The Good Bells of the belfry in the Kingdom of Puppets lament how long it’s been since they’ve heralded the birth of a new Princess: 200 years! So, they decide to pack up and move on to other more Princess intensive Kingdoms to ding, dong, and ring.

 

Bat, who lives in the belfry wakes up and rejoices at how good it is to be a bat in a belfry, when a crude gang of Bad Bells moves in, since the Good Bells have left. They immediately shove bat out of the way and claim the belfry as their own. Bat tries to make nice with her new neighbours, but finds them less than savoury. However, in the midst of this, a Princess is born to the King and Queen for the first time in 200 years! This means the belfry bells have to ring ­– much to the chagrin of the Bad Bells, who ring discordantly, prompting the King to raise a brow.

 

Nevertheless, little baby Belinda is brough into the world and set up in her new nursery, where the Bad Bells venture in the deepest night to curse her for making them ring! They curse her to be ugly on all days save Sunday, and the only way to lift the curse is for her to find a bell that can’t ring. Bat tries to rescue her, but she too is cursed and sent to fly around the entire world one whole time!

 

Belinda grows up, and her curse becomes apparent: she’s hideous on all days save Sundays, but on Sundays, she’s the most beautiful Princess in the world! The King and Queen decide to veil her all the other days of the week, but tell her it’s because her great beauty will stun and injure people. At last, Belinda turns eighteen and thinks upon marrying a handsome Prince! She gets the catalogue of Princes and makes her choice – Prince Bellamant!

 

Then, Bat comes careening into Belinda’s chamber, utterly exhausted from her travels. She then tells Belinda about the curse, but Belinda doesn’t believe her, until Bat pulls off the veil and the Princess receives a very unpleasant shock!

 

Oh no! Bellamant will never accept her like this! What will she do?

In the meantime, Ballamant has come to court and meets the King and Queen who are very happy to have him marry their little Princess. However, a dispute arises over the day of the wedding: the King insists on a Sunday, but Bellamant can do any day except Sunday.

 

Alas, the wedding is cancelled! Bellamant reflects sadly upon his fate, when he hears weeping. He goes to the side of the castle and sees it’s Belinda, though she’s wearing her veil. He declares his love and she reciprocates – only, there’s the matter of Belinda’s curse! But Bellamant confesses that he too has a curse – his is that he’s comely all other days, except Sundays! The only way for him to lift the curse is to stay under water for 5 minutes: the best he can do is 2! What a wretched match!

 

The youths dissolve into tears, bemoaning their fates, when Bat comes to the rescue with a suggestion: on her travels, she encountered a powerful wizard in the forest. Maybe he can help! Resolved, they sneak out of the castle and travel through the scary forest, where they’re accosted by the Shadows of the Night, who have come to claim them for the darkness! They run, but the Shadows gain on them! A great brightness drives the shadows away – a spell cast by the wizard, Theato!

 

Theato, an old man with white beard and great wisdom, knows of their curses and has devised the cures: he leads them to a great big broken bell, urges them inside, and then lowers them into the well. The bell can’t ring, and water can’t get in! It’s here that Belinda and Bellamant vow that, no matter what happens, they’ll be together forever.

 

The bell is raised, and the curses are lifted! They return to the castle and drive out the Bad Bells, inviting the Good Bells to return. The Kingdom rejoices in the lifting of the curses, but also warns that vanity is a dangerous trap and that it’s what’s inside that counts!