Gaston: Disney’s Misunderstood Character or A Deep Dive into Beauty and the Beast
September 1, 2024Memories are very deceptive. Sometimes, something we believe to be 100% true turns out not to be so. Often, we’re not alone in believing certain things, and many people share incorrect memories from their childhood. This is known as the Mandela effect, and it’s much more common than you think. For example, Berenstain Bears is the correct spelling of the popular children’s book series. In the “Empire Strikes Back”, Darth Vadar says “No, I am your father” and never says Luke. Shocking, right? Under the same vein, the Mandela effect has altered our member of Gaston, falsely known as a villain.
Many of you are in denial right now. You’re sure that Gaston was an evil, full on villain with no redeeming qualities. Well, today, I’ll prove that that sentiment is wrong. Don’t feel bad, you’re not alone in this thought. Most people incorrectly consider Gaston a villain. I put part of this on the Mandela Effect – I mean, somebody has to be evil in a movie, right? But I put the bigger blame on a small up and coming company called Disney.
Even Disney suffers from the Mandela effect. It’s either that or the company doesn’t even know its own characters very well. Gaston is always part of team villain in recent media, alongside irredeemable pieces of shit of Ursela and Jafar. There’s a big difference between having negative traits and being evil. Mr Mouse cannot tell the difference in 2024. What a shame.
Sorry, I’m jumping ahead a bit. Gaston needs a better PR team because Disney isn’t doing him any favors grouping him with actual villains. If there’s one thing the Big Mouse is good at, it’s creating a dark, twisted villain. Despite predominantly making entertainment for children, Disney has produced some incredibly dark, evil characters. Not to mention, the company as itself would probably be top of that list. Gaston, I wouldn’t use that PR team. Yikes.
While this isn’t a complete list, here’s a summary of some of Disney’s infamous villains.
Evil Queen
Sure, she’s evil, but the queen is mostly petty as Hell. She thirsts for vengeance because her magic mirror tells her there’s one person on earth who might be better looking than her. Her response is to hire a goon to immediately murder Snow White. The murder doesn’t happen as the mediocre assassin can’t bring himself to kill an innocent woman. Instead, he murders the shit out of a pig to attempt deceiving an all-knowing evil queen by bringing it’s heart. That’s comforting.
The Queen refused to let her one-sided blood feud go. Disguising herself as an old woman, she presents Snow White with a poisoned apple. Her poison of choice will put Snow White in eternal sleep, and she assumes the Dwarfs will bury her alive in this state. The Queen gaslights Snow White to believe she’s brittle, weak from a bird attack, and that the apple will cause a prince to fall in love with her. She’s successful in her attack, and Snow White only wakes up due to true love’s first kiss, AKA Disney Friendship Bullshit (TM).
Oh, and the Evil Queen dies from a bolt of lightning destroying part of a mountain. Afterwards, vultures eat her corpse. For Christ Sake, this is darker than “Requiem for a Dream”. Were all early Disney movies this brutal?
Maleficent
The OG of original villains, Maleficent is an improved version of the Evil Queen, who was already pretty damn evil. I mean, evil is in her title. Maleficent even out petties the Queen.
Maleficent is jealous she doesn’t get invited to Aurora’s Christening. Her response is to show up unannounced and curse the child to die at 16. She also hires an entire team of goons to murder the child up until reaching that age. When the murder plot fails, Maleficent does the work herself, forcing Aurora to touch a spindle which activates the curse. This is extremely specific sure, but think of it like the curse’s username and password, and it’s not as weird.*1 Maleficent believes she won.
Aurora’s three fairies protect her, and reduce the spell’s power. Instead of instant murder, the spell causes Aurora to sleep until she receives true love’s first kiss (DFB(TM) for short). Sure, that all makes sense.
I know I’m supposed to be discussing the villains here, but we’re already recycling this plot? Also, how can anyone fall in love with someone asleep they never met or talked to? I’m not saying this is worse than a murder curse, but the implications here are suspect. We can’t allow random people to kiss a sleeping teenager they don’t know. We have laws for this stuff.
Maleficent knows her spell can be broken as she owned a copy of Snow White on VHS and DVD. She kidnaps the prince before he can do anything. This is arguably the smartest move in villain history. In fact, Maleficent only loses because she naps after 16 straight years of being evil. Imagine losing via a nap? This is why caffeine is the greatest performance enhancing drug we have.
The fairies undo much of Maleficent’s plan while she sleeps. In a last ditch effort to kill everyone she hates Maleficent transforms into a dragon through the powers of Hell. She is killed due to an enchanted sword, falling down a mountain. That last part sounds awfully familiar. Maleficent is just a better evil queen, and might be the pettiest character in fiction. 10/10. No Notes.
Cuella De Vil
Don’t soften your opinion on Cruella because Emma Stone played her. Cruella was so evil, other characters had to sing her villain song. Like, when the average person knows a Disney Villain is a full-on bastard before the end of the film, that’s true evil.
