As a Zoomer child I always knew Belle was Autistic but was afraid to tell people because people don't think Disney Princesses have mental health issues. Which is dumb because Ariel has Dysphoria, which is what Part of Your World is about and speaks to a lot of isolated Autistic People. Even though Belle is Autistic she is more socially aware and empathetic because of her relationship with the Beast whom is a person with a severe illness. When Howard Ashman wrote the songs he was also masking the fact he suffered from AIDS.