The Beast was once a handsome young Prince of a sumptuous castle, but was also capricious, selfish and insensitive. One Christmas evening, an old woman (the Enchantress) came to the castle and offered the Prince a rose in exchange for shelter from the cold. The ugliness of that woman disgusted the Prince, and drove her away.

The lady reminded him that beauty was internal, but the prince rejected her a second time. After showing her beauty, the lady cast a spell over the Prince and all the inhabitants of his castle, turning the Prince into a frightening Beast, and being left with the rose. If the prince does not find love before this flower loses all these petals, he will remain a monster all his life.

Horrified by his appearance, the Beast stays in his castle to hide his ugliness at all. As the flower began to wilt, he began to lose all hope of becoming human again. But one day a, man came to the castle. Furious, the Beast enclosed the man in his dungeon. Soon after, the man's daughter arrived in the castle to save him Surprised by Belle's offer to take his father's prison position, the Beast agrees, thinking that this girl might be the one who would break the spell.

Very soon, he falls in love with in Belle, a friend with whom he shares much in common, such as a love of books. This friendship may be the key to ending the curse he suffers.