Maurice is Belle's father in Beauty and the Beast. He is portrayed by Kevin Kline.
In this version, Maurice is an over-protective father as a result of the loss of his wife. He does not create odd inventions, rather he spends his time creating an array of music boxes.
Some of these music boxes represent different countries and were tailored as such so that Belle may experience the world without actually leaving their town. Just like in the original fairy tale, he plucks a rose and Beast appears out of nowhere instead of trespassing in the castle.
Belle and Maurice are given significant Backstory explaining why they moved to the village in the first place ("Every morning just the same/Since the morning that we came/To this poor provincial town") and why Belle has a missing Mom. They lived in Paris until a plague killed the mother. Maurice became desperate to protect Belle and thus they moved to the small, safe village. This also provides an alternate reason for Maurice setting out in the first place; his music boxes are sold at an out-of-town market once a year.
Maurice has a slightly larger role in this film than in the animated movie. Just like in the original fairy tale, he plucks a rose and Beast appears out of nowhere instead of trespassing in the castle.
Also instead of him going into the woods alone after getting help from Gaston, (Maurice gets tied up to a tree and is later saved by Agatha who turns out to be the Enchantress in disguise).
Personality[]
Maurice appears to be calm and respectful. He is an eccentric, yet humble inventor residing in a small French village with his daughter, Belle, and horse, Philippe (what became of his wife is unknown).
Maurice hopes to someday create an invention capable of reforming the life of his family for the better and is regularly hard at work in his basement/workshop on various contraptions. Though they're usually met with failure, his dream and Belle's support motivates him to push forward each time.