La Belle et la Bête or Beauty and the Beast is a surrealistic tale of a beautiful girl named Belle (Josette Day) who is forced to do every bidding of her two elder sisters. Her father, a merchant, gets lost in his travels and unwittingly enters an enchanted and strange castle. The owner is an angry creature -- half man, half animal. In his rage at the merchant, the Beast (Jean Marais) tells him he will die unless he sacrifices one of his daughters to be his companion. Belle chooses to spare her father and opts for life with the Beast over life as her cruel sisters' servant. After she becomes accustomed to the strange and magical surroundings -- and the Beast -- Belle discovers there may be more to the Beast than his outward appearance.