It goes without saying that Cuellea’s ultimate plan is darker than midnight in space. She wanted to skin puppies alive to make a fur coat out of them. I mean, I don’t have to elaborate any more on her evil. She’s goes into a rage when she cannot purchase dogs to slaughter, so she hires some goons to steal them. Any other puppy she acquires “legally” definitely involved some lying. She also goes absolutely insane at the end, planning to murder dozens. She might have won if Cruella’s goons had even a shred of competence.
Also, I’m just going to say it, her fashion sucked. Cruella’s biggest obsession is fashion, and she dressed like she was blind. What an ironic twist.
Jafar
Jafar had a cliché role. He served as the main advisor to the Sultan and was probably the second most powerful person in the country. He also has magical powers that nobody else can match. So yeah, pretty clear that he’s going to be evil and want to overthrow the sultan. Jafar begins to movie by allowing his hired goon to die exploring the Cave of Wonders. He shrugs off the murder and moves on without any remorse. Bad sign for Agrabah.
Jafar spends the majority of the movie trying to manipulate the Sultan, Jasmine and Aladdin to do his bidding. He actually shows he can control and influence people with magic, making this process significantly easier. While mind controlling the Sultan, he uses Alladin to get the treasure from the Cave of Wonders, and plans to marry Jasmine. Unfortunately for him, Alladin and Jasmine are actually competent. Jafar gets sent to jail, but everyone conveniently forgets he has a talking bird as a minion.
Jafar uses Iago to steal the lamp, gets the Genie on his side, and wishes to become ruler and the most powerful sorcerer in the world. Probably should have locked the lamp up at night, Al. Within minutes of becoming the ruler, Jafar turns Abrabah into a hellscape. You blink, and everything is on fire. In the climatic scenes, he was ready to torture everyone of Alladin’s friends to celebrate his victory. The only reason he loses is his wish to become a Genie gives him a big weakness. He already had magic powers. Thank oGd most villains are dumb.
Scar
Recently, there was a trailer for a Mufasa movie, a movie that literally no one asked for. During the trailer, there was implications that Scar wasn’t always a bad guy. Bull frigging shit. If you ever watched the Lion King, you know this is a damn lie and dude was evil from the start.
Power hungry, Scar doesn’t even bother attending Simba’s birth ceremony. He knows that an heir means he’ll never get to be king. Naturally, he immediately plans to murder a young, defenseless lion cub. Recruiting Hyenas, aka animal goons, he tries to have them kill Simba, but Mufasa saves the day. Scar realizers murder won’t solve anything and moves on with his life.
Wait, no, he decides to murder Mufasa and Simba.
Scar causes an animal stampede around a vulnerable Simba. Mufasa risks his live to save his son, but forgets that his brother is an evil, kin killing bastard. Scar murders his brother and then convinces Simba that he was the reason Mufasa died. Simba runs to save himself from punishment. God damn is that evil!
Scar names himself king, puts the hyenas in charge as his muscle, and the entire kingdom, predictably, turns to shit. There’s basically no food, and Scar lashes out at anyone who mentions the old rulers.
When Simba returns, all of Scar’s manipulations come back to bite him. He cannot physically beat Simba, so he confesses to the murder. Then, he starts begging for forgiveness at every turn, in between taking cheap shots at Simba in hopes of winning. He tries to pin his crimes on the Hyenas, but they hear the whole thing, and maul him to death.
Man, these deaths are brutal. Not a lot of villains dying peacefully in the sleep at age 92.
Judge Frollo
While the Hunchback of Notre Dame won’t be high on anyone’s list of Disney Movies, the villain stood out. Frollo is probably the biggest hypocrite in Disney history. Who would have thought someone in the Church could be bad?
Frollo is a straight up racist toward the Romani. Usually, Disney villains are usually just outright murderous or power hungry, but racism is a new, horrible twist. Frollo also wants to have sex with one of them. In one of the most hypocritical songs of all time, our clergyman talks about how much he wants to bang Esmerelda, and if he can’t, he’ll burn her alive. Sure, that’s a rational train of thought.
Frollo ends up raising Quasimodo because he murdered her mother, assuming she was a thief because he’s, again, a giant racist. To keep his cushy position with the Church, Frollo must raise Quasi as his son. This was probably the worst atonement ever. Quasimodo spends his life trapped in the tower. The one time he sneaks out, the townspeople mock and abused him for his appearance. Frollo watches this happens, and allows the abuse to continue to punish Quasi for, let me check my notes, attempting to enjoy life. Serves him right.
It doesn’t stop with Frollo, who honestly has too many crimes to list. The man locked a family in a house and set in on fire for potentially hiding Romani people. He pretty much tries to kill every other main character in the story and ultimately sets most of the town on fire. His undoing is that he’s a frail hypocritical priest who tried to kill too many people at once. Ultimately, he falls off a tower into a burning town below. Why does everyone seem to fall to their death in Disney films?
