Beauty and the (Plush) Beast

[Text by Amberle Ferrian]

"Beauty and the (Plush) Beast" (batplush.gif, 630x435x2, 10267 bytes) is the fifteenth in a continuing series of fine Disney fanart drawings by Bob Ito <ito@[...]>.

"There must be more than this pro-vin-cial life!"

--Belle, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

From statements like these, it's apparent that Belle lived a pretty lonely life before she met the Beast. After all, she was shunned by the villagers as an oddball, and harried constantly by a boorish suitor whose only redeeming potential was as an Olympic hopeful in expectorating. And it's also true that she did often comfort herself with her imagination, where the faroff places, daring swordfights, magic spells, and princes-in-disguise found in her books came vividly to life. Of course, dreams of romance are best when they're shared. If this can't be done with The Real Thing (tm), as in Belle's case, then a stuffed animal makes a good substitute. :-)

And so it is here, where we see Belle fast asleep, cuddling up contentedly with her favorite plush toy. Can't figure out what that is? Well, if the title of the drawing didn't give it away, consider the title of the book by her side. (Remember, this is Belle. She reads everywhere!) Now, there aren't too many swordfights or spells or princes in this book, but it does give her the means to earn the US$48 to buy the plush toy from the Disney Store. :-) (Don't worry if you don't understand the significance of the book title; it's sort of an inside joke on r.a.d. Ten Zillion Zorkmids to the first person to figure it out. :-)

[ batplush.gif ]