Beast (Disney)

"If he could learn to love another, and earn her love in return by the time the last petal fell, then the spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time. As the years passed, he fell into despair and lost all hope. For who could ever learn to love a beast?"

- Opening narration of the Beast. "So, you've come to stare at the Beast, have you?!"

- Beast's rage prior to capturing Maurice. "At least I got to see you... one last time..."

- The Beast after his redemption.

Prince Adam, better known as the The Beast, is one of the main protagonists (alongside Belle) of Disney's 30th full-length animated feature film Beauty and the Beast, as well as its direct-to-video sequel and midquel Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas and Beauty and the Beast: Belle's Magical World, and various comic series. He also appeared in the 2017 live action remake film and theatrical adaptations of the story.

In the story, he is a selfish prince who was known for ruling his kingdom with an iron fist until he was cursed by an enchantress for his behavior, serving as a villainous protagonist until he learned the error of his ways before his heartfelt redemption.

He also appeared in works such as House of Mouse, Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse, and Mickey's House of Villains as a hero, the Kingdom Hearts franchise as an on and off protagonist/antagonist, and in Mickey Mouse (2016) as a minor anatagonist.

In all of his animated and videogame appearances, he was voiced by Robby Benson. In the live action film, he was voiced/portrayed by Dan Stevens, who also portrayed David Haller in Legion, Sir Lancelot in Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, and David Collins in The Guest.

Personality
When the Beast first appeared, he appeared to be very irrational, short-tempered, stubborn and hostile, especially to his own servants. He also finds himself in conflict with his hideous exterior, making him an insecure person in nature as he feels ashamed of his actions against the Enchantress and that no one would love for who he is on the inside, even despising his abusive father for raising him to become an arrogant ruler.

Despite his hostile nature, the Beast appears to have a kind and imaginative side, as he was willing to care for others, especially for Belle and the servants. He is also capable of remorse, as he felt guilty in scaring Belle out of the West Wing and letting her father Maurice go without letting her say goodbye to him. He is also empathetic, as he sympathized with Belle over her treatment as a village outcast and the loss of her mother (who died succumbing to a plague), similar to how his own mother died succumbing to an illness. He is also shown to be courageous, as he brutally fought against the wolves to rescue Belle, even stopping Maestro Forte from crumbling the castle down with his music by destroying his keyboard and defeating Gaston LeGume in combat following Belle's return.

After rescuing Belle from the wolves, he changes himself for the better, becoming a more civilized and calm person in nature. He even let Belle go free, so that she can save Maurice from freezing to death. Once the curse is finally broken following Gaston's death, the Beast (turned back into the handsome Prince he was) retains his peaceful nature, even reuniting with several of his servants (who too have turned back to normal) with a hug.

Roar of the Beast
In this videogame, the Beast must travel through various stages and fight off wolves and angry villagers to save Belle from Gaston.

Beauty and the Beast: A Board Game Adventure
The video board game details the events of the film in an interactive board game setting and story.

Kinect Disneyland Adventures
The Beast made a cameo appearance as a meet-and-greet character.

Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion
The Beast appeared as the first character saved from Mizrabel by Mickey.

House of Mouse
The Beast made a few appearances as a guest in House of Mouse, most notably, hiding when an angry mob performs the song "Let's Slay the Beast" during Open-Mic night in the episode "Everybody Loves Mickey". He also appears helping out Mickey Mouse and friends in other episodes.

Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse
The Beast appeared with Belle as everyone is snowed in at the club and unable to go home. They make the best out of their situation and try to celebrate Christmas anyway.

Mickey's House of Villains
The Beast made an appearance entering the club on Halloween night, and Donald Duck tries to scare him, only for the annoyed Beast to roar loudly and chase Donald away in retaliation. He is later captured by the villains, but escapes after Mickey defeats Jafar.

Kingdom Hearts
In the first Kingdom Hearts game and its remasters, remixes and manga adaptation, the Beast appeared as a hero and ally to Sora in the "Hollow Bastion" world. His world was overtaken and destroyed by the Heartless, with the Council of Disney Villains kidnapping Belle and taking her to Hollow Bastion. Beast followed them there, and soon met up with Sora, who had just been betrayed and left alone by Riku. The two team up, with Beast protecting Sora until he regained the Keyblade, freeing the six of the captured Seven Princesses of Heart, and later reuniting with Belle, while also helping Sora take down Maleficent.