Mother Gothel
Maid Megan demanded the Mother Gothel make my list so hopefully I do this justice.
Gothel was halfway into a grave when she discovered a youth restoring flower. She tried to hoard this for herself, but when the Queen got sick, royal guards took the plant and make a lifesaving tea out of it. This power transfers to the queen’s daughter, Rapunzel. Gothel intended to steal some of the baby’s hair to keep her youth but realized it doesn’t work when cut off the child. So, she did what any reasonable person would do – steal the baby.
To protect her living fountain of youth, Mother Gothel never lets Rapunzel leave the house. She gaslights her “daughter”, telling her the world is cruel and would use her for her powers. Gothel switches from guilt tripping to anger to keep Rapunzel in the house. Like any teenager, Rapunzel ultimately rebels and sneaks out with a strange, older man, Flynn Ryder.
Like every villain on this list, Mother Gothel uses hired goons to hunt down her “daughter” and Flynn Ryder. She uses her guards to incapacitate Flynn and convinced Rapunzel that the wanted thief probably wasn’t the best romantic partner. This is the only instance in history where that advice is wrong and manipulative.
Mother Gothel convinces Rapunzel that Flynn only wanted Rapunzel for her magic and to reclaim a crown worth a fortune. This took a few leaps of faith, and trying an unconscious Flynn to a boat within view. Oh, Flynn’s also scheduled to be executed by the kingdom, but that’s not important right now.
Ultimately, Rapunzel figures out what’s really going on and confronts Gothel. Mother Gothel resorts to tying her up when gaslighting fails. Then, when Flynn returns (See? That execution was optional), Gothel shanks the shit out of him. Both Rapunzel and Flynn survive due to the power of friendship or something, and Fylnn gives Rapunzel a pixie cut, ending her magic locks, and causing Gothel to immediately become dust. She should have kept a workout routine going along with the magic.
Olaf
Finally, the evilest villain of all. I know what you’re thinking. How can a cuddly little snowman be a villain? Well, that blame goes to you, the fans.
In 2015, Disney had a game called Infinity 3.0. You got to play as a variety of characters, including some that fans voted on. At one point there was a poll for playable characters, including worldwide sensation, Darkwing Duck. Another option in this poll was noncombatant Olaf Snowmen, who preferred hugs and critically weak to sunlight. The fans of course did the right thing…
Oh wait, no they didn’t because Olaf won the Goddamn poll.
Instead of having a playable Darkwing Duck, we got Olaf. In comes as no surprise that Disney Infinity 3.0 shut down less than two years later because nobody played it. People could have chosen the best fictional character of all time. This would have led to a revival of the Darkwing Duck cartoon, and probably a movie. We could have had a Darkwing Duck ride in Epcot. It would have led directly to Dole Whip!
Part of me believes the voting was rigged with bots and trolls who hate fun. That’s the only thing that makes sense. But, there’s also the potential for a more sinister plot. Olaf himself could have manipulated the vote to appear more popular than he was. What a cruel, evil creation. Darkwing would have given us world peace. Instead, we live in our reality in 2024. All because a selfish snowman needed the limelight. For shame Olaf.
Also, if you voted for Olaf in this poll, know that you’re an enemy of Bloggin Hood. There is no forgiveness available, only vengeance. Don’t be surprised if an inconspicuous old woman stops by your house with a basket of apples.
This was a Gaston article?
I know this intro was long, but there’s a lot of evil pieces of shit in Disney lore, especially Olaf. How can anyone think Gaston was on that level? It’s the Mandela effect taking hold of all of us. Fortunately, I’ve broken from this mental trap and will explain what’s really going on with Beauty and the Beast. It’s not just that Gaston isn’t a villain; Belle and the Beast aren’t what they seem. To truly given you a breakdown of why Gaston isn’t evil, we need to break down the titular characters.
That’s right, we’ve reached a new level – a second intro before the point of the article. Maybe I’m the real Disney villain after all.
No, it’s the assholes who voted Olaf over Darkwing. Seriously, I’m sending a second basket of Apples.
Let’s start with our male lead in the story, the Beast.
The Beast
For being the male lead in this movie, the Beast is a grade A Asshole. I understand the point of his arc is to mature and go from being a jerk to a good person. But if you start off being a total, absolute jerk, anyone can seem improved with even the slightest changes. The Beast isn’t the villain of the story or anything, but he’s on equal footing to Gaston, with one subtle difference. Let’s see if you can figure that out before I cover it at the end of the article. That’s right we’re teasing points in this blog now.
Blame the Olaf voters.
Cannot be Kind to an Old Woman
People make mistakes, but when we learn the Beast’s backstory, it should have been a red flag for everyone. For this section, we’ll have to give the human version of Beast a name. Sure, he might have one in the story, but I spent my research time looking up Disney Infinity’s release date. I mean, I doubt he has an official name.
