Belle: Difference between revisions

'''Belle''' is one of the [[Princesses of Heart]] who appeared in [[Kingdom Hearts (game)|''Kingdom Hearts'']], ''[[Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories]]'', ''[[Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days]]'', and ''[[Kingdom Hearts II]]''. She is originally from the Disney animated film [[wikipedia:Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)|''Beauty and the Beast'']] (1991). For ''Kingdom Hearts'', she spoke using dialogue boxes, but in ''Kingdom Hearts II'' her role was greatly expanded and she was voiced by her original voice actress, [[Wikipedia:Paige O'Hara|Paige O'Hara]].

''Beauty and the Best (1991)''

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]]. But the Beast manages to survive the destruction of his world and pursues Belle, using [[Corridor of Darkness|Corridors of Darkness]] to reach her at [[Hollow Bastion]].

Belle's heart is later restored by the bravery of [[Sora]], and she is released from her enchantment. 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 Sora restores the worlds taken by the Heartless, Belle and the Beast return to Beast's Castle safe and sound and are trying to forget everything that happened. However, the Heartless keep appearing, to the Beast's annoyance and anger. When [[Xaldin]] from [[Organization XIII]] takes interest in the Beast's heart, their peaceful days are troubled. Xaldin begins to investigate the world and its residents, formulating plans to be carried out at a later time.

A year after Sora seals the Door to Darkness, Belle and the Beast attempt to return back to their normal lives at the Beast's Castle. However, the peace is soon disrupted by [[Organization XIII]] member [[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.

Once Sora freed the servants from the dungeon and utilized their aid to make the Beast calm down, the Beast realizes he had been rude to Belle in his blind rage. Hoping to apologize, he heads off with Sora to find her, only to hear her muffled voice in the castle's ballroom. Belle has taken it upon herself to confront Xaldin on her own, warning him to leave the Beast alone. Xaldin uses his influence of the darkness to set a [[Shadow Stalker]] on Belle. She manages to evade it, escaping to the ballroom's balcony. After the creature was defeated, the Beast apologizes to Belle, who accepts his kind words but reprimands him for not trusting her.

When Sora and the others visit Hollow Bastion for the third time, her name is found out to be part of a password to access the [[DTD]]'s dataspace, along with the other princesses.

Belle manages to set herself apart from the members of the village which she lives in. The citizens of the village find Belle to be very strange, as she reads at an astonishing rate. Belle also has plans to be in control of her own future, and hopes for an adventure outside of her provincial life. Belle has been known to be easily frightened, but she often overcomes her fears and usually manages to be quite brave, even in the most dangerous situations. She is also known for being somewhat outspoken and occasionally allowing her curiosity to get the best of her.

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 her common clothes, which she wears for the majority of ''Kingdom Hearts II'', 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''.

*Her main power is to use her heart to open the [[Final Keyhole]] to [[Kingdom Hearts]], which can only be opened when she is gathered with the other six princesses.

Belle's appearance in the ''Kingdom Hearts'' franchise is based directly upon her appearance in Walt Disney's Academy Award winning film, ''Beauty and the Beast'' (1991). 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, much like in the game, she gives up her freedom to the Beast in exchange for her father's release. Initially, things are bleak between Belle and the Beast, although the servants, particularly Lumiere, attempt to make her feel at home.