Editing Belle

{{Youmay|the princess of Beast's Castle, also known as "Beauty"|[[Aurora|the princess of Enchanted Dominion, also known as "Sleeping Beauty"]]}}

{{Character

|journalUX='''Belle'''<br>Beauty and the Beast (1991)<br>A young woman who saw kindness behind the Beast's gruff exterior.<br><br>'''Illustrated Belle & Beast'''<br>Beauty and the Beast (1991)<br>A spoiled prince who was turned into a beast and a young woman who sees his kind nature.<br><br>'''Prince & Belle'''<br>Beauty and the Beast (1991)<br>Belle's love broke the spell on the Beast and turned him back into a human.

'''Belle''' is one of the [[Princesses of Heart]] who appeared in ''{{c|Kingdom Hearts|game}}'', ''[[Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories]]'', ''[[Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days]]'', and ''[[Kingdom Hearts II]]''. She is originally from the Disney animated film ''{{w|Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)|Beauty and the Beast}}''.

When [[Sora]] is in his [[Dive to the Heart]], he sees a stained-glass likeness of her depicted on top of a yellow-colored pillar. She is asleep, with the Beast standing awake behind her.

Belle has been living somewhat happily at the [[Beast's Castle]], becoming closer to the Beast everyday, despite his hideous form and uneven temperament. One day, however, Belle is kidnapped by [[Maleficent]] as part of the plot to obtain [[Kingdom Hearts]]. The [[Heartless]] consume her [[world]], causing all of its enchanted inhabitants to disappear into [[darkness]]. The Beast manages to survive the destruction of his world and pursues Belle, using a [[Corridor of Darkness|Corridors of Darkness]] to reach her at [[Hollow Bastion]].

Maleficent puts Belle into an enchanted sleep and places her in an upstanding glass case alongside the other Princesses of Heart in the Great Hall of the castle. She then uses all of the Princesses' [[heart]]s to open the [[Final Keyhole]]. At the same time, the Beast witnesses a vision of Belle transforming into a Heartless, although this is not what actually occurred, as the princesses lack darkness in their hearts, and cannot become Heartless.

Belle's heart is later restored by the bravery of Sora, and she is released from her captivity. She separates from her fellow princesses and, due to her passion for books, goes to Hollow Bastion's library in search of ways to stop the darkness. Happily reunited with the Beast at last, she explains as best she could to Sora what has occurred in Hollow Bastion during his brief departure, and then gives him the [[Divine Rose]] [[Keychain]]. When Sora finally seals Kingdom Hearts, Belle and the Beast return home together after their world is restored.

Maleficent later reveals to the Beast, Sora, Donald, and Goofy that Belle had been purposefully shunning the Beast in an attempt to prevent herself from exposing his heart for Maleficent to use for dark magic. After Sora defeats Maleficent, Belle is returned to her physical state with her heart intact. She quickly apologizes for her actions, and the Beast forgives her, knowing that they were not her true feelings.

A year after Sora seals the Door to Darkness, Belle and the Beast attempt to return to their normal lives at the Beast's Castle. However, the peace is soon disrupted by Xaldin. Xaldin begins playing on the Beast's anger, attempting to enrage him to the point that his heart would be drenched in darkness, thus spawning an extremely powerful Heartless and [[Nobody]] variation of the Beast for the Organization to use. In an attempt to keep them safe, the Beast forces the majority of his servants into the castle's dungeon. Belle, not knowing what to do and fearing the Beast's sudden surge of rage, hides in her room in fear. She is overjoyed when Sora, Donald and Goofy happen to drop by, to the point that she pulls Donald into a hug.

Belle retreats to her room in despair, eventually going out to the balcony to mull things over. When she later spots the Beast, Sora, Goofy, and Donald emerging into the castle courtyard, she heads back inside, but then spots the rose sitting near the door. Happily showing off the rose to her companions below, she soon realizes the whole thing was a setup as Xaldin grabs her from behind and flies her to the bridge outside the Beast's Castle. As Xaldin offers the Beast a choice between Belle or the rose, Belle elbows the Organization XIII member hard in the stomach and, smiling to herself, runs back to the castle clutching the rose in its bell jar.

 

Once the Beast and Sora defeat Xaldin, Belle gladly returns the rose to the Beast. He then nervously asks her to stay with him in his castle, to which she happily agrees, and they dance.

After Sora and Riku return to Destiny Islands, Belle dances with the Beast, who has transformed back into a human.

In ''Kingdom Hearts'' and ''Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories'', Belle only appears in her yellow ball gown, which is her famous attire that she wore during her dance with the Beast in the film. When in this dress, Belle styles her hair slightly differently, pulling it further up on her head.

In ''Kingdom Hearts II'', she wears her common clothes most of the time. Belle lets her hair down, but ties it back with a blue bow that matches her dress. She also wears a white shirt, a white apron and black shoes. She can often be spotted with a book in hand. Her everyday look was inspired by Julie Andrews' appearance in ''The Sound of Music''.

Belle is a strong-willed and independent woman. This independent nature, drawing close to rebelliousness, is her defining trait. It is also prone to lead her into trouble, such as being captured upon confronting Xaldin. Belle has an innate sense of caring and compassion, constantly holding the well-being of others over herself. It is this genuine compassion which leads to her falling in love with the Beast. Belle also has a great affinity for books, which allows her to soak up knowledge quickly.

Belle first appears in Walt Disney's film {{w|Beauty and the Beast(1991 film)|''Beauty and the Beast''}}. Belle's character has appeared in various incarnations of the ''Beauty and the Beast'' story throughout history, but her Disney counterpart is mainly based on the character of Beauty in Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont's ''La Belle et la Bête'', which was published in 1756.

In the film, she gives up her freedom to the Beast so that he will release her father, Maurice. Initially, things are bleak between Belle and the Beast, although the servants, particularly [[Lumière]], attempt to make her feel at home. Belle and the Beast begin to develop a friendship after the Beast saves her from a pack of wolves in the woods outside the castle, and eventually they fall in love, but Belle briefly leaves to find Maurice, who was searching for her. When Gaston, a rival suitor, orders an attack on the castle to kill the Beast (out of jealousy), Belle rushes to save her love and at the crucial moment, chooses to save the Beast rather than Gaston, who falls to his death. Belle's love for the Beast transforms him back into the Prince and they hold a ball to celebrate.