People have this idea that because Belle reads as a hobby, that automatically makes her the best princess/makes all the other princesses dumb. i disagree with this idea, tbh, after all reading isn't a sign of intelligence. I know many people that i'd consider intelligent who don't have time for reading as a hobby. On the other hand, there are many dumb people who spend hours reading...

Well we see Rapunzel reading too, so she is not the only one.
And I agree with scarletunicorn.

What Scarletunicorn said. And also, what Shiluoih said.

Rapunzel reads too.

What everyone else is saying.

Besides the fact that Rapunzel reads too (and I'm sure Tiana, Elsa, Anna, Merida and other princesses read books as well, it's just not shown in their movies), what makes Belle special is the fact that it was a hobby which was considered unacceptable for women. So I like how the movie makes it such a big deal, because first of all, it encourages children to read, but also teaches them to do whatever they want as a hobby even if many people disapprove it or even make fun of them.

And while a person who reads isn't necessarily intelligent, every book has some valuable knowledge to offer to the reader, even fairytales.

^agreed

Haha true...though being a reader doesn't always mean much