For many, the original 1991 version of Beauty and the Beast remained the best, charming, brilliant and influential that it took the studio 26 years to replicate its power.
In case you're wondering, here are the six things you probably didn't know about the original Beauty and the Beast.
1. Belle was inspired by Katharine Hepburn’s portrayal of Jo March in Little Women
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According to the film’s screenwriter Linda Woolverton, she had used Hepburn’s performance as an inspiration.“Though the character of Jo is more tomboyish, both were strong, active women who loved to read—and wanted more than life was offering them,” she told The Los Angeles Times.
2. Mrs. Potts was originally named Mrs. Chamomile
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During a special anniversary screening of Beauty and the Beast at New York City's Lincoln Center on September 18, 1991, producer Don Hahn revealed Mrs. Potts original name - Mrs. Chamomile.“For Mrs. Potts, we originally tried to find the most soothing possible association and we came up with Mrs. Chamomile.
“Chamomile is a very, soothing herbal tea, but nobody could pronounce it," Hahn told a Business Insider reporter.
"So Howard [Ashman] said, 'Let’s call her Mrs. Potts.”
3. Belle is the only resident who wears blue in her village
Photo/imdb.com
It is to symbolise how different she is from everyone else in that little town.4. Belle is the second Disney ‘Princess’ who wasn’t born royal
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Belle only became a princess after her marriage with Prince Adam. The first heroine who wasn't born royal is Cinderella. Tiana is the third.5. The prince had no name in the movie
Photo/imdb.com
The prince or the beast isn’t named in the animated film. The name 'Prince Adam' was later confirmed by the CD-ROM tie-in game and a Broadway musical of the same title.
6. One of the highest grossing movies in 1991
Beauty and the Beast was the first animated film to earn more than $100 million (RM443 million) at the box office.
