Young as she is, Emma Watson is taking active roles in women empowerment globally being a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador and HeforShe advocate. And her character Belle for "Beauty and the Beast" is not an exception in her advocacy.
While most Disney princesses play a stereotypical feminine persona, Emma Watson gave the "Beauty and Beast" female protagonist a more active character. We can recall that Cinderella, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty waited around for their Prince Charming to come rescue them. Ariel, on the other hand, gave up her golden voice just to be human and be with Prince Eric. Although Belle is already depicted as a brave and adventurous woman in the fairytales, even the one saving the prince in the end, the "Harry Potter" actress reinvents the character because she believed it was not 'feminist enough'.
In the live adaptation of the classic "Beauty and the Beast," more information and details about Belle will be shown to establish her character. She will be more than just a bookworm. Emma Watson said in an interview that they came up with a back story for the character to give it a more defined personality.
The upcoming movie, which is set to hit the big screen in March 2017, will show Belle as an inventor who devised a some kind of washing machine to do the laundry for her so she can spend more time reading books. Apart from revamping the character, Emma Watson also suggested changes in the wardrobe for Belle in "Beauty and the Beast."
Originally, Belle can be seen wearing ballet shoes (because that's feminine right?). But in "Beauty and the Beast" 2017 film, Belle will be wearing boots! In an article from Vogue, Emma Watson said that "She's very practical, she's a very good horse rider. In the movie, she wears these little ballet shoes, and I knew that they had to go because if you're going to ride a horse, and tend your garden, and fix machinery, then you need to be in proper boots." How cool is that? Guess Emma Watson's an inventor herself!
