This! Beauty and the Beast is undoubtedly my favorite Disney movie, and Belle my favorite princess. One thing that makes me a little upset about the OUAT version of Belle is that they pretty much have free reign over the Disney incarnations and one of the best parts about Disney’s Belle is her ability to stand up to the Beast and put him…and pretty much anyone else in their place. She was incredibly supportive and loving but knew when “tough love” was necessary. OUAT’s Belle tends to lack that – she shows her unending support and holds her own against Rumple but it’s more….maybe passive aggressive? For lack of a better word? And she has an insane ability to forgive and forget. Which is why I think we haven’t, and won’t see OUAT Belle say anything to Regina and Hook. Or anyone else who does her wrong. She focuses on forgiving and forgetting – an endearing and equally frustrating quality.
And I think that’s why Belle does receive quite a bit of hate from the fandom. The writers do let her past just roll over her. If she was allowed to show more backbone, like she did at the end of Skin Deep marching back into the cell and giving Rumple a talking to, maybe people (outside of Belle’s fans and Rumbellers) would like her more.
One thing that irritated me (a lot) was in 307, they have Belle mourning and in deep sadness, unable to eat. And while I know WHY and it was sad and I wanted to hug her: it’s untrue to her character. She would be running that joint. She knows she’ll see Rumple again and that he loves her. She would be sad but she’d also be the girl declaring that everyone would be home soon so get the town in order. I wish they had let her do that.