love of reading was characteristic of belle in beauty and the beast.
characteristic of belle in beauty and the beast?
love of reading
deemed an "iconoclast" by "boxoffice", belle continues to garner strong recognition for her role in "beauty and the beast". established as a cultural icon, the character holds the distinction of being disney's first feminist princess. commentators believe that the character's role in "beauty and the beast" as one of disney's first strong female characters is responsible for changing the way in which women would be depicted in subsequent animated films. according to kevin fallon of "the daily beast", before belle "being a disney princess meant singing songs about how much you love combing your hair with a fork and giving away your voice if it meant you got to marry the guy with that dreamy chiseled jaw". the "los angeles times"' charles solomon considers belle to be among four disney princesses responsible for breaking "the bonds of convention." about.com's david nusair agreed that belle successfully "updated the princess formula for an entirely new generation." "the atlantic"'s lindsay lowe echoed nusair's sentiment, citing belle as the character responsible for ending disney's "history of ... docile heroines." the "daily campus"' cathy schmidt recognized belle and ariel as "the beginnings of the more modern disney princesses." writing for virgin media, limara salt believes that the character "proved that audiences could fall in love with a brown-haired intellectual." a survey conducted by disney after the film's release determined that belle's love of books inspired young women to read. justin humphreys of "the hook" expressed, "belle remains a most successful princess because people can relate" to her. elina bolokhova of "parenting "believes that belle's "bravery and independence helped redefine the meaning of a disney princess." according to justine mcgrath of "teen vogue", belle has "become one of the most popular classic disney princesses of all time." commending her intelligence and lack of vanity, the character was placed at number one on e!'s ranking of the disney princesses, while "cosmopolitan "ranked her fourth. in the magazine's "definitive ranking of disney princesses", "seventeen "ranked belle fifth. similarly, buzzfeed also ranked the character fifth, praising her love of reading. a reader poll conducted by buzzfeed also determined that belle is the most popular disney princess, having garnered 18% of votes. belle is the fifth most successful disney princess in terms of box office revenue, with "beauty and the beast" having grossed over $350 million. however, belle was the lowest-selling disney princess on ebay in 2013, with sales of less than $7,000 despite the fact that she is often cited as a customer favorite.
belle (beauty and the beast)
belle has garnered widespread acclaim from film critics, several of whom voiced their preference for the character over her predecessor, ariel from "the little mermaid". hal hinson of "the washington post" described belle as a "compelling" character who is "more mature, more womanly and less blandly asexual" than ariel, as well as "a more worldly girl", describing her as "a bookworm, with gumption and a mind of her own." similarly comparing belle to ariel, john hartl of "the seattle times" wrote that, in "beauty and the beast", "there's rarely a sense of deja vu, perhaps because the heroine is so different from 'mermaid's' dependent ariel, and her dilemma is more poignant," while "boxoffice "scribed, "undoubtedly in response to criticism that the cute little 'mermaid' ariel was nothing more than a precocious sexpot, the idea-people behind this beauty—aptly named belle ... chose to make her an icon of self-reliance and a voracious reader with a curiosity and love for everything around her." jennie punter of "the globe and mail "extolled belle as a "smart, courageous ... 'take-charge kind of gal'," while crowning her the "main attraction of "beauty and the beast"." emma cochrane of "empire" hailed belle as "a feminist heroine who [is] more rounded than previous disney characters", while "paste's" annlee ellingson similarly enjoyed the character's "feminist kick." stephen hunter of "the baltimore sun "wrote that "belle ... is no passive fairy tale princess, but a real live girl, with a spunky personality and her own private agenda." "tv guide "wrote that "the familiar narrative is strengthened by the independent, self-assured character of belle," concluding, "unlike disney heroines from snow white through ariel, belle is smart, knows what she wants, and doesn't spend her time pining away for the love of a handsome prince." marc bernardin of "entertainment weekly "praised belle's heroism, dubbing her "the hero" of "beauty and the beast", while "entertainment weekly's" christian blauvelt opined, "unlike previous disney heroines who needed to be rescued by a prince themselves, belle not only saves the beast's life, she saves his soul." tlc's vicki arkoff received belle as a "smart" and "sharp-tongued" heroine, crediting the character for "break[ing] disney's passive-princess mold." about.com's david nusair described belle as an "admirable" heroine. allmovie's don kaye and perry seibert echoed each other's reviews of the character, with kaye describing both belle and the beast as "three-dimensional ... complex individuals who defy stereotyping and change over the course of the story," and seibert calling belle a "strong female character" who "sidesteps most of the clichés surrounding disney heroines." common sense media hailed belle as "one of disney's smartest, most independent heroines."
belle (beauty and the beast)