Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
It shouldn’t be surprising that a tale as timeless as Beauty in the Beast would be back in our lives, but the Disney staple has returned in a big way. The live-action remake of the iconic classic swept the box office, raking in $170 million during its opening weekend. While we’re all basking in the warm glow of another (or the same) Disney movie, let’s dive into some dark fan theories.
Typically, I scour Reddit and Twitter for a single theory that is either insanely outlandish or chillingly believable. Today, I’m going to do something a bit different and explore a single character that has bothered Beauty and the Beast fans for decades now — Chip. Everyone remembers the adorable teacup with a chip on his corner. He’s a sweet and innocent source of comedic relief in the Beast’s dark and abusive castle. However, when you really start to think about this lone child, you start to wonder how he could exist. What Chip born a child or a cup? How does time work in the Beauty and the Beast universe under the Enchantress’ spell? Is Ms. Potts even Chip’s mother, or is it someone else? Someone hairier perhaps…? Here’s my guide to unraveling the mystery that is Chip.
WAS CHIP BORN A BOY OR A TEACUP?
It’s weird that I even typed that, but it’s necessary to explore a weird theory that’s been floating around this movie. The movie establishes that the Prince has to find true love by the time he turns 21. If he can’t find love during that time, the enchanted rose will lose all of its petals, and the Beast and his castle will be forced to live as a chimera and objects forever. The movie also claims that the castle has been cursed to live as non-humans for at least 10 years. This has caused many fans to speculate that the Prince was cursed when he was just 11 years old, which is a very depressing theory. However, it becomes a disturbing one when you think about Chip.
When Chip becomes a human at the end of the movie, he’s a small child. I’m terrible at judging the ages of children, but my co-worker Dillen Phelps actually has a kid and pays attention to these things. Dillen places Chip in the five to seven years old range. If the castle ages like the rest of the world, that means that 10 years ago when the curse was first placed on the castle, Chip should have never existed. Either Ms. Potts and some other drinkware item managed to reproduce or time has slowed down under the Enchantress’ spell. The second option is far more likely.
For the sake of my sanity, let’s assume that Chip was born a normal human child and was transformed into a cup at some point in his normal life. It’s a weird coincidence that your son named Chip would develop a chipped tooth, which would be his defining characteristic, but whatever. Maybe it’s a nickname. Now that Chip has helped establish the movie’s timeline, let’s move onto Chip’s parentage.
IS MS. POTTS REALLY CHIP’S MOTHER?
Throughout the movie, Chip calls Ms. Potts “Mamma,” implying that she’s his mother. However, if you look at their ages, the numbers don’t really add up. This has been pointed out by a few different fans. When she transforms back into a human, Ms. Potts is clearly in her 50s or 60s. Chip, as we’ve established, is younger than 10. Also, Chip is shown to have at least six (SIX) brother and sister cups. That’s a lot of children for one middle-aged, single housekeeper. No judgement if these are Ms. Potts’ biological children, but it seems doubtful that a woman Ms. Potts’ age could successfully have a child as young as Chip in 19th century France.
But there is one person that Ms. Potts would lie for who has cause to hide a child. Someone who has been established to be impulsive and a bit spoiled. Someone who looks suspiciously like the Chip — the Beast.
This theory comes from Cracked’s Amanda Mannen, and I have to say, as far as crazy fan theories go, it makes a ton of sense. Chip and the Prince looks shockingly similar, right down to their blonde hair and blue eyes. Also, the movie establishes that the pre-spell Prince wasn’t the best guy. That’s why he was enchanted in the first place. If the Prince happened to have an affair with an unknown village girl, it wouldn’t be out of the question that his loyal head housekeeper, who is committed to serving her master, would hide the scandal. It also makes sense from a characterization perspective. There are seven cup children, but we only hear from one of them. What makes Chip so special besides his little crack? However, if Chip was actually the secret son of the Prince, all that favoritism makes a lot more sense.
Mannen’s great theory goes a step further, positing that Chip’s mother is actually the Enchantress. A sorceress punishing a castle full of people because some jerk prince won’t let her crash for the night sounds believable but a little off. But a scorned woman who was forced to secretly give birth to the Prince’s illegitimate son cursing said Prince so he can never find love? That checks out. Mannen’s argument is far more detailed than this, and you should really check it out.
WHY IT’S A QUESTIONABLE THEORY
When you examine Chip’s existence, the timeline of Beauty and the Beast makes a lot more sense. This probably isn’t the story of a 11-year-old being punished for refusing to let a stranger into his castle. Chip’s parentage, on the other hand, is more complicated.
One one hand, Ms. Potts is a bit of a suspicious mother for the little cup, and the Cracked theory makes several good points. On the other hand, this is a Disney movie. Illegitimate children and spells linked to abandoned sexytimes don’t fly in the House of Mouse. Much like how the original Grimm fairytale versions of The Little Mermaid and Cinderella are far more graphic than their Disney counterparts, I think the truth of Beauty and the Beast lies somewhere in the middle — a bit too adult to be a kid’s movie but in adapted in such a way that it can’t completely erase its mature roots. Anyway, Chip’s live action counterpart, Nathan Mack, once starred in a British drama about an Instagram pro revolutionizing the police force. Even if you hate everything about this theory, at least you learned something.
The live-action adaptation of Beaty and the Beast is in theaters now.
