La Belle et La Bete (1946)

The use of humanizing inanimate objects within the beasts palace shrouds the world in a magical atmosphere.

Our first glimpse into the beasts palace sees a row of hand held candle sticks self-illuminating. These hands controlling the sticks , painted gold to match the material of the candle sticks, personifies the sticks in a way that not only gives them a mystical element but suggests that the objects are characters in themselves. Furthermore the use of making the architecture of the chateau such as the statues on the fireplace being alive suggests that it isn’t just objects that are characters but the place itself being a magical entity. The juxtaposition of the chateaus grand and elegant yet neglected rooms to the almost fairy tale outer world adds to almost mirror the Beasts own character- whilst being able to be a monster when needed (such as in our introduction to him with the deer he’s killed) he is also able to be compassionate and caring for Belle. I also found the Beasts outfit interesting as before we are shown the caring side of the monster we are given an image of a nobleman who, in fairytale type stories, often feature as the force of good and the hero of the story thereby giving us an early indication of his later transformation into the charming prince.