Wait, Maid Megan told me his name is Adam, so we’ll go with that. I was going to call him Octavius Beastmen, but Adam it is. Think his last name is still Beastmen?
No, I suppose it’s not.
Anyway, our boy Adam is a rich lord who lives in a castle. He enjoys a lavish lifestyle as a true one percenter, and likely only sees the common folk when he wants to mock them for being poor. As fate would have it, a poor old woman comes to the door, seeking shelter from the cold. She did not have any various fruits in a basket, so she was a harmless old lady. In fact, all she had was a rose to offer as payment, and those are barely edible at all.
What does the young prince do? He mocks who appearance and kicks her out. This is petty and cruel for no reason. The castle has a thousand rooms. There are probably entire quarters of it the prince has never seen. Who cares if a poor old lady rests up from the cold. Some hero, right?
Then, mocking her appearance? If Adam turned her away from fear of “catching the poor” that would still be bad. Why is he taking shots at what she looks like? She wasn’t trying to marry into the family. This is a bizarre choice, but an important one. This shows that at his core, The Beast is a bastard coated bastard, with bastard filling. Shoutout to Dr Cox.
Unfortunately for the prince, the old woman was actually an enchantress and this was a test of virtue. She also turned out to be attractive, so the prince hastily tried to apologize and probably invite her in for a candlelit dinner with a lot of choreographed singing. . He doesn’t just get rejected, but turned into a beast man, or beastmen if you will. Adam isn’t the only one affected. The enchantress spreads the Beast’s curse throughout the castle. Anyone within its walls morphed into a living object.
I have a couple questions here. How does this spell work exactly? Why did some people turn into furniture, while others become kitchen wave or appliances. I wouldn’t be happy in any situation, but imagine being a dish while Lumiere still gets to walk around the castle? I’d be even more pissed.
One completely indefensible act causes misery for an entire group of people. What an admirable character.
Makes Maurice His Prisoner
There’s no justification for the above scene. However, I do understand that movies require a plot. After this scarring incident, the Beast would learn from his actions and treat all future guests with respect.
Yeah, based on the heading, that’s not what happens.
Maurice is Belle’s eccentric inventor father and accidentally ends up at the Beast’s castle instead of an inventor’s fair**2. This is tough to buy. Maurice is an inventor, which requires wit, ingenuity and intelligence, but he can’t follow simple directions? The guy creates things from scratch but doesn’t carry a map or a compass? There’s probably a reason we don’t list Maurice with the great inventors of our time.
Mainly because he’s a cartoon, but you get the point.
Maurice invents several new directions on the travels before he stumbles into Beast’s castle. After some scary interactions with moving furniture, he comes face to face with the Beast. And to the Beast’s credit, he does provide Maurice shelter. It just happens to be the dungeon of the castle. While taking his captive, Beast roars and screams at everyone, from the inventor, the animated objects, and even the inanimate ones. He’s caught in the same situation but has clearly learned nothing. What if Maurice morphed into a hot enchantress? Think this through Beast!
I suppose, at it’s core, imprisoning Maurice is a technical improvement. Yay growth?
Castle’s aren’t typically near towns, right? Just how far away was the castle from civilization? Beast is at fault for imprisoning the guy, but damn Maurice, you weren’t even close. Maurice gets captured again later in the movie too, proving he is the Princess Peach of the Disney universe.
Treatment of the Castle Residents
Most people don’t like interacting with strangers. Perhaps the Beast was just an awkward shy child and his lashing out is his discomfort around new people. Sure, we can ignore he would have had etiquette training since he’s a fancy, rich ass lord, but let’s go with it. Then how can you justify his treatment of all the people living in the castle? Again, this is your hero?
Up through the first hour of the movie, all the Beast does is scream at everyone. His constantly lashes out at Lumiere and Cogsworth without any remorse. He never says a single nice thing to the people who work for him. The Beast only shows remorse when he stares at the rose. Instead of accepting the blame, he yells at everyone else in the castle. By the way, they live in the castle because they serve the frigging Beast. Way to somehow make it worse, you ignorant oaf.
Why are we supposed to feel sorry about someone getting what he deserves? If anything, the Enchantress went easy on him. She made him bipedal and let him talk. She should have turned into a cow or a cockroach and really made him pay. But I guess nobody would have watched Beauty and the Cockroach. The title song would have been way different.
Really, the castle staff gets a raw deal in this movie. These people’s lives have been altered forever. They did nothing wrong, but now live as appliances and furniture, while the Beast gets to walk and talk around the Castle. I mean, what really changed for him other than he probably has a lot of hair clogs and increased shaving supple cost? He turned an entire group of people into objects.
Honestly, after the first time he yelled, the furniture should have revolted and taken the Beast out. I vote Cogsworth for new prince. Wait, no Darkwing Duck. I’m not taking changes on any Disney votes again.
