I ... didn't even think of the parallel to Shrek and Fiona. That's spot on. Shrek came out much later, though, and was aimed (arguably) at an older audience, so maybe circumstances were different enough that they felt they didn't have to go the moral guardian approved route and make everyone a nice, cleanly drawn human in the end.
(I think even the original animators weren't that keen on turning Beast back to "normal." Look how bland his human form is. Even when the other princes aren't drawn with complexity, they've got personality in their bearing. Look at Eric. Beast's human form is just sort of there. The creators didn't even give him a name because *they forgot.* I remember actually reading that somewhere.)
I love House of Mouse for many reasons, and one of them is that it feels like the elseworld/Restaurant at the End of the Universe where the writers can do what they wanted to do to begin with, with the arbitrary constraints imposed by executive meddling removed.
Sometimes this is played for laughs, like Gaston being around and creating the "No one does X like Gaston!" meme with the creepy stalker/would-be rapist/ax crazy murderer elements of his personality removed--which is probably something that was done deliberately to him in-universe so he wouldn't get himself killed going after Beast and Belle again.
Sometimes it's played at least semi-seriously, and presents a different take than what a character's home canon provided. Max and Roxanne from "A Goofy Movie" are still together in House of Mouse, for instance, with no indication they're gonna break up anytime soon like they did before "An Extremely Goofy Movie."
Since I'm a major Max/Roxanne shipper and read all sorts of complex and over-thought details into their relationship, that pleases me.
It doesn't make sense for Belle and Beast to be at the House of Mouse during "Beauty and the Beast." Beast is certainly too friendly and upbeat for that to be the case anyway. So I always assumed they were from some alternate universe where he didn't change back, or got changed again.
Also: as beautiful as the artwork is during the dance scene, I always thought Belle was prettier and more striking when she was dressed as a commoner, especially when shown on-screen with Beast. She didn't look real when she was dressed up. It was like a fairy-tale within a fairy-tale. Not every love story needs a princess. To quote another fanfic, they're perfectly imperfect together, just as they are.
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(I think even the original animators weren't that keen on turning Beast back to "normal." Look how bland his human form is. Even when the other princes aren't drawn with complexity, they've got personality in their bearing. Look at Eric. Beast's human form is just sort of there. The creators didn't even give him a name because *they forgot.* I remember actually reading that somewhere.)
I love House of Mouse for many reasons, and one of them is that it feels like the elseworld/Restaurant at the End of the Universe where the writers can do what they wanted to do to begin with, with the arbitrary constraints imposed by executive meddling removed.
Sometimes this is played for laughs, like Gaston being around and creating the "No one does X like Gaston!" meme with the creepy stalker/would-be rapist/ax crazy murderer elements of his personality removed--which is probably something that was done deliberately to him in-universe so he wouldn't get himself killed going after Beast and Belle again.
Sometimes it's played at least semi-seriously, and presents a different take than what a character's home canon provided. Max and Roxanne from "A Goofy Movie" are still together in House of Mouse, for instance, with no indication they're gonna break up anytime soon like they did before "An Extremely Goofy Movie."
Since I'm a major Max/Roxanne shipper and read all sorts of complex and over-thought details into their relationship, that pleases me.
It doesn't make sense for Belle and Beast to be at the House of Mouse during "Beauty and the Beast." Beast is certainly too friendly and upbeat for that to be the case anyway. So I always assumed they were from some alternate universe where he didn't change back, or got changed again.
Also: as beautiful as the artwork is during the dance scene, I always thought Belle was prettier and more striking when she was dressed as a commoner, especially when shown on-screen with Beast. She didn't look real when she was dressed up. It was like a fairy-tale within a fairy-tale. Not every love story needs a princess. To quote another fanfic, they're perfectly imperfect together, just as they are.