as the last petal falls from the enchanted rose. Belle's love for the Beast revives him and releases him from the curse, and he along with his furnishings return to human beings. Belle and the Prince then dance in the ballroom with her father and his servants watching happily.

Beauty and the Beast (musical)
A Broadway musical adaptation of the film premiered on Broadway on April 18, 1994 at the Palace Theatre with Susan Egan as the original Belle. Since then many actresses including Deborah Gibson, Toni Braxton, Andrea McArdle, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Christy Carlson Romano and Ashley Brown have played the role on Broadway. The show closed on July 29, 2007 at the Lunt-Fountanne Theater with Anneliese van der Pol as the show's final Belle.

Sing Me a Story With Belle
From 1995 through 1999 on both Disney Channel and in syndication, a series titled Sing Me a Story With Belle aired from the Disney-MGM Studios in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Actress Lynsey McLeod portrayed Belle, who was the owner of a book and music shop in France in her commoner costume.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Belle also makes a cameo appearance in Disney's 1996 animated feature The Hunchback of Notre Dame. During the song Out There, Belle is seen walking through the streets reading her book, which would make some believe that both films take place at the same time.

Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas
A midquel taking place during the winter segment of Beauty and the Beast, this is the story of Belle's attempt to bring back to the castle the one ceremony Beast hates most: Christmas. It has not been well received because it ignores the movie's continuity, and that at the point the movie is supposed to take place, Belle still considered herself a prisoner in the castle, and was not truly friends with the Beast at that point, though she had begun to accept him.

A pipe organ called Forte is determined to do anything necessary to keep the spell from breaking, because he thinks that if the curse is broken, then the Beast won't need his depressing music anymore. Thus, he proves to be a real obstacle for Belle's plan.

After several attempts to get Beast to agree, Beast finally approves of the idea and allows Belle to prepare for Christmas, though he still bears a grudge, for Christmas is the day the Enchantress cast the spell on him and the castle residents.

With advice from Forte, Belle goes out into the woods to get a suitable tree for Christmas, but she falls into thin ice and almost drowns. Fortunately, she is rescued by Beast, who is enraged at her because Forte told him that she was trying to desert him again.

Belle is then thrown into the dungeon to rot, but Beast then finds a book that Belle had written for him earlier in the West Wing, and decides to set Belle free and they both continue to prepare for Christmas. But Forte doesn't give up there, even going as far as to attempt to bring the whole castle down with Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 in order to prevent the spell from ending, as it can't if everyone is dead. Fortunately, Beast stops him in time by crashing his keyboard to pieces.

The viewers are soon taken back the actual Christmas taking place, and Belle is presented with a gift from her husband: a rose.

Belle's Magical World
In this movie, Belle is the only human character. She meets her new three enchanted object friends Webster, Crane and LePlume and is about to solve problems in all four segments.

In one of the stories, it is Lumière's anniversary with Fifi yet he does not know the proper way to confess how he truly feels. Belle assists him by taking the role as Fifi and practicing what he's going to do for their date. Fifi sees the two and believes Lumière is leaving her for Belle. Eventually all is straightened out.

In another story, Belle finds a wounded bird and takes it in. She spends most of her time hiding it from Beast originally until he grows to like. After a while another problem brews as the bird is healthy once more, but Beast wants to keep it for it's singing. Belle convinces him to let it free. In the end, they become closer and closer showing signs of feelings for each other.

House of Mouse
Belle made cameo appearances in many episodes of the House of Mouse television series. In "Ladies' Night", Belle was seen sitting with Jasmine during Clarabelle Cow's Dance of the Seven Veils. In Mickey and the Culture Clash, Belle attempted to read a book that Mickey was balancing on his head, but her hand was slapped away by Mortimer Mouse. She then asked what the commotion was about, and was informed by Clarabelle that Minnie was looking for someone more sophisticated than Mickey. In Ask Von Drake, Belle was seen sitting with Beast during The Ludwig Von Drake Song.

Belle also appeared aside Beast in Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse, and in some crowd shots in Mickey's House of Villains.

Lilo & Stitch
In a special trailer for the film, Belle and Beast were seen engaging in the famous ballroom dance when Stitch is seen on the chandelier, causing it to crash down, thus tarnishing Belle and Beast's dance. Belle then storms off to her room in a huff telling Stitch to get his own movie. Paige O'Hara reprises the voice of Belle in the trailer. The trailer uses the same strong, powerful animation style as the movie.

