Beauty and the Beast 2 is a 2021 American 3D computer-animated musical fantasy film produced by DisneyToon Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The theatrical version of the film was released in the United States on November 22, 2021, notably 30 years after the original release of the first film. Beauty and the Beast 2 follows 11-year-old Prince Leo, the son of King Adam and Queen Belle, who ventures off with the circus to find the Enchantress after being born as a beast.
Walt Disney Pictures has adapted their original 1991 picture a number of times with examples such as Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas and, more recently, a 2017 remake with the same name. This, however, was advertised as a true sequel to the original. The film was initially produced as a direct-to-video film, but was soon changed for a theatrical release, similar to the movie Planes, which was made by the same company. Most of the criticism for this film was for its use of CGI animation rather than traditional animation like the original.
Plot[]
The film opens with the mural from the ending of the previous movie, along with narration on the past events. Adam- who was formally the Beast- is now the king alongside his wife, Belle, who is soon to have a child. During a business conference with a young foreign leader, Adam, with the help of his royal advisor Quenivere, is about to sign an important trading agreement when Lumiere and Cogsworth, his servants, rush in to tell him Belle is in labor. Adam immediately leaves the scene, angering Quenivere.
The whole kingdom celebrates to the news of the prince being born as King Adam arrives to the castle. After assuring the crowd that they will see the child, he enters the castle to find all the nurses terrified. Adam finds Belle, who is holding the baby warmly. She gives the child to Adam, who soon learns the devastating truth: Their son is a beast. He runs off to another room angrily and starts sobbing in private as the crowd is told they will not see the child.
11 years later, Prince Napoleon, Leo for short, is happily living in the castle as a small beast, being homeschooled by his mother and playing pranks on the servants. King Adam forbids anyone from telling his son that he is a monster and keeps Leo confined in the castle his entire life, in fear of what the people of the kingdom will do to him, knowing what they thought of him as a beast before. Adam, however, soon becomes worried that Leo will not be able to inherit the throne without outside interaction, and, after convincing from Belle, decides to send his son to school.
After having a talk with Leo about how people see each other differently, Adam sends his son to the nearest elementary school, along with many servants, including Lumiere and Cogsworth. The people of the town are all baffled by the small beast, as the teachers of the school treat him nicely. During lunch, Leo escapes from the servants to go play in the forest, where he then runs into older kids, who begin to make fun of him and treat him like a dog. The bullies then tell Leo that he is a monster, who is shocked and confused by the situation.
Later that day, Leo confronts his Dad on how the kids treated him, and asks why there is no one like him like he thought there would be. Adam solemnly explains the events prior to Leo's birth, including the Enchantress that turned Adam into a beast for being corrupt and selfish. Leo then asks if he really is a monster, where Adam replies that he is not; he is his son.
With Adam still worried about Leo's inability to be a future king, Quenivere comes up with the idea that, due to Leo's love for the forest and the fact that he is a beast, they could sign him up for the Boy Scouts, where he could learn to be a leader. Adam agrees to this and Quenivere, along with his guardsmen, takes Leo to the Boy Scout Wildlife Headquarters.
There, Leo realizes the kids that picked on him back in the forest were actually Boy Scouts and are his roommates. Although with their constant belittlement, the small beast proves them wrong and collects many of the badges, earning him up in the ranks of leadership. One night, however, the bullies begin to physically push Leo on the forest ground and pretend their capturing a wild animal; tying him up and putting a muzzle over his face. Leo cracks and becomes a rage-filled beast, roaring at the kids, who become terrified.
Quenivere, seeing this as a perfect opportunity, tells the guardsmen to go kill Leo- which was his original intent with the Boy Scout idea- and say they believed it was a bear to King Adam afterwards. The guardsmen chase after Leo, who ends up losing them only to run into Quenivere, who proceeds to throw Leo off a cliff. Quenivere returns to Adam, where he lies, saying that Leo ran off on his own and never came back, presumably dead. Belle and the servants are devastated as Adam immediately creates a search party for his son.
Leo survived the fall, however, and wonders through the woods until he is caught in a trap. Two hillbilly hunters show up, who plan on eating the beast for supper, even though Leo can talk. Leo is placed on the back of a raggedy horse carriage as the two hunters decide to take a detour to go see the nearby travelling circus. Once there, Leo escapes and finds refuge in the circus, where he meets a clown named LeFou.
Meanwhile, as Adam continues the search party, Quenivere is left in charge, where he begins to hold secret meetings with foreign leaders. Quenivere tells them that, now that the heir to the throne is dead and there is a plan to assassinate Adam, Quenivere will soon be king and will be able to sell the kingdom, and its people, to the highest bidder.
Leo meets the group of circus performers, all who have been called freaks and monsters by the public, making the small beast feel welcomed. The ringmaster, Mr. Benedict, does an agreement with Leo that, if he joins his show, then the ringmaster must bring him to the Enchantress- who he supposedly knows- to be able to change into a normal kid.
During one of Adam's search parties, he loses his temper, which causes him to fall into a chasm where no one can reach and save him. King Adam attempts to escape, but is unable to do so. Later, Leo becomes a massive hit and a star across the people of the kingdom, earning Mr. Benedict money and fame with Leo's main performance involving a trampoline. Leo gains a strong friendship with the freaks of the circus, like LeFou and a three-eyed trapeze artist named Oeil, and even the animals, who he relates to; being stuck in a cage.
During an argument between Quenivere and Belle, they both learn that Adam has fell into a chasm, where Quenivere explains that he will immediately send someone to go save him. Then, news reaches the castle that Leo is still alive and is in the circus. Belle and the servants rejoice as Quenivere is astonished and angry, but then he comes up with a plan to fix this.
