There’s a lot of talk lately about Gaston and Le Fou, the antagonist duo from the live action Beauty and the Beast. Whether or not you believe their relationship is anything more than platonic, there’s no denying there’s a chemistry between the two that’s worth a second look. For instance, just how did these two very different people come to be so close? One 12-year-old explored this backstory in a short film he co-created with Disney (via The Hollywood Reporter).
Teaming up with Tongal — a global creative network of over 120,000 writers, directors and animators — and Young Storytellers, an arts education nonprofit, Disney tasked a group of kids to come up with stories based on the new Beauty and the Beast film. After watching the movie, the youngsters, along with an older mentor, worked on a script that would be turned into a short film by Tongal creatives.
Today, we get to watch one of the products of this process: a claymation short film titled Le Fouston, which is based on a story by 12-year-old Robert Nelson.
In the video, Le Fou is thrown in a prison cart after stealing a pie. It is here that he meets Gaston, who is also heading to jail after shooting the mayor’s prized ducks. This is all explained through hubristic song, at the end of which the two break out of the cart. Le Fou feels he owes a debt to his hero, so he becomes his sidekick and joins him on the next adventure: “I’m off to woo a woman,” Gaston says as they ride away on horseback.
Le Fouston may not be canon, but it’s definitely a super fun watch, and definitely better than just about anything we made when we were 12. Do you think this backstory holds up? Let us know!
Featured image: Disney/Tongal/Young Storytellers
