Question: What place was the Beast a Prince of? Considering that Maurice had to inform the other villagers about a castle in the woods. The village is not extremely far from the castle, apparently. Belle gets there soon enough when she wants to return, after helping her father. Were the villagers not ruled over by the Beast's parents?
Answer: It's never specified that the Beast's family were rulers. Until 1789, France was ruled by one king. Lower-ranking royals can have titles and live in castles, but it does not mean they hold any political power or position. Some royals or aristocrats can hold a ceremonial or appointed role in a country's specific region. For example, Prince William of England is also the Prince of Wales and Prince Harry is the Duke of Sussex, though neither "rule" those districts. Also, this is a fairytale, so details are deliberately vague and generalized.
Question: Gaston tells Belle that she will end up as a beggar if she does not get married. I know this is a fantasy setting, but in similar settings, couldn't an unmarried woman still inherit property?
Answer: Gaston is trying to intimidate her into marrying him. If she did inherit father's home someday, it's likely that she could sell the property and go to Paris or another place with a larger population. Women could work a variety of low-paying jobs. Still not an ideal life, but better than growing old in the village and having very limited options.
Question: I have questions about the horses in terms of their breeds. Is Gaston's horse a Friesian, Lefou's horse a Gypsy Vanner, and Belle's horse (Philippe) a Percheron?
Chosen answer: Gaston's horse was actually a Friesian cross. Incidentally, it was the same horse Luke Evans rode in "The Hobbit". Purebred Friesians were used to pull the prison wagon. Belle's horse was a Spanish horse, an Andalusian. And actually 3 different horses were used for Belle's horse, 2 of which had to be painted each day. I do believe for some of the action scenes, one of the horses was a Percheron. Lefou's horse does appear to be a Gypsy Vanner.
I don't understand why Philippe was played by Andalusian when he was Belgium draught, don't get me wrong but Andalusian are incredibly beautiful horses but Philippe identity was a Belgian draft.
Are you referring to the 1991 cartoon and asking why the change? Or are you saying in the 2017 film he is identified as a Belgium draft? There were a handful of changes made in the 2017 film that seemed to make Belle more empowered. Or the filmmakers simply may have wanted a different look. Of course, there are many mistake entries pointing out inaccurate breeds being used or named if that's what you're suggesting.
Question: During the musical number "Gaston," was Luke Evans actually physically capable of lifting Josh Gad and a woman on his shoulders or did Josh Gad and the woman have suspension strings attached to them?
Chosen answer: He may well be strong enough to perform such a feat, but considering that each movie scene is filmed a number of times in order to get the best version, it would be physically impossible and dangerous to all the actors for this stunt to be performed without safety harnesses and suspension cables.
Question: When Maurice enters through the castle gate while being chased by wolves, why do the wolves stop before the gate? Why don't they continue chasing Maurice from there?
Chosen answer: If it's not magic, likely they know that a stronger animal (the Beast) lives there and don't want to enter its territory.
Answer: One possibility is that this property belonged to the Prince. This could explain why the witch asked him for shelter, instead of asking a parent.