Is Gaston the hero of ‘Beauty and the Beast’? Understand the theory

Becoming part of the animation catalog of Disney in 1991, ‘Beauty and the Beast’ is an adapted version, directed by filmmakers Gary Trousdale It is Kirk Wisefrom the book of the same name written by the French author Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumontreleased in the mid-1700s.

The plot presents the story of Bela, a young dreamer passionate about reading who, to ensure her father’s safety, ends up trapped in a castle where lives a fearsome Beast who was the victim of a spell and needs to find true and reciprocal love to return. to be a prince.

Still, what many may not know is that the Mickey Mouse movie went through some changes in relation to the original plot, one of which was the addition of the villain Gaston, who, in the animation, is an extremely handsome and desired hunter, but who wants, at any cost, Bela’s love, even if she has no interest in him.

As much as Gaston has macho, sexist, selfish, and narcissistic attitudes during the 1h24 duration of the film, one theory states that he is not an antagonist who only has bad attitudes, in fact, he could even be considered a hero.

Is Gaston the hero of ‘Beauty and the Beast’?

The point of view emerged on Reddit (via ScreenRant), where a user highlighted Gaston’s pursuit of the Beast as the villain’s heroic moment.

For those who don’t remember, upon discovering that Belle was imprisoned with the Beast, Gaston takes the inhabitants of the small village to the castle with the intention of ending the Beast’s life and rescuing his beloved. However, in the fight on the roof of the palace, Gaston loses his balance and falls, thus meeting his end.

At this moment, Gaston’s attitude is not guided by villainy, even though the way he tried to deal with the situation was not the most correct, the theory states. This is because Gaston had no knowledge of what Bela knew, that is, he had no idea that the Beast, in fact, was a good man who was the victim of a curse, so his only intention at that moment was to save Bela and all residents of the village.

“Honestly, I think if there’s one Disney villain who was right, it’s Gaston. Yes, he was a bit of an asshole, but he was actually trying to do the right thing. The guy is full of himself, for sure. But he realizes that the girl he has always been in love with is being held captive by a monster with magical powers. This monster has placed the girl and her father under a magical spell, and now it is time for him to save the city and the girl he loves.” , says user starcoder on Reddit.