The Prisoner Swap
Maurice only gets out of castle jail because Belle finds out what happens and volunteers to go in his place. A selfless act from Belle who unlike the Beast, has redeeming character traits. The Beast gets his third chance to not be the biggest asshole in the world. Naturally, he accepts the swap and lets Maurice free to imprison Belle.
The Beast’s plan here is obvious. He’s hoping he can break the spell by having the woman fall in love with him. And sure, he’s a giant Beast who’s done nothing but be an asshole to every character thus far, but he has something nobody else does.
Money. He’s got a ton of money. You can get away with a whole bunch of shit when you have money, and this story proves it. Belle loves books, and the Beast happens to have a multi-millionaire dollar library on site. Not only does money not cause more problems, it even buys happiness in “Beauty and the Beast”. What a lesson for the kids Disney.
The reason most people are fine with Beast’s action is that he supposedly changes throughout the story. He only softens up because Belle is good looking and she kind of has to like him, because of the implication. The Beast actually inspired this Always Sunny Meme. How many free passes can one character get?
The Beast used his position of power to slowly stop being a complete asshole to become a rich, semi asshole. He’s still very bad, but because it’s less bad, everyone considers it growth. Why has nobody complained he used his position of power as captor, to carve out a relationship? This is stuff we should be cancelling and not celebrating. Even worse, the appliance and furniture crew support it, though it’s the only way they get to be human again. Talk about dragging someone down with you. Everyone should be ashamed.
The Beast also got extremely luck with who his captive is; Belle, the story’s true tragic character.
Belle
Unlike the Beast, Belle isn’t a bad person. She is the clear heroine of the story and doesn’t have a mean bone in her body. Belle’s problem is a series of unfortunate circumstances beyond her control. At some point, we’ll get to Gaston. Poor guy. Even in his own article, he’s the third wheel.
Belle’s Relationship with the Town
During Belle’s introduction, the townspeople sing in between the heroine and Gaston’s verses about how weird Belle is. The citizens believe she’s a weirdo, and per the lyrics, it sounds like this is because she reads books. This is an embarrassing reason, especially when you consider there’s no electricity in Belle’s world. What exactly are people doing for fun? Some of these townspeople might watch paint dry and revel in it.
Also, if people are going around singing about you being hot but weird, I’d probably be a bit uncomfortable too. I can’t fully blame Belle for being offput by everyone but the bookstore owner. And let’s be honest, the bookstore owner must be nice to Belle because she’s the only customer in town. Pretty awful job opening his store in an illiterate community.
The towns folk are rude, but it’s still alarming they’re singing together at all. As we’ve seen over the past few years, people can’t agree on anything. Currently, every issue divides people nearly down the middle. It’s bizarre that everyone looks at each other and agrees Belle’s a weirdo. This town is prejudice against brains. I think we found the people who voted for Olaf in Disney Infinity.
Belle’s clearly smarter than the average townsperson (and bear) and has never connected with these simpletons. She dives further into reading, but this means she misses out on building relationships. Even if everyone in town is a smooth brained ignoramus, not having any real friends must take a toll on her. I don’t think this is her fault, but it does explain how the plot progresses. It can’t help that the town now judges her every move. On any given day, she speaks to the bookstore owner, her father, and that’s probably it. Brutal.
This makes Gaston’s misguided wooing attempts even more tragic. The only other person in town portrayed with any personality or significance is far too aggressive in his approach. Imagine being shunned by the town, and then having a half man, half mountain regularly propose to you. That’s pretty off putting.
Gaston’s methods aren’t recommended. The man set up an entire marriage ceremony without Belle’s consent. Belle eviscerates him multiple times in the movie. What Belle needed some a genuine friend and companion. Gaston would only be interested in companionship if he thought the word meant sex. Ironically, this is still closer than the townspeople who believe companionship is a game played between the two best players or teams of a sport or game.
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to do your own thing, but I think Belle is likely lonely. Certain beasts and living household items take advantage of this later on. The furniture crew will do anything to transform back into humans, and try to manipulate a poor, lonely woman.
Stockholm Syndrome
I know I’m not the first person to come up with this theory, but sometimes cliches exist for a reason. Other than a naïve face value interpretation of the film, Belle is suffering through Stockholm Syndrome. And everyone in the castle, save for Chip and the footrest dog are guilty.
After the Beast storms off for like the 80th time in the film, leaving Belle to starve, the castle appliances and furniture feed Belle a gourmet meal. I don’t think she was eating this way back at her house. They also entertain her and give her something she probably hasn’t had in a long time, actual conversation. All of these new experiences encourage her to stay longer. Every character involved in this feast have an ulterior motive. They need her to fall in love with Grumpy McMonster to be freed from the spell.
When the Beast lets Belle leave on his own accord, she is immediately attacked by wolves. The Beast defends Belle, gets wounded and Belle returns to treat him. Afterwards, the Beast acts a bit softer (he’s still an asshole) and then we get a full blown love angle. It’s like they have a snowball fight, and then Belle’s in love. This happens way to fast, even for Disney.