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
The Beast appeared as an illusion in Castle Oblivion, crafted from Sora's memories. He helps Sora and must win back Belle's heart by defeating the illusion of Maleficent again.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
The Beast appeared back in his homeworld, but is constantly fighting Heartless to protect Belle and his servants. He is soon contacted by Xaldin of Organization XIII, who begins to manipulate him back to evil.

Kingdom Hearts II
In the second Kingdom Hearts main title and its remasters, remixes and manga adaptation, the Beast first appears as antagonistic. In the world "Beast's Castle", Sora learns that the Beast reverted back to his old ways and has become bitter, aggressive, and wrathful, even going so far as to imprison his servants in the dungeon for displeasing him. Sora digs deeper to find out that the Beast had was being lied to and manipulated by Xaldin, turning him back to evil. Sora, Donald, and Goofy confront Beast and even battle him before knocking him back to his senses and returning him to good. Xaldin was planning to turn Beast into a Heartless and a Nobody to use him for Organization XIII's own means, but failed. Beast fights back and drives Xaldin away, but he kidnaps Belle and steals the enchanted rose. Sora, Beast, and the others defeat Xaldin, and Beast returns with Belle, fully redeemed.

At the end of the game, following Sora and Riku's victory over Xemnas, it is revealed that the Beast has returned to his original human form.

Mickey Mouse (2016)
The Beast makes a minor appearance in the episode "The Adorable Couple" where he is briefly dancing with Belle. Mickey and Minnie want to make Donald and Daisy brighten up their relationship, so they take them out dancing. However, Donald fumbles and accidentally bumps into the Beast, who angrily attack and beats Donald up before throwing him out, much to Mickey and Minnie's distraught.

Descendants
In the Descendants franchise, the Beast (in his human form as Adam) served as the King of Auradon with Belle by his side as the Queen, and they are the parents of Prince Ben, one of the recurring protagonists of the series. In the first film, he is discomforted by Ben's approach to turn Mal and her villain friends into the light, but soon warms up to the idea per Belle's suggestion. In the end following Maleficent's defeat, he and Belle proudly crown Ben as the new King of Auradon.

In this version, he is portrayed by Dan Payne.

Disney Emoji Blitz
The Beast appears as a piece in Disney Emoji Blitz.

Disney As Told By Emoji
The Beast appears in "Beauty and the Beast As Told By Emoji", which recounts the events of the film in a quick, comical fashion.

Trivia

 * Despite being a beloved protagonist, the story is very clear that Beast was the original "villain" of the first half of the tale, with Gaston later taking on that role after Beast's original cruelty, insecurity, and desperation to lift the curse gave way to genuine love for Belle and an ability to finally allow her feelings to come before his own. Prior to this change, the Beast was on the path of becoming a monster both inside and out (while Gaston would later prove to be far more monstrous).
 * As a matter of fact, the Beast served as a literal foil to Gaston as they both are egotistical men who want Belle for selfish reasons (the Beast wants Belle to help break his curse while Gaston wants her as his trophy wife). However, the Beast proves himself to be capable of change, compassion and courage as he is willing to ensure Belle's happiness and safety (such as saving her from a wolf pack, giving her a library, and letting her go to help her father), which allowed him to earn her love to break his curse. Gaston, on the other hand, refuses to change his ways out of his own arrogance and prefers to use dirty tricks to get what he wants, deeming himself far more worse than the Beast. In fact, Gaston can be seen as representing the sort of person that the Beast would have almost end up becoming like if he had never met the Enchantress and Belle.
 * In the original tale, the Beast was portrayed with a more compassionate personality, but the filmmakers decided to add in some gruff behavior in order to provide a foil to Gaston (who would seem charming at first, but is actually rotten as the story goes on due to his egotism).
 * The Beast made a cameo as one of the Sultan's toys in Aladdin, which would be released a year after Beauty and the Beast.