Kilala Princess
In the manga series, Kilala Princess, the main characters Kilala, Prince Rei and Princess Sylphy enter the world of "Beauty and the Beast" looking for magical gems to activate the Magic Tiara's power and awaken the princess within Kilala. When Belle first meets them, Kilala immediately asks to shake her hand. They become fast friends, and Belle asks the Beast to let them stay in the castle and work. Sylphy's egocentric attitude initially makes it unbearable for everyone, but it improves overtime. When Cogsworth accidentally loses the pocket watch that the Beast planned to give to Belle, Kilala and Rei go into town to find it. Though they manage to retrieve the watch, in a broken condition, the amber stored inside is stolen by Gaston.

The Beast remains unaware of this incident, and when it breaks in his hand, he bursts out angrily and hides in his room. In order to cheer him up, Kilala, Rei and Sylphy steal back the lost gem from Gaston. Kilala then tells him why he wanted to give Belle the watch in the first place, and that it doesn't matter if the gift is broken. Belle accepts the broken watch and gives the gem to Kilala as a token of gratitude, and turns into a gem of the Magic Tiara. She is last seen witnessing Kilala receive her own gem: an emerald.

Disney Princess Enchanted Tales
Originally, when the first installment of Disney Princess Enchanted Tales was to be released, it was to feature a new Belle story and a brand new Aurora story. The First chapter was entitled "A Kingdom Of Kindness". The plot of Belle's story featured Chip getting in trouble with the Beast after breaking some of his things. Terrified, Chip runs away. Belle finds him and convinces him to come back to the castle, and teaches Beast what it means to be kind. She also teaches Chip that even when people are mad with him, it still means they love him. All of the original Beauty and the Beast cast returned for "A Kingdom Of Kindness", with the exception to Jerry Orbach due to his death in 2004.

Only one known song has been written for Belle, this song is called "You'll Never Lose This Love", and is available to watch on the Enchanted Tales Website.

Once Upon a Time
Belle (Emilie de Ravin) is the daughter of Sir Maurice, whose town will be destroyed in the Ogre Wars. Rumplestiltskin offers to protect them if Belle becomes his servant forever. Her father and her fiancée Gaston (Sage Brocklebank) refuse to agree to his terms, but Belle accepts the deal. Over time, the pair fall in love, and Rumplestiltskin asks her to go out and buy straw, expecting that she will not return. On the road, she meets the Evil Queen Regina and learns that true love's kiss will break any curse, including the one on Rumplestiltskin. Belle returns to the castle and kisses him, and he starts changing back into a human. However, he learns that she met the Queen and becomes convinced that she is a spy; this stops the transformation. In his rage, he rejects her love and locks Belle in his dungeon. He then breaks all of his dish ware, except the cup that she accidentally chipped. He throws her out of his castle, stating that his power is more important to him than she is. She admonishes him for not believing that she loves him and promises that he will regret it when he is left with an empty heart and the chipped cup. She then leaves and he does not see her again. She is later seen giving advice on love to Grumpy.

Her storyline in the Enchanted Forest involved Mulan's in one episode. The two of them hear of a fiery monster causing trouble in the Enchanted Forest. Belle hunts it down and douses it with water. The monster then writes "save me" on the ground. Belle uses fairy dust to help the creature and it turns back into its true form, Prince Phillip. He thanks Belle for saving him and reveals to her that Maleficent cast a spell over him to keep him away from his true love, Aurora. Belle then introduces Phillip to Mulan and leaves them to help her true love, Rumplestiltskin. However, soon after she is taken prisoner by Regina. In another episode, Hook goes to Belle's jail cell after hearing that she could be Rumplestiltskin's weakness. He asks her to help destroy him, but she refuses to do so. Hook then knock her out and leaves.

According to the Queen, Belle was allegedly shunned by her town for her association with Rumplestiltskin and was imprisoned and tortured until she threw herself off a tower and died.

However, this is later proven false by her existence in Storybrooke, where Regina keeps her locked in a secret room underneath the Storybrooke Hospital.

