| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| [Source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gaston LeGume is the main antagonist of the 1991 Disney film, Beauty and the Beast. He is the local Town Hero and desires Belle's hand in marriage. However, her refusal results in his descent into madness and he formulates plots to force Belle into marriage, ultimately leading him to attempt to slaughter her love interest, the Beast.
Role in the film
Gaston first appears shooting down a duck. Afterwards, he voices his plan to marry Belle to his friend, LeFou. However, his egotistical and misognistic behavior towards Belle drives her away from him, much to his disappointment. He later hosts a wedding at Belle's house without her consent and makes his way into her house and proposes to her. However, she turns him down again and knocks him out of her house and into a puddle of mud, humiliating him. Furious, he vows to LeFou that he will make Belle his wife, even if it is the last thing he does.
Several weeks later. Gaston, still depressed at Belle's rejection of him, stays in a local tavern, refusing alcohol. LeFou and the other villagers manage to ease his depression until Maurice barges into the tavern, claiming Belle was abducted by a beast. However, Gaston and the other villagers refuse to believe him and promptly toss him out of the tavern. However, Gaston sees an opportunity to blackmail Belle into marrying him and makes a deal with the owner of a madhouse, Monsieur D'Arque, to have Maurice thrown into the madhouse unless Belle agrees to marry Belle. Monsieur D'Arque readily agrees.
After Belle, who had been freed by the Beast, returns to the village with Maurice, a lynch mob gathered by LeFou and D'arque appear at her house, ready to take Maurice away to the asylum. Gaston informs Belle that he will blow everything off unless Belle marries him. However, she refuses and reveals the Beast's existence with a magic mirror. Unfortunately, an envious Gaston convinces the mob that the Beast is a danger to the town and gathers them to attack the Beast's castle and leave no one alive. The mob also locks Belle and Maurice in a basement to keep them from warning the Beast.
The mob, led by Gaston, invades the Beast's castle, but the mob is soon forced into retreat by the sentient castle ornaments. Gaston manages to avoid the ornaments and discovers the Beast and promptly attacks him. However, the Beast is too depressed to fight back until a freed Belle returns to the castle, to which he viciously attacks Gaston. Gaston attempts to kill the Beast, but is overpowered and the Beast hangs him from a cliff, to which Gaston begs for his life. Gaston eventually gains empathy from the Beast, who orders him to leave the castle. However, Gaston attacks the Beast and fatally stabs him with his knife, but loses his balance and plummets off the cliff to his death.
Other appearances
House of Mouse
Gaston was a recurring guest character in House of Mouse, often visiting the club, along with other Disney characters. A running gag throughout the series was for Gaston to claim, "No one [verbs] like Gaston!", an action that would annoy the other guest characters. Gaston was also amongst the villains that took over in Mickey's House of Villains.
Trivia
- Gaston's death was altered several times. Originally, Gaston fought the Beast in the forest before being knocked off a cliff by Belle. Though he survived the fall, albeit with a broken leg, he was then cornered by a pack of wolves, who mauled him to death. This idea was later used for Scar's death in The Lion King. At some point, he was to commit suicide after stabbing to Beast, willingly falling to his death while laughing maniacally.
- While it has been debated whether Gaston truly died from the fall, the 2002 DVD commentary confirmed his demise, noting the skull and crossbones in his pupils to confirm his death.
- Gaston is similar to both Nobuyuki Sugou and Ronno.
- Ronno, Gaston and Sugou were Heroes' three rivals.
Gallery
