‘Beauty And The Beast’ Spoilers: Emma Watson Says Belle Has New Backstory

What do people really know of Belle from “Beauty and the Beast” aside from her devotion to her father and love for books?

Emma Watson, the actress who will portray Belle in Disney’s live adaptation, told Entertainment Weekly that Belle’s backstory is very limited, so they decided to introduce a new aspect of her personality in the upcoming movie.

“In the animated movie, it’s her father who is the inventor, and we actually co-opted that for Belle. I was like, ‘Well, there was never very much information or detail at the beginning of the story as to why Belle didn’t fit in, other than she liked books,” she explained. “Also what is she doing with her time? So, we created a backstory for her, which was that she had invented a kind of washing machine, so that, instead of doing laundry, she could sit and use that time to read instead. So, yeah, we made Belle an inventor.”

Her father Maurice, played by Kevin Kline, has smothered Belle with his love and attention because her mother is dead. He has created several music boxes for her so that she won’t feel the need to travel and live someplace else.

Katie Spencer, the film’s set decorator, said that Maurice “is making all these music boxes that have to tell the story of Belle not traveling.”

“She’s overprotected in a way, by her father, because she’s lost her mother. So, we’ve made all these music boxes that represent different countries of the world, so she can see what she’s missing,” Spencer added.

Watson was so excited about the buzz for the new movie that she even retweeted Entertainment Weekly’s cover on her Twitter page.

As for her co-star Luke Evans, who plays the villain Gaston, he also shared some photos from the set. “Say hello to Gaston... not forgetting @joshgad as Le Fou #BeautyAndTheBeast,” he wrote.

“Beauty and the Beast” will hit cinemas on March 17, 2017.