<P> Determining a suitable appearance for the Beast proved challenging . Although entirely fictional, supervising animator Glen Keane felt it essential for the Beast to resemble a creature that could possibly be found on Earth as opposed to an alien . The initial designs had the Beast as humanoid but with an animal head attached as per the original fairy tale, but soon shifted towards more unconventional forms . The earlier sketches of the Beast's character design are seen as gargoyles and sculptures in the Beast's castle . </P> <P> Inspired by a buffalo head that he purchased from a taxidermy, Keane decided to base the Beast's appearance on a variety of wild animals, drawing inspiration from the mane of a lion, head of a buffalo, brow of a gorilla, tusks of a wild boar, legs and tail of a wolf, and body of a bear . However, he felt it important that the Beast's eyes remain human . In fear that Glen Keane would design the Beast to resemble voice actor Robby Benson, Walt Disney Studios chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg did not allow Keane to see Benson during production of the film . </P> <P> The Beast is not of any one species of animal, but a chimera (a mixture of several animals), who would probably be classified as a carnivore overall . He has the head structure and horns of a buffalo, the arms and body of a bear, the eyebrows of a gorilla, the jaws, teeth, and mane of a lion, the tusks of a wild boar and the legs and tail of a wolf . He also bears resemblance to mythical monsters like the Minotaur or a werewolf . He also has blue eyes, the one physical feature that does not change whether he is a beast or a human . </P> <P> As opposed to his original counterpart, Disney gave him a more primal nature to his personality and mannerisms, which truly exploited his character as an untamed animal (i.e. alternating between walking and crawling, animal growls). Producer Don Hahn envisioned that the Beast's psychological state has become increasing feral the longer he was under the curse, such that he would eventually lose his last vestiges of humanity and become completely wild if the spell could not be broken . Hahn's idea doesn't manifest prominently in the finished 1991 animated film, since the Beast is only seen in a brief scene some time after his transformation while much of the narrative starts during the later period of the curse . </P>

How old is prince adam in beauty and the beast