She is eventually released by Jefferson. He tells her to find Mr. Gold, who is actually Rumplestiltskin, and to tell Gold that Regina held her captive. She finds Gold, but does not remember who he is. When the curse on Storybrooke is broken, she regains her memories and professes her love for Rumplestiltskin. He then takes her to his shop, where she makes him promise he won't kill Regina. After Gold releases the Wraith to seek out vengeance on Regina, Belle storms out of the pawn shop, frustrated by his play on words. Later, she comes back to him, where he shows her the chipped cup and she says she will stay with him as "he's a monster."

At the beginning of "The Crocodile", Belle has a dream that Mr. Gold turns into Rumplestiltskin/The Dark One and throws a pickaxe into Leroy's chest. When she wakes up, she sees Mr. Gold in the basement of his house doing magic. The next morning, Belle asks him what he has been doing. Mr. Gold just says, "Magic is Power."

Later, her father, Moe/Maurice sends Smee to "kidnap" her so she could see her father but Moe finds out she still loves Mr. Gold. To fix this "little" problem, her father handcuffs her to a mining trolley and rolls it down hill, so she can have her memories erased (because when a person crosses the town border, they lose all memory of their true selves). She is rescued by Mr. Gold, Prince Charming/David Nolan and Red Riding Hood/Ruby. However, once she is rescued, she says she doesn't want to see Mr. Gold and Moe ever again.

Mr. Gold gives Belle the key to the Storybrooke Library and then explains everything from being a coward to Baelfire. He starts to go but Belle stops him, wanting to go with him for a hamburger at Grannies, to which he happily agrees.

Some time later, Archie is supposedly killed by Regina. Belle, along with the other townspeople, attend Archie's funeral where Mary Margaret gives a eulogy in remembrance of him. Afterwards, Belle meets up with Mr. Gold in which he happily tells her the potion for crossing the border works. She expresses wishes to go with him, but he regretfully says the potion is only enough for one person. She heads to the library later on to sort through books and notices a stranger standing in the corner and recognizes him as the man who broke into her cell in the Evil Queen's palace, Captain Hook. In a state of panic, she runs from him, but is unable to escape the building. Belle pushes a bookshelf, which topples and pins him to the floor as she scurries into the elevator. Pulling out her cellphone to call Mr. Gold, she is able to tell him about the man trying to kill her, but when she attempts to give more details, Mr. Gold is unable to hear her through the bad reception. Belle does not return to the library until Mr. Gold operates the switch to open the elevator shaft.

Reunited, they hurry back to the pawnshop together. On the way there, Belle demands to know Mr. Gold's history with Hook. Hesitantly, he finally tells her Hook stole his wife, Milah from him years ago. When she asks what happened to his wife, Mr. Gold can only say that she died. When Mr. Gold's cloak is stolen by William Smee, Mr. Gold wants to get back. He gives her a loaded gun to keep in case she needs to ever use it to protect herself. While Mr. Gold is away, Belle goes back into the library. There she finds a knot left behind from Hook, and searches through her books about it. Reading the books, she realizes the knot comes specifically from a ship.

Heading to the harbor, she looks up at the seagulls, and is surprised to see one of them land and stand on something invisible. Suspecting something is there but she can't see it, Belle takes a pinch of dust and throws it over, revealing stairs leading up to an invisible ship. She goes up the steps until she passes a barrier that leads her onto the ship's visible deck. Belle opens a door below deck, and discovers Archie tied up. She uses a sword to cut him free, and urges him to get back to town. Then, she proceeds to rummage around the shelves hoping to find Baelfire's cloak. In her distraction, she had put down the gun, and just then Hook makes himself known to her. She lunges for the gun, but Hook is faster. He threateningly points the gun at her forehead, and whilst they converse, he reveals to her a truth Mr. Gold did not tell her--that he killed Milah by ripping out her heart. Even knowing this, Belle still believes in Mr. Gold, and asserts that she knows he has changed and has good in him. She hits him with a rowing paddle, and runs away to above deck while taking the cloak with her.

Mr. Gold shows up to save Belle, and proceeds to beat Hook bloody with his cane. Belle pleads that they should leave, but Mr. Gold cannot contain his anger at Hook's presence. Finally, he stops when she reminds him of the hope she had in believing he changed, and that if he has, to walk away right now. They leave Hook's ship.

