Beauty and the Beast 2017 Movie Wiki
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Maurice is Belle's father in Beauty and the Beast. He is portrayed by Kevin Kline

In this version, Maurice is an over-protective father as a result of the loss of his wife. He does not create odd inventions, rather he spends his time creating an array of music boxes. Some of these music boxes represent different countries and were tailored as such so that Belle may experience the world without actually leaving their town. Just like in the original fairy tale, Maurice plucks a rose and Beast appears out of nowhere instead of trespassing in the castle

Belle and Maurice are given significant Backstory explaining why they moved to the village in the first place ("Every morning just the same/Since the morning that we came/To this poor provincial town") and why Belle has a missing Mom. They lived in Paris until a plague killed her wife. Maurice became desperate to protect Belle and thus they moved to the small, safe village. This also provides an alternate reason for Maurice setting out in the first place; his music boxes are sold at an out-of-town market once a year.

Also instead of him going into the woods alone after getting help from Gaston, (Maurice gets tied up to a tree and is later saved by Agatha who turns out to be the Enchantress in disguise).

Personality[]

Maurice appears to be calm and respectful. He is an eccentric, yet humble inventor residing in a small French village with his daughter, Belle, and horse, Philippe (what became of his wife is unknown).

Maurice hopes to someday create an invention capable of reforming the life of his family for the better and is regularly hard at work in his basement/workshop on various contraptions. Though they're usually met with failure, his dream and Belle's support motivates him to push forward each time.

Role in the Film[]

Just like in the original film, Belle comes to his rescue and convinces the Beast to free Maurice in exchange for taking his life sentence. When Maurice returns to town to ask for help, only Gaston and LeFou are willing to help. After hours of searching in their carriage, Gaston and LeFou quickly tire of Maurice's supposed nonsense, especially when Maurice is unable to retrace his steps to the castle.

Upon learning that Gaston only accompanied him in hopes of obtaining his blessing to marry Belle, as well as learning his true violent nature and intentions, Maurice refuses to let him marry his daughter. As a result, Gaston angrily knocks out Maurice, and ties him to a tree to leave him to die at the hands of the wolves, but Agathe (the disguised enchantress) rescues him and nurses him back to health and takes him back to the village, where he attempts demonstrate to the townspeople Gastón's crimes by trying to murder him. However, without the testimonies of Agathe and LeFou (as the latter was intimidated and silenced by Gaston to prevent LeFou from making a confession), Maurice is considered insane and Monsieur D'Arque takes him to the asylum before Belle returns to (with Phillipe) to prove his father's sanity. However, Gaston has Maurice and Belle locked in the carriage while he leads the townspeople to the Beast's Castle. Belle shows Maurice the pink feather that belonged to her mother, revealing that she knows what happened. Maurice tells Belle that's why he protected her and is convinced that the Beast means well. With Belle's help, Maurice manages to pick the lock and escape, leaving Monsieur D'Arque stunned as he and Maurice watch Belle return to the Beast's castle to save him. During the final celebration, Maurice is seen painting the dance scene of Belle and the Prince, and the servants as his latest creation.

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