The Beast-Renewed Interest in Disney's Beauty and the Beast

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Disney's Beauty and the Beast had never been a favorite of mine. Not really sure why, but it was one of those Disney films that I hadn't seen in quite some time, and I had never studied the artwork like I had of other Disney films that included the artistic talents of Glen Keane, one of my favorite artists whose credits included the staggering Beast. My interest was piqued however with the release of Disney's newest remake, which seems to be a new trend that's been extremely profitable for the company. I really thought that the money was the only appeal of Disney's renewals, but I found myself excited to see this re-imagining of one of the most celebrated films of the Disney Renaissance, especially considering my lack of connection to the original. Much to my surprise, I really loved the renewal, and was glad to see that new scenes, songs, plots and deeper character development made the film have quite the positive impact on me. I was so inspired I actually returned to the original film, adding it to my Disney collection and diving deeper into the artistic development. This piece within my sketchbook was the result. I wanted the heavy use of charcoal to represent the sense of darkness and imprisonment of the beast and to create a stark contrast to the piercing blue eyes that are all of what's left of Prince Adam after his transformation.