That night, Mr. Gold and Belle are at the town border. He uses the potion on himself, and steps to the other side of the border line while his memory stays intact. Belle is very pleased the potion will give him the opportunity to find his son. She promises to wait for him in Storybrooke. The heartfelt moment is interrupted when Belle is suddenly shot and pierced in the shoulder causing her to trip and fall over the border into Mr. Gold's arms, and thus loses her memories. Hook is then revealed to be the shooter, stating that now Gold knows how it feels to lose someone he loves. Mr. Gold yells her name in anguish, but she stares at him in confusion, asking, "Who is Belle?"

She is in a frantic and frightened state after she becomes amnesic. Mr. Gold is worried about her injuries, so he magically heals them. Belle is confused and asks him how he did it. An ambulance arrives at the scene and takes Belle to the hospital. While laying in the hospital bed, Mr. Gold tries to trigger her memory with true loves kiss. It is unsuccessful and Belle screams at Mr. Gold.

Later, Mr. Gold arrives at the hospital, with the chipped cup, which he magically charmed. He gives it to Belle in hopes that she remember her past from the Enchanted Forest. The plan does not work. Belle is confused and unsure when he mentions magic and tries giving the cup back to Mr. Gold, but he insists she try. Belle becomes angry and throws the cup, shattering it to pieces. She asks him to leave one final time, and Mr. Gold finally leaves her room in tears.

Ruby comes to the hospital to cheer her up. Belle questions Ruby about the accident and the man who magically healed her. Ruby, out of fear of exposing magic tells Belle that the tranquilizers the hospital gave her caused hallucinations. Belle becomes upset and the Severe Nurse must sedate her.

Belle is laying in her hospital bed, when she gets a call from Mr. Gold. She tells him again that she doesn't remember him, but she tells him she is sorry when he tells her that he is dying. Mr. Gold tells her that he knows she doesn't remember who she is, but that she was a beautiful woman who loved an ugly man, and adds that she creates goodness in people. Belle begins to tear up at his words, but he hangs up before she can respond.

When Mr. Gold visits again, Belle, touched by his sentimental speech, agrees to let him help her remember who she was. She is then visited by Regina who is displeased to hear Mr. Gold is going to help her. Thinking quickly, she bends down to pick up an item, and instead conjures a little red card of the town bar, The Rabbit Hole. and asks if it belongs to. Though Belle says no, Regina suggests she should take a better look at it. Belle glances down at the card, exclaims she remembers who she is. In reality, Regina gave her false memories to replace the memories she lost as Belle. With the false memories, she assumes a new personality and a new name, Lacey.

In the final episode of season 2 Grumpy gives Mr. Gold some magic from The Blue Fairy to help restore Belle's memories. Mr. Gold restores the chipped cup and pours the magic into it. Belle drinks from the cup and her memories come back. After Henry Mills is kidnapped Mr. Gold decides to go rescue him and tells Belle look after Storybrooke while he is gone.

In season 3, Belle has been appearing to Mr. Gold as a vision to guide him through Neverland but it is eventually revealed that she is actually Peter Pan's shadow in disguise.

Sofia the First
Belle appears in the episode "The Amulet and the Anthem". She teaches Sofia that actions speak louder then words when apologizing about her bragging didn't break her croaking curse by singing "Make It Right".

Curiously, like Princess Jasmine before her, Belle's hairstyle is different than what her redesign shows. Rather than being waist length with a large sock bun and two free locks framing her face, the hairstyle she sports in the episode is only just past her shoulders with the bun being the previous fancy knot she had prior to her redesign. This is either because this version of the hairstyle was easier to animate and less time-consuming or animators combined aspects of her old hairstyle with her new one as a sort of homage to her original appearance.

Songs
Songs performed by Belle:
 * Belle
 * Belle (Reprise)
 * Stories
 * As Long As There's Christmas
 * Something There
 * If You Can Dream
 * Home (in the broadway musical)
 * You'll Never Lose This Love
 * Make It Right

Disney Princess: Enchanted Journey
Unlike the other princesses featured in the game, Belle and her world play a minor role and acts as a mere mini-game. Belle and Lumière are featured in the world and asks the player to eliminate the game's enemies (Bogs) before Beast's finds out about their presence.

Kinect Disneyland Adventures
Belle appears as a meet-and-greet character in Fantasyland. She also takes part in the Mickey's Soundsational Parade and Princess Fantasy Faire mini-games.

