It's easy to make fun of Beauty and the Beast for its less-than-healthy plotline. The classic Disney tale about a young woman, Belle, who falls in love with the Beast prince who holds her captive has been criticized for the strange relationship dynamics between Belle and the Beast. But one aspect of their romance that has never really been analyzed or subjected to much scrutiny is the fact that Belle has a name and the Beast does not. Yeah, let that sink in. What's the Beast's real name in Beauty and the Beast? Does anybody know? Does Belle?
The short answer appears to be no, Belle does not know the Beast's real name. Throughout Beauty and the Beast, the Beast is referred to as a Prince, a Master, and a Beast, but he is never given a real name. In fact, on the film's official IMDB page, the character is listed simply as "Beast" — no other name included. (In comparison, the Enchantress is listed as "Agathe / Enchantress.") For all intents and purposes, the Beast's real name seems to be, well, Beast — rather unfortunate, if you ask me. However, there are fans who prefer to call Beast by a name traced back to a CD-Rom trivia game released after Beauty and the Beast, in which the Beast is named Adam.
For some fans, the Beast is not just the Beast, he's Prince Adam, but those fans might be disappointed to find out that, though the live action Beauty and the Beast does add to the Prince's backstory, he still isn't really given a name. In fact, for most fans, the title of Prince Adam is destined to be a piece of Disney trivia, not a real addition to the Beauty and the Beast cannon. At least, not this time.
Whatever the Beast's real name may be, the real question we should be asking ourselves is do we even want him to have a real name in the first place. Ask any Beauty and the Beast fan about the Beast's real name, and it's likely they will have no idea. People just don't call the Beast by the name Prince Adam, and it's unclear if they even want to. Beauty and the Beast is such an iconic Disney classic, the images of Belle and the Beast have been adopted into American culture as they are for almost 30 years. I hate to say it, but there doesn't really seem to be any chance of going back now.
So, sorry Prince Adam, but I don't think hundreds of fans are going to stop calling the Beast the Beast just because of a CD-Rom game.