A representative of Quenivere is sent to Mr. Benedict's circus where he is given a large sum of money to perform in front of the castle. Leo disagrees with this, explaining how he is trying to get away from there, where Mr. Benedict tells him it would benefit the entire group to go. Leo then argues that he is suppose to be taken to the Enchantress, where then Mr. Benedict tells him that he does not actually know her and only said that to get Leo in the show. Leo then leaves the circus and runs off on his own. Oeil meets up with Leo, where she tells him that he is not normal, but, in fact, extraordinary. The circus leaves to the castle without Leo.
Back in the chasm, King Adam is still left alone where he begins to hallucinate, seeing himself as the beast, scaring Belle and his son. But then, deeper in the chasm, Adam finds the Enchantress, who Adam asks why she made his son into a beast. She answers that he is not a beast, but a kid, so he is really not that different at all. As Adam continues questioning her, the Enchantress turns out to be a hallucination and is actually a man with a mask on holding a sword; an assassin. Adam snaps back into his senses and duels the assassin. The mask comes off to reveal the young foreign leader from the beginning of the film, who tells him that Quenivere promised him a portion of the kingdom for Adam's head. The assassin gets knocked out by a rock during the fight and, with his new found will, Adam carries the young leader out of the chasm and heads back to the castle.
As the circus is rolling in, Belle and the servants are excited to see Leo, but Quenivere suddenly decides to lock them up in the dungeon to keep them from interfering with his plans, where Belle learns his true nature. Mr. Benedict and the group are about to begin when Leo arrives to the scene, who decided to come back to support his friends. They all rejoice and start the show. Quenivere watches from the top of the bleachers, and during Leo's big moment with the trampoline in the show, he sees Quenivere in the crowd and freezes. He runs off to backstage as Quenivere orders his guardsmen after him. They chase him until they run into the freaks of the circus, who take them down in their own unique ways.
The show continues until Adam barges in, demanding for Quenivere. Adam quickly chases after Quenivere, ultimately destroying the circus in the process. Quenivere nearly escapes by using the trapeze, but is stopped by Oeil and thrown to the ground. As Adam stands over Quenivere growling, the crowd watches in fear. Quenivere accuses Adam of still being a beast. Leo runs out and Adam is shocked and immediately hugs his son. Quenivere then uses this to win over the crowd by saying their royal family are just wild animals.
Leo then does a speech where he says how he is not a wild animal, but a person, just like everyone else, because it does not matter what's on the surface; beauty lies within. As the circus group cheers for Leo, prompting the entire crowd to also clap, Quenivere quickly escapes and runs to the castle. Adam and Leo see this and chase after him, along with the circus freaks. The two begin climbing up the side of the castle like beasts until they corner Quenivere. As a last resort, Quenivere grabs a torch from the wall and sets a nearby window curtain on fire. Adam questions Quenivere why he did that, and Quenivere's response is that beauty lies within. Adam realizes he is talking about Belle.
The group searches for Belle and the servants until eventually finding them in the dungeon. They are freed, but the fire has engulfed the entire castle at that point. Leo comes up with a plan, becoming a leader, and uses the circus freaks different abilities to escape. They all end up on the top of one of the castle pillars as the fire completely engulfs the structure. They meet up with Quenivere, who is about to fight back only to be confronted by the young foreign leader, who is holding the sword up to Quenivere. With no other options, Quenivere tries to swing the wing of an angel statue to hit the foreign leader only to trip and fall off the castle pillar. Leo runs in and grabs Quenivere and pulls him up. Mr. Benedict brings out Leo's trampoline and they use it in order to jump off the pillar.
The fire is put out by a sudden rush of rain, causing Leo to shake off the water like a dog under the circus tent. Everyone laughs and cheers as Leo is reunited with his parents. The next day, using the money Quenivere gave him, Mr. Benedict is able to fix the circus Adam destroyed earlier. Although the circus freaks want Leo to stay with them, the small beast decides to stay with his family and the circus says goodbye with one more show. The movie ends with a window mural of Leo with his parents.
Cast[]
Napoleon/Leo - A sheltered 11-year-old prince, born as a beast, who wants to become a normal kid. He is the main protagonist.
King Adam/Beast - The father of Leo with anger management issues that wants his son to be a successful heir to the throne.
Belle - The queen and mother of Leo who homeschools her son and wants Leo to fit in with society.
Quenivere - The royal advisor of the throne that plans to take control of it by any means necessary.
Oeil - A three-eyed trapeze artist at the circus who befriends Leo because both of their striking appearances.
Mr. Benedict - The ringmaster of the circus who convinces Leo to join by saying he knows the Enchantress.
LaFou - A clown who got the gig for his slapstick humor of getting punched in the face. He is the first person Leo meets in the circus.
Lumiere - A servant to King Adam, he is a slick valet that teaches Leo about l'amour.
Cogsworth - Another servant to King Adam, he is a strict majordomo that teaches Leo about following rules.
Mrs. Potts - Another servant to King Adam, she is humble old lady who teaches Leo about proper etiquette.
Chip - The son of Mrs. Potts who follows Leo while pulling pranks on the servants.
Young Foreign Leader/Assassin - He is hired by Quenivere to assassinate King Adam in return for a portion of the kingdom's wealth.
Extra - The Circus Freaks, The Foreign Leaders, The Bullies, The Boy Scouts, The Hillbilly Hunters.
Soundtrack[]
[Still in development]
Transcript[]
[Still in development]
Trivia[]
[Still in development]