Kingdom Hearts series
Belle is one of the Princesses of Heart who appeared in Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, and Kingdom Hearts II. For Kingdom Hearts, she spoke using dialogue boxes, but in Kingdom Hearts II her role was greatly expanded and she was voiced by her original voice actress, Paige O'Hara.

Kingdom Hearts
Belle's first appearance is a stained-glass likeness of her depicted on top of a yellow-colored pillar in the Awakening world.She was asleep in the artwork, suggesting that she has already been captured by Maleficent at that time.

Belle has been living somewhat happily at the Beast's Castle, becoming closer to the Beast everyday, despite his hideous form and uneven temperament. One day, however, Belle is kidnapped by Maleficent as part of the plot to obtain Kingdom Hearts. The Heartless consume her world, causing all of its enchanted inhabitants to disappear into darkness. But the Beast manage to survive the destruction of his world, and pursue Belle, using corridors of darkness to reach her at Hollow Bastion.

Maleficent puts Belle into an enchanted sleep and places her in an upstanding glass case alongside the other Princesses of Heart. She then uses all of the Princesses' hearts to open the Final Keyhole. At the same time, the Beast witnesses a vision of Belle transforming into a Heartless (although this is not what actually occurred, as the princesses lack darkness in their hearts, and cannot become Heartless).

Belle's heart is later restored by the bravery of Sora, and she is released from her enchantment. She separates from her fellow princesses and, due to her passion for books, goes to Hollow Bastion's library in search of ways to stop the darkness. Happily reunited with the Beast at last, she explains as best she could to Sora what has occurred in Hollow Bastion during his brief departure, and then gives him the Divine Rose Keychain. When Sora finally sealed Kingdom Hearts, Belle and the Beast return home together.

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
The following events are really a corruption of Sora's memories from Kingdom Hearts, and thus they do not actually occur in the Kingdom Hearts reality. Sora, Donald, and Goofy enter Sora's memories of Hollow Bastion through Castle Oblivion only to find Belle and the Beast in a heated argument near Hollow Bastion's entrance. The Beast attempts to explain to Belle that he has come from very far to rescue her from Maleficent, but Belle insists that the Beast leave as she has no interest in talking to him. She eventually retreats to Hollow Bastion's library, leaving the Beast in depressed confusion.

Sora and his friends later find Belle in the library, and attempt to understand her oddly cold attitude towards the Beast. However, before she could explain, Maleficent enters and demands that Belle call the Beast. When she refuses to do so, Maleficent transports herself and Belle to a different area of the castle.

Belle continues to refuse Maleficent's demands, even under the threat of torture. Sora arrives just in time, as does the Beast. Belle continues her increasingly rude attitude towards the Beast upon seeing him, prompting the Beast to pour out his true feelings for her. Maleficent then threatens to steal the Beast's heart, which he has shown to be rich and vulnerable when explaining his love for Belle. As Maleficent attempts to take the Beast's heart, Belle sacrifices herself to save him.

Maleficent later reveals to the Beast, Sora, Donald and Goofy that Belle had been purposefully shunning the Beast in an attempt to prevent herself from exposing his heart for Maleficent to use for dark magic. After Sora defeats Maleficent, Belle is returned to her physical state with her heart intact. She quickly apologizes for her actions, which the Beast easily forgives knowing that they were not her true feelings.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
Belle appears alongside Beast in Beast's Castle in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. As the story takes place after the original Kingdom Hearts, Belle and the Beast have returned to Beast's Castle safe and sound and are trying to forget everything that happened. But when Xaldin from Organization XIII takes interest in the Beast's heart, their peaceful days are troubled.

Kingdom Hearts II
A year after the events of Kingdom Hearts, Belle and the Beast attempt to return back to their normal lives at the Beast's Castle. However, the peace is soon disrupted by Organization XIII member Xaldin. Xaldin begins playing on the Beast's anger, attempting to enrage him to the point that his heart would be drenched in darkness, thus spawning an extremely powerful Heartless and Nobody variation of the Beast for the Organization to use. In an attempt to keep them safe, the Beast forces the majority of his servants into the castle's dungeon. Belle, not knowing what to do and fearing the Beast's sudden surge of rage, hides in her room in fear. She is overjoyed when Sora, Donald and Goofy happened to drop by. She also gives a Donald a big hug.