There’s a few angles at play here. Belle, who’s never had connections with the people around her, now has an entire castle full of “people” who interact with her. She sees these people as loyal friends, and they push her toward the Beast, Belle starts going along with it. Honestly, this would be a plot from one of the books she read. Why wouldn’t it make sense to her?
Unfortunately, poor Belle is being taken advantage of. She feels close to her captor, a man clearly abusing the power dynamic to begin a romantic relationship and save himself from his curse. The people around her are pushing for it to happen, because they too will be saved. Belle’s feelings are the only one’s who aren’t factored in. Here, she’s constantly in contact with the Beast. The feelings she develops for him seems tied to both Stockholm Syndrome, and her first time repeatedly interacting with the same person outside of her father.
I can’t stress enough about how everyone in the castle needs this to work for them. That Wolf attack? How do we know it wasn’t staged? I could see the candelabra and that nefarious Mrs Potts creating the attack to force Belle and the Beast closer. Hell, the enchantress turns the prince into a beast. How do we know the wolves aren’t castle guards playing their part?
What I really don’t understand is why Belle is attracted to a Beastmen. To my knowledge, she doesn’t know that he potentially could transform back, nor does she have any clue on what he looked like. Instead, she has a verbally abusive, angry monster she’s making googly eyes too. It doesn’t make sense. And then the townspeople keep calling her weird, but never specify anything beyond reading. It’s bizarre… Unless.
Belle’s Secret
Finally, it all clicks. It never truly made sense how Belle could fall for the Beast so quickly, even when factoring Stockholm Syndrome. But I’ve cracked the code. Belle is a secret furry.
Doesn’t this make so much sense? Why else would the town opening sing about her being so weird? Sure, they might not be intellectuals, but most people celebrate intellect. I don’t think an entire song dissing the poor girl would be based on her being smart. No, there’s something more to it, and I think it’s a not-so-secret interest in the furry community. Hell, she might have invented it, depending on the timeframe of this film.
Wouldn’t this make way more sense? I mean, the poor girl’s two love interests have been Gaston, who she clearly is not interested in, and this angry, screaming beastmen. I can understand passing on Gaston, but it’s not like the Beast’s personality is much better. But when you factor in her secret fantasy, it all makes sense.
Or she’s a gold digger who realized the Beast is loaded and wants the library and the cash. Nah, that’s not nearly as fun. I’m sold on the furry angle. Gaston never stood a chance, even though every inch of him is covered in hair.
Now that we’ve cracked the issues with our two main characters, we can finally get to Gaston and how he’s not a villain. But first, I’d like to spend 1,000 words talking about the dresser and the dark secret the character hides.
Ok, ok, fine, we’ll get to Gaston.
Gaston
To be clear, I’m not arguing that Gaston is a flawed character and a true hero. No, that’s ridiculous. Gaston certainly serves as the antagonist in the story, but that doesn’t make him a full on villain. Over the past 30 years of TV, shows place truly wicked characters as their stars. Tony Soprano and Walter White were both protagonists, and neither one of them could walk into a church without lighting on fire***3. Likewise, Gaston may be the primary antagonist, but he’s not evil. I see him as a fascinating, morally grey character. He’s a unique Disney character and hasn’t eaten a carb since he turned 14.
Just because he’s a cartoon, doesn’t mean he has to be a two-dimensional character.
Ok, he’s literally a two-dimensional character, but you get the point.
Physique
Gaston is most famous for being as big as a barge. The man has muscles on muscles and isn’t shy about showing them off. And for some reason, this is one of his flaws. In the film, Gaston isn’t truly dumb, despite the meme I’ve used twice already. He might be impulsive and stubborn, but he’s not a moron. Granted, the town sets an incredibly low bar for intelligence, but Gaston clears it. Even Belle’s rejections tend more to be about his arrogance than his brain.
Somewhere from the release of the movie to the present Gaston’s personality morphed into a stereotypical dumb jock. Because the man is conventionally attractive and muscular, it must mean that he’s dumb as a post. In Disney’s latest game, Disney Dreamlight Valley, Gaston is the single dumbest character in fiction. This doesn’t make any sense and isn’t accurate to the character. Gaston is meant to be a flawed, overly masculine male. Have him be painfully vain, sure, but he doesn’t have to be an idiot.
I’m also not sure why being physically fit is a bad thing. Shouldn’t we strive to be both sound of mind and body? Getting in shape takes discipline and plenty of motivation. Gaston proves to have this in spades. Impressive physiques should be celebrated, and not vilified. Why can’t we at least give Gaston his props here instead of turning him into a dumb jock?
Plus, he’s got to be popular with the local farmers and ranchers. The man was eating 5 dozen eggs a day. Anyone with chickens was making a killing on the guy. He supports local businesses. How can a man who shops local over conglomerate by evil?
