This Insane 'Beauty And The Beast' Theory About The Curse Makes So Much Sense

Warning: This post contains very minor spoilers for the live-action "Beauty and the Beast." But so does the cartoon that came out in 1991. You've had time.

So, in order to understand this new "Beauty and the Beast" fan theory, I'm going to need you to read this very carefully.

It's admittedly a little bit out there, but it does fill a plot hole that has always bugged me: Why don't the Beast's servants age while they are living for "years" as those objects?

At the beginning of the film, it explicitly says this curse the Enchantress put on the prince and his servants has been going on for "years."

Yet Chip is shown as a child before turning into a tea cup, and appears the exact same age when he transforms back at the end of the movie.

So is that just a plot hole? Probably, yes. OR it could be the result of this theory from Reddit user Hainted that the entire village is cursed in a time loop.

Bear with me while I try to explain.

So, we know the Enchantress erased all the villagers' memories of the Prince, his castle and his servants.

We also know the Enchantress remains living in the village disguised as a spinster.

Why would she bother doing this, unless she is maintaining a curse on the village?

We further know the villagers do the same thing every day — something that Belle notices.

"There goes the baker with his tray, like always."

And maybe it explains why Monsieur Jean feels like he's forgetting something.

So the theory is the entire village is trapped in a time loop — except Belle and her father.

This explains why everyone thinks Belle and her father are so weird — because they actually age.

And so, when the curse is finally broken at the end of the film, it would make sense that the servants like Chip didn't age, and also that the villagers didn't age, either.

(Because otherwise you'd think the spouses of Mrs. Potts and Garderobe would be a lot older than them after "years" had gone by.)

Maybe it's not what Disney intended, but you have to admit, it fits!

Citations: Reddit user created a mind-blowing theory to fill a big 'Beauty and the Beast' plot hole (Mashable)