Once Sora freed the servants from the dungeon and utilized their aid to make the Beast calm down, the Beast realizes he had been rude to Belle in his blind rage. Hoping to apologize, he heads off with Sora to find her, only to hear her muffled voice in the castle's ballroom. Belle has taken it upon herself to confront Xaldin on her own, warning him to leave the Beast alone. Xaldin uses his influence of the darkness to set a Shadow Stalker on Belle. She manages to evade it, escaping to the ballroom's balcony. After the creature was defeated, the Beast apologizes to Belle, who accepts his kind words but reprimands him for not trusting her.

When Sora and the others visit Hollow Bastion for the third time, her name is found out to be part of a password to access the DTD's dataspace, along with the other princesses.

Sora later returns to Beast's Castle to find Belle and the Beast in the middle of a date. As the couple begin a romantic dance in the ballroom, Xaldin interrupts the celebration, much to Belle's displeasure. She is forced to briefly retreat as Xaldin sent a horde of Nobodies after Sora and the Beast. When the enemies are defeated, Belle returns only to find the Beast in great distress about his enchanted rose. Following him upstairs, she pleads with the Beast to explain what was wrong, but the Beast's frustration simply leads him to order Belle and Sora to leave the castle.

Belle retreats to her room in despair, eventually going out to the balcony to mull things over. When she later spots the Beast, along with Sora, Goofy and Donald, emerging into the castle courtyard she heads back inside, but on her way spots the rose sitting near the door. Happily showing off the rose to her companions below, she soon realizes the whole thing was a setup as Xaldin grabs her from behind and flies her to the bridge outside the Beast's Castle. As Xaldin offers the Beast a choice between Belle or the rose, Belle shows Xaldin she is not just a simple village girl. She elbows the Organization XIII member hard in the stomach and, smiling to herself, runs back to the castle clutching the rose in its bell jar.

Once the Beast and Sora defeat Xaldin, Belle gladly returns the rose to the Beast. He then nervously asks her to stay with him in his castle, to which she happily agrees. At the conclusion of Sora's adventure in Kingdom Hearts II it is revealed that the Beast has transformed back into a prince, apparently ending the Beauty and the Beast story arc in the series, although Belle's status as one of the Princesses of Heart may still tie her in to future Kingdom Hearts adventures.

Disney Parks and Resorts
Belle appears as a meetable character in the Disney Parks, wearing either her blue commoner dress (such as in "Storytime with Belle" at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World) or her gold princess outfit and appears in many shows such as Fantasmic! and every Disney Parks parade. She can be spotted on a float in Mickey's Soundsational Parade. Recently she's been appearing with Gaston at Disney World's New Fantasyland and Epcot, even though she didn't enjoy being near him in the film.

Belle has her own spell card in the attraction Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom known as "Belle's Mountain Blizzard".

Fantasy Faire
At Disneyland's Fantasy Faire, Belle tells her tale with help from Lumiere, Mister Smythe and Mister Jones in the Royal Theatre.

Storytime with Belle
In the former show held at the Magic Kingdom, Belle would tell her story to an audience, some of which were chosen to act as characters in the story. The show then became part of the attraction, Enchanted Tales with Belle.

Beauty and the Beast: Live
In the live show at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World Resort Belle appears in the stage adaption of the film. In the show Belle plays out her same role as in the film.

World of Color
Belle appears in the nighttime water show in Disney California Adventure park in the Disneyland Resort. Belle appears in the opening during the theme of the show shown ball dancing with Beast. She later appears starting the show's finale as she confesses her love for Beast and he transforms into a handsome prince.

Believe
The Disney Dream cruise ship holds a show called Believe where several Disney "magic makers" help an uptight father, Dr. Greenway, believe in magic. When Lumière takes the task, Belle and Mrs. Potts assists with success.