Respect of the Townfolk
Unlike Belle, who never connected with the people in town, Gaston is beloved. Despite his portrayal in recent years as a dimwit, the people look to Gaston for leadership and guidance. As a successful hunter, Gaston gives back to the town, providing meat and other important resources for his hard work. Seems like an important member of the community to me.
When Gaston is depressed over Belle’s rejection, he doesn’t have to face it alone. At his tavern, the community comes to his aid, led by his best friend LeFou, and lift his spirits by reminding him of what a great guy he is. Sure, a villain might have yes men, but would an entire town sing for an irredeemable person?
This will sound dumb, but I think Gaston’s song is important. Every Disney villain gets a song roughly a third of the way through the movie that reveals who they are. Usually they’re dark, aggressive and leave no doubt who the person is. Think about Frollo singing “Hellfire”, or Scar singing “Be Prepared”. Those are villain songs. All that’s missing is a line in each that says “By the way, I’m evil!”.
Gaston’s song has no trace of villainy. Instead, it’s sang by the entire community bragging about his exploits. It’s a vain, self-indulgent song, but it’s not a declaration of evil. You don’t get shivers listening to it, unless you’re really opposed to the spitting reference. In a Covid world, that’s not hygienic.
Finally, toward the end of the movie, when the town finds out the Beast is real, everyone looks to Gaston for advice on what to do. Gaston is willing to lead the charge into the castle to slay the Beast and protect the people. If the story was toward from a different perspective, this would be a heroic declaration, no different than Beowulf taking on Grendel. Instead, we remember it as Gaston’s turn to the dark side.
No Hired Goons
Here’s a quick way to confirm Gaston isn’t an evil character. If you reference the above list, every cited source for villainy uses hired goons to aid them. Before you ask, Olaf definitely paid for those votes. At no point in the money does Gaston have to hire goons to assist him. He either has the town on his side from his charisma, or he does the work himself.
You can mock or dismiss my premise, but this is fact. Hired goons are the villain litmus test and Gaston’s came back negative.
Willing to Die to Protect Belle
Despite all of the rejection and humiliation Gaston receives from Belle, he’s still ready to protect Belle from the Beast.
Now, I know how the movie portrays this scene. Belle proves that the Beast is real via her magic mirror. The town is terrified, but Gaston promises he’ll lead them to vanquish the Beast. Belle begs everyone to stop, but Gaston wants to plow ahead. On paper, this is a villainous act, but I disagree. We have to examine the perspectives.
Remember, Belle is suffering from Stockholm Syndrome, and her love for a beastmen is concerning to say the least. All the town has heard about the Beast at this point is that he kidnapped Maurice, and then kept Belle a prisoner. Maurice himself has ranted about how vicious and evil he is. Gaston is in a tough position here.
I mean, sure, there’s clear jealousy in his actions. Maybe he was put off by Belle’s sudden furry desires. But still, can you blame him or anyone else for going on the offensive against the Beast? Even the audience has only seen small bouts of kindness, and we don’t know if they are genuine, or merely to break his curse. He’s trying to protect himself, Belle, and the entire town from a monster who’s shown he’s capable of furious anger.
He even takes Belle and Maurice to a save place and locks them in to prevent them from being injured. How thoughtful of him!
You may remember a scene where Gaston threatens to throw Maurice in an insane asylum unless he can marry Belle. Again, this is the Mandela Effect at work and it never happened. Or maybe it was a deleted scene. If not, it was certainly taken out of context. I wouldn’t worry about it.****4
And now, to wrap things up and bring this post home. Thank goodness I haven’t glossed over any flaws with Gaston.
Misogyny.
Ah crap.
Ok, ok, let’s talk the elephant in the room I buried on purpose. Gaston’s biggest flaw is that he’s a horrible misogynist. He will never have a chance with Belle because he doesn’t see her mind. When Belle is introduced via song, Gaston blatantly states “She’s the most beautiful girl. That makes her the best.”. He doesn’t care about her as a person. Gaston believes he’s the best because he’s attractive and Belle belongs to him. This is not what anyone should want in a partner.
When Gaston riles up the town to take the offensive on the Beast, the main motivation is jealousy. He cannot believe Belle would choose someone over him, especially somehow who doesn’t appear human. It’s a huge blow to his ego. But, I think it’s flawed to believe that jealousy is the sole reason he comes to this conclusion. I do think we have to consider everything from the previous section. There is actual, perceived danger.
Gaston isn’t meant to be a good guy. He’s a selfish, vain asshole who thinks his God’s gift to women. But unlike the typical Disney villain, he’s not a complete evil psychopath. He does care about his reputation in town, he is an active member of the community and he’s truly human. His actions are flawed and self-serving, but there’s more into these decisions than just that. Tragically, had Gaston sat on this, and not acted right away, things could have been different.
