Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young prince lived in a shining castle. Although he had everything his heart desired, the prince was spoiled, selfish, and unkind. But then, one winter's night, an old beggar woman came to the castle and offered him a single rose in return for shelter from the bitter cold. Repulsed by her haggard appearance, the prince sneered at the gift and turned the old woman away, but she warned him not to be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within. And when he dismissed her again, the old woman's ugliness melted away to reveal a beautiful enchantress. The prince tried to apologize, but it was too late, for she had seen that there was no love in his heart, and as punishment, she transformed him into a hideous beast, and placed a powerful spell on the castle, and all who lived there. Ashamed of his monstrous form, the beast concealed himself inside his castle, with a magic mirror as his only window to the outside world. The rose she had offered was truly an enchanted rose, which would bloom until his twenty-first year. If he could learn to love another, and earn her love in return by the time the last petal fell, then the spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time. As the years passed, he fell into despair, and lost all hope, for who could ever learn to love a beast..........
Belle, a young woman living in a small French village, dreamed of "adventure in the great wide somewhere." She yearned for more out of life than the other people in her town. Yet, she was still stuck in a village filled with "poor, provincial" people, and dodging the egotistical, not-to-bright Gaston who wanted Belle for his wife. Gaston reasoned that since Belle was the most beautiful woman in town and he was the most handsome, therefore she should be his. One day Belle's father, and inventor named Maurice, set out for the fair to show off his latest invention. On the way to the fair, he took a wrong turn and found himself lost in the woods. Scared off by the wolves, his horse left him alone near a tall castle. Maurice, seeing no other alternatives, approached the building, and let himself in. He was quickly made at home by the strange "people" that he found within. The master of the castle, the Beast, was not so welcoming and was angered by Maurice's presence. He threw Maurice in the dungeon and swore that he would remain there as his prisoner...
Meanwhile, Belle was keeping busy with her reading...