Differences from the source material
While Belle keeps much of her original character continuity, there are quite a few differences to be accounted for:
 * Belle had two older sisters in the original story, who were described as wicked and selfish. They even at one point wished the Beast would kill Belle. They were all very physically beautiful but only Belle, was lovely and pure on the inside.
 * Belle was 21 years old not 17.
 * She at one point lived in a mansion, her father being a wealthy merchant, before he lost all his fortune. Then the family lived in a small farmhouse like in the movie.
 * Rather than being treated initially like a prisoner by the Beast, he received her graciously and informed her that she was mistress of the castle, and he was her servant. They would hold lengthy conversations and he would give her lavish clothing and every night ask Belle to marry him, but she would always decline.
 * While in the castle, Belle would dream of a handsome prince asking her to marry him. Belle became convinced that the Beast was holding the prince captive somewhere in the castle. She looked but never found him
 * It was never mentioned that the servants were housewares and furniture, so they were probably humans.
 * Belle returns to the castle because she finds out that the Beast is dying from a broken heart in her absence, rather than her wanting to warn him about the hostile villagers in the Disney adaption.
 * Belle dreamt of a fairy who promised to grant her a wish because of her good heart.
 * At the end of the story she and the Beast get married. In the Disney movies they stay together, but a wedding is never seen or mentioned.

Significance and Legacy
Part of Belle's legacy is the fact that she brought a new dawn of more adventurous, heroic and independent heroines to the world of film, although Ariel brought a new personality trend to heroines. Belle is the first heroine to not be saved by a prince in order to live happily ever after. Instead, she "saves" the Beast by evolving him into a loving gentleman, proving that true beauty is beneath the skin, breaking the spell, and transforming him into a handsome prince once again through her love. Belle's pioneering role in Beauty and the Beast introduced more heroic heroines to the Disney scene, specifically with Pocahontas in 1995 and Mulan in 1998.

Belle is sometimes used as an advocate for women's liberation and intelligence among women around the world. She is also used to encourage children in their love of reading and literature.

Redesign
Belle received many changes in her late 2012 redesign.

Most striking of all is that her hair is much more wavy and curly in its appearance and is now more than twice its original length, all hanging down to her waist. While still parted in the middle at the front of her head, two locks of hair hang loose and frame the sides of her face. Some of her hair is swept back and pulled into a large sock bun instead of the previous fancy knot that was held in place by a gold hair clasp.

Her gown now possesses the same gold color from the film instead of the yellow color in the previous franchise, however, the bottom half is now decorated with glittery designs of roses.

The off-the-shoulder part of the dress is made of cream-colored organza and pinned in the front by three pearls of varying sizes. Her evening gloves match the color and material of the dress's shoulders.

There is a strong possibility that Belle's new appearance was very heavily based on Penélope Cruz's portrayal of her in Disney Dream Portrait Series; particularly with the waist length, curly and wavy hair.

In early redesigns, Belle's sleeves were covering her shoulders instead of revealing them.

