Beauty and the Beast Christmas Special Has a Wild Villain No One Talks About

While Beauty and the BeastChristmas spin-off Belle's Enchanted Christmas Not as famous as its theatrically released predecessor, the interquel offers the franchise's best villain in the form of Tim Curry's Forte. Not every Disney princess movie has a great villain, and this can occasionally detract from the viewing experience upon rewatch. Frozen is a modern classic, but it's difficult to understand exactly why the duplicitous Prince Hans would reveal his nefarious plan to Anna when he did, unless he expected to be caught. Likewise, although Beauty and the BeastGaston is an iconic villain, he has a problem.

Gaston is the perfect embodiment of small-town prejudice, but this means he spends most of the film separated from Beauty and the Beast. The characters only cross paths Beauty and the Beastending, meaning their rivalry isn't as effective as it could have been if they shared more scenes together earlier in the story. Happily, Beauty and the BeastChristmas spin-off, Belle's Enchanted Christmaspresents an unforgettable villain who improves this problem, illuminating the Beast's darker side while fleshing out Belle's story. His story still takes place during the events of Beauty and the Beast.

Beauty and the Beast Villain Tim Curry, Explained

Forte was the composer of the beast before it was transformed into an organ

A rare interquel, Belle's Enchanted Christmas happens during Beauty and the Beast and explores how the film's heroine won over her eponymous antihero during a magical holiday season. Belle's Enchanted Christmas includes classic songs like 'Stories' and 'As Long As There's Christmas', both of which rival anything from the classic Disney Renaissance original film. However, he is the villain Belle's Enchanted Christmas who really makes the interquel stand out. Played with typical Tim Curry exaggerated self-confidence, Forte was the prince's composer during his lifetime. Cursed along with the rest of the castle staff, he became a living pipe organ.

Unlike most of the castle's inhabitants, who want Belle to return them to human form, Forte is the only one to prefer his non-human form. Strong tragically believes he is more useful to the Beast this way and thinks that Belle opening the Beast's heart will only hurt his cause. Determined to convince the Beast that Belle is trying to come between them, Forte even tries to trick Belle into drowning in a frozen lake with the help of his accomplice, Piccolo. Played by Paul Reubens, Piccolo is the comedic henchman to Curry's chilling villain.

A threat gives Belle's enchanted Christmas a wild dramatic core

The Beauty and the Beast Interquel Has Surprisingly High Stakes

The whole story of Belle's Enchanted Christmas is hidden in a montage during Beauty and the Beastand it's hard not to notice how little screen time the duo's chemistry gets after watching the spinoff. Disney's Belle develops the character a bit in the original film, but Belle's Enchanted Christmas has much more time to delve into her character and her relationship with the Beast. Belle's irrepressible optimism and her determination to reach the Beast through fiction explain how the icy, isolated antihero finally thawed, put an end to his meditations, and fell in love with her.

Meanwhile, this storyline drives Forte's villainous plot to keep the duo apart. According to Forte's logic, the Beast needs to remain a beast in order not to leave the castle and abandon his pipe organ. Forte has become convinced that life as an instrument has more meaning than his human existence ever did, and he is willing to kill Belle if it is the only way to maintain the modicum of power he wields over the Beast's life. Strong spend Belle's Enchanted Christmas trying to convince the Beast that Belle really doesn't want to be with him.

Why Tim Curry's Villain Isn't in Beauty and the Beast

The villain Curry Strong died in the middle of the Beauty and the Beast story

This explains why the Beast was so paranoid about betrayal in the original film and adds a layer of emotion to the film. Beauty and the Beast as he reveals that his thoughts have been consistently poisoned by a false friend. Disney success Beauty and the Beast did not include any of this context, making Belle's Enchanted Christmas a stellar addition to the franchise. The original film also didn't include any mention of Forte or Curry's villain appearance, but that makes sense thanks to the ending of Belle's Enchanted Christmas.

When Forte's plan to kill Belle fails, the pipe organ attempts to use its music to kill Belle and the Beast, crushing them into the rubble of the ruined palace. However, the organ only manages to destroy itself, collapsing into a screeching mess during the spinoff's dramatic finale. Since this entire storyline apparently occurred during the montage in which the couple fell in love with Beauty and the BeastIt makes sense that the villain of Belle's Enchanted Christmas never appeared in the original film.