Belle.

From Beauty and the Beast.

Looking back on it, it all makes perfect sense. Her obsession with books, her insisting that her father wasn’t crazy despite him being as mad as a hatter (Hi Richie!), her tendency to sing to sheep and other animals like it was going out of fashion. It was pretty much me in cartoon form. Though I should probably note here that singing is not exactly my forte. Ahem.  Let’s just leave it at that. Also, Nick is pretty much Phillipe. I mean, if I wasn’t meant to be Belle, who was?!

I remember after seeing the film (yes Julie, FILUM) I insisted on wearing my hair in a topsy turvy ponytail in order to try and look like Belle. Alas I never quite, and suspect never quite will look like a Disney princess. Sigh. Really genetics? Is it too much to ask? Although now that I think of it.. it probably is… Well moving on before I get disowned..Two things that I will never ever forget from that film:

1. The library. The glorious library. That place of wonder. I am in love. Yep, I am in love with a room. That library- One day I shall own it. I’m well on the way, I could probably build a house with the amount of books I have stashed away. I just lack the room to store them. We actually had to turn our playroom into a library. I still have my favourites up in my room and one wall is completely covered in books, but I’m out of space already. Lord help us when I start earning money, it’ll all be gone on books. Who needs to eat when you have a giant room full of wonderful wonderful books!

2. The yellow dress. What girl doesn’t remember that beautiful yellow dress. The one she wore to the first real dinner/dancey type thing with Mr. Beast. When she came down the stairs. With Mrs. Potts singing ‘Tale as old as time’. It was made of golden sunshine. Or some such miraculous material. I wanted that dress. I pored over every book we had (and there were many) looking for information on how to get/make that dress. (Pre-Google obviously) When I was.. whatever age I was when I finally got that video for Christmas.. I would have given my right kidney for that dress.

A few other things of note:

When the beast is gobbling down porridge after he shows her the library? That’s how Banana used to eat. Just for the record.

French people don’t speak in french accents. Apart from the odd animated feather duster.

Kids in Disney movies are cuter as crockery.

Grey unnamed foodstuffs are delicious. You don’t believe me, ask the dishes.

Books covered in muddy water are cleaned much easier in cartoons.

Gaston is bad 😦

Disney movies will never have an unhappy ending. They do, however, tend to have heart-wrenching moments in there somewhere. Perfect example- when Mufasa dies. I cannot watch that bit without bawling.

The prince was waaaay too feminine for my personal tastes.

Belle’s dad and Mrs Potts are soooo going to end up together. You know they are!

On that note I shall leave you with:

What Disney princess/leading lady did/do you want to be?