Trivia

 * Belle was the second Disney Princess to not be of royal descent, after Cinderella in 1950.
 * Belle is also the first Disney Princess to be a peasant.
 * Belle was the final Disney Princess to have the same actress play both her speaking and singing voices until Tiana in 2009.
 * Belle is French for "beautiful".
 * Susan Egan, who voiced Megara in Hercules originated the role of Belle in Broadway's Beauty and the Beast.
 * Belle is the first Disney Princess to have a male villain in her story, followed by Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan, Tiana and Merida.
 * In the new Fantasyland, Belle's cottage shows a picture of her reading with her mother—a beautiful women with curly brown hair wearing a pink dress. One wall in the cottage also has height marks up until her 18th birthday, suggesting she may be 18 years old during the films. Based on this painting, her mother, when she was still alive, probably looked exactly like Belle but with lighter hair, and blue eyes instead of hazel eyes.
 * Belle is the first Disney Princess to "save" her prince at the film's climax by breaking the spell and returning the Beast to his human form. She is followed by Mulan, Tiana and Rapunzel.
 * Not counting Cinderella, whose father was shown only in storybook form, Belle is the third Disney Princess to have a father present during the film, after Aurora in 1959 and Ariel in 1989, and before Jasmine in 1992, Pocahontas in 1995, Mulan in 1998, Tiana in 2009, Rapunzel in 2010, Merida in 2012, and eventually, Anna and Elsa in 2013.
 * Belle arguably saw the dawn of more heroic and independent Disney Princesses. Her legacy led to Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan, Tiana and Rapunzel. However, some say this title rightfully belongs to Ariel.
 * Belle is the first and only Disney Princess to not sing the film's theme song, "Beauty and the Beast". Instead, it is sung by the supporting character, Mrs. Potts. Though her voice actress Paige O'Hara has sung the song on a few albums and live performances.
 * Belle is the second Disney Princess to deal with an unwanted marriage as a major or minor source of conflict. Aurora is the first (in which she did not know the boy she met was Prince Phillip), Jasmine is the third (in that her father is trying to marry her off before her next birthday), Pocahontas is the fourth (in that her father is trying to marry her off to Kocoum), and Merida is the fifth. Hers is because Gaston wants to marry her and make her his "little wife" to inflate his ego and have himself a baby-maker that will only bear him sons and do whatever he commands.
 * Belle is the second Disney Princess to have a horse companion, Phillipe. Cinderella was the first with Major, Mulan was the third with Khan, Rapunzel was the fourth with Maximus, and Merida was the fifth with Angus.
 * Belle is the first Princess to be thought of as crazy by the people in her town. The second being Tiana.
 * In Beauty and the Beast Belle's Magical World, Belle tells the story of Cinderella to the Beast during the first segment.
 * In the Alternate beginning, found on the Diamond Edition DVD, Belle's birthday is celebrated and on the cake it says "Happy 17th Birthday Belle". Possibly she is seventeen in the movie.
 * Belle was nominated for AFI's 100 Year...100 Hero and Villain list, one of the three animated hero and one of three Disney animated hero, along with Peter Pan, Mary Poppins and Buzz Lightyear. Unfortunately, none of them made the cut.
 * Belle is the second Disney Heroine to save her love interest's life. The first being Ariel who saved Eric from drowning, the third being Pocahontas, fourth being Esmeralda, fifth being Meg, sixth being Mulan, and seventh being Rapunzel.
 * Belle was the last princess to be of Caucasian descent until Rapunzel in 2010.
 * Belle is one of the three Disney Princesses to have her own individual eye color from the others. She's the only one with hazel eyes, Aurora with violet eyes, and Rapunzel with green eyes.
 * Vanellope von Schweetz also has hazel eyes but she is an unofficial Disney Princess.
 * Belle's eyes were originally going to be colored gray.
 * Belle is the second princess to be in a castle with dark themes inside. The first being Snow White, namely, The Queen's castle.
 * A costume of Belle, as well as the rest of the Disney Princesses (excluding Mulan and Pocahontas), has been released on the video game Little Big Planet 2 as downloadable content from the PlayStation Store.
 * Belle made a brief cameo during the songs "Out There" and "Topsy Turvy" from The Hunchback of Notre Dame along with Pumbaa and Carpet in a shot of a village square. Coincidentally enough, both films take place in France in the past.
 * Belle is the third and so far final Disney Princess to have her name be the title of the opening song to her feature film. She was preceded by Cinderella and Aurora.
 * Belle is the first princess with brunette hair, the second being Rapunzel. Yet she is the first and only princess to remain a brunette in the franchise.
 * One poster for the film for some reason showed Belle in a pink-and-purple dress resembling Rapunzel's.
 * Not counting Kida, Belle is the second Disney Princess, after Ariel and before Rapunzel, to become queen, but remains in the franchise as a princess. However, the Beast seemed not to be in charge of anything but his castle.
 * Belle, along with Aurora are the only two princesses who weren't protagonists in their original stories, but shared a protagonistic role in Disney's version.
 * Belle is the second princess to feature a "magic mirror" in her film. The first being Snow White. Unlike Snow White, however, Belle actually used it.
 * Belle is normally seen with Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Tiana, Rapunzel and more than the other princesses.
 * Belle shares several similarities with Lilo from Lilo & Stitch, as both are considered "odd" by other people because they have different beliefs and interests. Both also befriended something that was considered a vicious monster (Beast and Stitch) and gradually developed a close bond. Another similarity is that both were also locked up by the antagonist (Gaston and Gantu) until they were freed later. Both also share a love for certain fiction (Belle's love for books and stories, Lilo's love for movies and science fiction).
 * Belle is the only Disney Princess who loves to read more than anything.
 * Belle is the first Disney Princess to be treated condescendingly by a prince charming male; the second is Mulan (who was bullied by the misogynistic consul of the Emperor, Chi-Fu).
 * In an episode of Gargoyles, Elisa Maza dresses up as Belle.
 * Belle is the first Disney Princess be attacked by wolves, followed by Anna.
 * She is the first Disney Princess who does not get along with the male character at the beginning of the movie, the next being Mulan, Tiana and Rapunzel.
 * Belle is so far the only Disney Princess to actually be a peasant.