Imagine an arc where Gaston steps away, crushed by Belle confessing his love for another and then realizes his own error in his ways. He learns that women don’t exist to swoon over his muscles and grows as a character. Instead of being a misogynist piece of shit, he could have had a complete arc. This is what prevents him from being a true villain.
Not to mention the lack of hired goons.
Do you think Maleficent could apologize and end her blood feud over missing out on a Christening? Would Scar have let his desire for the throne stop if Mufasa sat him down and said he’s unfit to serve? Could Olaf ever step ahead and let legendary crimefighting ducks back into the limelight? No of course not. These characters are unquestionably evil and irredeemable. They meditate on their heinous acts and revel in them.
Especially Olaf.
Are Gaston’s actions in the last third of the film bad? Yes, without question. But the difference is he reacts to the situation and acts impulsively as opposed to scheme on a grander scale. All his misdeeds are immediate reactions. Does this make him a good guy? No. But I don’t think it makes him evil. He’s an asshole antagonist, but there’s still good somewhere in him. Probably in a bicep or trap.
The ending
Yes, I do have some thoughts here too. Gaston attacks the Beast with a few cheap shots as the Beast isn’t willing to defend himself. He has the upper hand for a bit, but ultimately with the help of Belle’s return, the Beast gets his resolve and wins the fight. Gaston ends up falling to his death because Disney likes a cliché. Speaking of cliches, Belle kisses the Beast just as the last pedal of the rose falls. True love’s kiss once again saves the day and everyone returns to their human form, including the Beast. Great. Disney Friendship Bullshit (TM) saves the day again.
Here’s my problem with the ending. The Beast acts like an asshole throughout the film. The only redemption we see is him being passably nice to Belle and having one not awful date with her. Then, because Belle fell in love with him after being manipulated and gaslit by talking furniture, every bad thing the Beast did is ok? Sure, he had to suffer being a beastmen, but what about every single person in the castle that lost years in their lives because of him. They’re just cool and don’t want any vengeance?
You know there’s a sizeable chunk that pulled for Gaston in that fight. My man Cogsworth was leading that charge.
Gaston was a foil to the Beast. Both were vain, self-obsessed assholes who thought they could do no wrong. They only difference between the two is the Beast had an entire castle worth of people who worked for him. Belle couldn’t stand Gaston but fell for the Beast because everyone pushed the two together. Plus, let’s be honest, standard furniture were more intelligence than the towns people, let alone the enchanted ones.
Oh you know what also plays a factor here? The Beast was filthy frigging rich. He didn’t need to redeem for his sins because he has money. When the story ends, Adam gets to go back to living his life as though nothing happened, now with Belle, and the entirety of the castle stay on. He doesn’t learn a damn thing. The lesson here isn’t that Gaston was a good guy. No, it’s that the Beast is Gaston with infinite cash and resources, but we’re supposed to root for him because Belle falls for him as a prisoner.
You know who else loses in this story? Belle! With the Beast transformed back into Adam, she no longer gets to live out her furry fantasy. How soon after the credits roll does she act if the Beast can change back. I say 12 hours tops.
In Conclusion
Beauty and the Beast only has three innocent characters in the story – Belle, Chip and the footrest dog. While no one else is a true villain, every character is flawed, and Gaston and the Beast are equal douchebags. Don’t think I’m letting the appliances off the hook either. Lumiere would be cancelled immediately for his inappropriate behavior. Even Mrs. Potts was guilty of tax evasion two years after the film. These are flawed characters.
Originally, when I thought of this idea, I wanted to paint Gaston as a hero. But that’s not an accurate portrait. Gaston is a deeply flawed character who’s certainly not heroic, but he’s also not a mustache twirling super villain either. He’s just a dick. What makes Gaston interesting is he’s a realistic character. Most people have met or know a Gaston in real life. That makes him unique, interesting, and a little scary. We don’t call Gastons evil in real life – we call them assholes, jerks and douchebags. Those are more fitting titles. These aren’t admirable people, but they aren’t irredeemable. Plus, let’s give them credit for sculpting a killer bod.
Killer was a poor choice of words. In real life, the Gaston personality isn’t going to hunt a real beastmen. While there are real life parallels, at some point, we need to accept this is a cartoon. Most real world Gastons would just be chauvinists who get shunned appropriately.
I know some won’t agree with my Gaston argument. If I haven’t convinced you with all these words, I’m not sure what else I can say. And honestly, bravo for spite reading at this point. But, if you won’t accept my Gaston belief, I ask you to please consider the following two ideas.
1). The Beast is kind of an asshole at the story’s end too. He only pulls it off because Belle has unique tastes, an innocent mind, and he’s loaded. As always, money sets the wealthy free.
2). Anyone who voted for Olaf over Darkwing Duck is significantly worse than 100 Gastons. Please write to your local congressperson or senator to reverse this decision. I’ll take a life full of Gastons, or Beasts over an Olaf voter.
