Belle

Template:Game Template:Character Belle was one of the Princesses of Heart who appeared in Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, and Kingdom Hearts II. After she did her job opening the Final Keyhole, Belle passed on her light to hide it for one of the potential New Seven Hearts.

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Belle manages to set herself apart from the members of the village which she lives in. The citizens of the village find Belle to be very strange, as she reads at an astonishing rate and rejects the advances of the town's muscle man, Gaston (the original film's villain, absent from the series). Belle also has plans to be in control of her own future, and hopes for an adventure outside of her provincial life.

Belle has been known to be easily frightened, but she often overcomes her fears and usually manages to be quite brave, even in the most dangerous situations. She is also known for being somewhat outspoken and occasionally allowing her curiosity to get the best of her.

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In Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Belle only appears in her yellow ball gown, which is her famous attire that she wore during her dance with the Beast in the film. When in this dress, Belle styles her hair slightly differently, pulling it further up on her head.

In her common clothes, which she wears for the majority of Kingdom Hearts II, Belle lets her hair down, but ties it back with a blue bow that matches her dress. She also wears a white shirt, a white apron and black shoes. She can often be spotted with a book in hand. Her everyday look was inspired by Julie Andrews' appearance in The Sound of Music.

Oddly, in her stained-glass likeness, her hair has much more red coloring than her normal hair color.

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Powers as a Princess of Heart

Because Belle is a Princess of Heart, she has many special abilities that are heightened or activated when she is joined with the other princesses:

• Her main power is to use her heart to open the Final Keyhole to Kingdom Hearts, which can only be opened when she is gathered with the other six princesses.

• In this exclusive group, her heart can also be used to create the Keyblade of People's Hearts and enable the bearer to unlock anyone's heart.
• Also, as her heart only contains pure light, she can fight back the darkness (she can perform this task alone, but it has stronger effects when she is with the other princesses).
• When Jasmine, Alice, Snow White, Cinderella and Aurora upgraded Sora's Fire spell, she was absent; however, it is assumed that she has the power to upgrade people's powers as well, as Princesses of Heart possess the same powers.
• She and her fellow princesses also have a sixth sense to locate darkness, as shown when Alice, Aurora, Jasmine, Snow White and Cinderella tell Sora of a great darkness approaching.

In Combat

• Belle also has a great affinity for books, which allows her to soak up knowledge quickly. And, as she showed Xaldin in Kingdom Hearts II, she can administer a good punch in the stomach if she has reason to.

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Belle's appearance in the Kingdom Hearts franchise is based directly upon her appearance in Walt Disney's Academy Award winning film, Beauty and the Beast (1991). Belle's character has appeared in various incarnations of the Beauty and the Beast story throughout history, but her Disney counterpart is mainly based on the character of Beauty in Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont's La Belle et la Bête, which was published in 1756.

In the film, much like in the game, she gives up her freedom to the Beast in exchange for her father's release. Initially, things are bleak between Belle and the Beast, although the servants, particularly Lumiere, attempt to make her feel at home.

Belle and the Beast begin to develop a friendship after the Beast saves her from a pack of wolves in the woods outside the castle, and eventually they fall in love, but Belle briefly leaves to find her father, who was searching for her. When a rival suitor, Gaston (the movie's villain, absent from the games), orders an attack on the castle to kill the Beast (out of jealousy), Belle rushes to save her love and at the crucial moment, chooses to save the Beast rather than Gaston, who falls to his apparent death. Belle's love for the Beast transforms him back into Prince Adam and they hold a ball to celebrate.

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