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Beca Mitchell is the lead character on Pitch Perfect and its sequel. She is an aspiring music producer and a rebellious Barden student who initially joins the Bellas to appease her father, and eventually grows to love the group. She is now the leader of the Bellas. She is portrayed by actress Anna Kendrick.

Biography

Pitch Perfect

Beca moves to Barden University to begin college, arriving in a cab. Upon moving into her dorm, she meets her unfriendly roommate Kimmy Jin, who seemingly has no intentions of being friends. Her father visits her, encouraging her to make the most out of her college life. Beca obtains an internship at the school's radio station, where she meets Jesse, who also works as an intern, wherein they're tasked with stacking CDs for Luke the station manager. During the activity fair, Barden Bellas co-leaders Chloe and Aubrey unsuccessfully try to recruit Beca to join, who says she can't sing. Though while in the shower rooms, Chloe manages to convince Beca to audition after she hears her singing "Titanium" by David Guetta.

Beca 1

Beca's first appearance when she moves.

Jesse is revealed to have auditioned as well, and subsequently accepted into the Treblemakers, a rival a cappella group. He sees Beca who showed up late, and she sings "Cups" with a cup from Aubrey and Chloe's desk, much to Chloe's delight. She spends her first night with the a cappella crowd at Initiation Night. She is being greeted by Chloe and also being flirted with by Jesse. The next morning, during the first official Bellas meeting, she learns one of the Bellas' most important rules: Never to date a member of the Treblemakers, an offense for which ex-members Kori and Mary Elise were kicked out, with the latter forced to drag her chair as she left, embarrassed and disheartened. Beca questions if that was really necessary, and Aubrey roughly replies to her.

Beca 2

Beca auditioning with the 'Cup Song'

At the Riff-Off she gets her first taste of the a cappella culture. During a songs about sex catagory, Beca single-handedly takes on The Tremblemakers by rapping "No Diggity". Everyone is so impressed that they are initially lost for words but as Beca continues the rest of the Bellas (except Aubrey) join in. Though they lose to The Treblemakers after failing to match the word (it's instead of it), much to Aubrey's dismay. The Riff-Off is where Beca demonstrated her true capacity for being a formidable acapella member and also began to enjoy herself with the group. At the Regionals, it becomes apparent how unoriginal and bland the old Bellas' set-list is, with negative feedback coming from the commentators. The Bellas, however, advance to the semifinals.

Following the contest, the Bellas get into an argument with the Treblemakers and another group called The Tonehangers. There is a misunderstanding, and Beca is taken to the local police department, at which point Jesse and Beca's father bail her out. Angry at Jesse for calling her father, she tells him to "back off," saying "you're not my boyfriend." Jesse is visibly hurt by her words. Back in her dorm, Beca is surprised to see the Bellas all losing sleep to wait for her safe return. Beca wants to show her work to the Bellas, Chloe encourages it but Aubrey puts her foot down and tells the group to focus on their usual set.

Over the course of the movie, the tension between Beca and Aubrey gradually increases. The tension manifests into animosity at the ICCA semifinals, when Beca improvises the set list to save the Bellas as they are in danger of elimination, seeing how the audience are bored and sleeping during their performance. After their performance, a furious Aubrey reprimands Beca, who states that it's not her choice to change the song and that she has a relationship with Jesse. Jesse, who hears this, tries to clarify things but Beca rebuffs him, stating she doesn't need him, and abruptly quits the Bellas due to her feeling unappreciated by Aubrey. Benji tries to catch her up but she walks away, and he witness that the lead vocal of the other rival group is a high school student, which gives him an idea on saving the Bellas. The Bellas are declared lost afterwards, and the group subsequently break up.

Beca with her Caprisun

Beca's Endearing Grin

During the spring break (in which the Bellas are all apart), Beca begins her night shift at the radio station, and thinks to watch the Breakfast Club, which she watched till the end, marking the first time she finishes an entire movie. She goes to Jesse's dorm and tries to apologize, but her apology is denied. Jesse misses her, but is still wounded and asks her why she "pushes away anyone who could possibly care about her" (deleted scenes show that her father left her). Chloe, sitting in a hospital bed, apparently doing something for her nodes, decides to text Beca immedately upon seeing some good news on her phone.

Beca 4

It's apparent she was telling her that the Footnotes have been disqualified because the lead singer was a high school student, thanks to Jesse's roommate, Benji, who informed the ICCA governing authorities. The Bellas advance to the ICCA finals. Beca tells her father that she is actually misses the girls.

Beca returns to the Bellas, finding them in a fight and utter chaos, due to disagreement between Aubrey and Chloe when the latter defends Beca and clearly says that "Beca makes us better" during a rehearsal. She is about to quit and drags her chair out of the room, much to everyone's shock, until Aubrey stops her, and Beca arranges a confession time for all the Bellas, saying maybe they do not know each other well. At last, Aubrey relents and ready to give in the lead control to Beca, in order to take the Bellas to victory. Beca shows her setlist arrangement with "Just The Way You Are/Just A Dream" sung by everyone including Aubrey for the preparation for Nationals. At the ICCA finals, the Bellas return with a fresh new look, a modern set list, and an energizing choreography. With Beca's modernization of the a cappella group, the Bellas take first place and win the championship, breaking the Treblemakers' six-year winning streak. She uses "Don't You (Forget About Me)" in their setlist, to Jesse's hidden pleasure. Jesse finally forgives Beca and Beca kisses him, turning their friendship into a romantic one immediately.

Jesse and Beca Kiss 1

The movie cuts to the next year's auditions, where Beca, now a sophomore and seemingly the new leader as Aubrey is not there, sits to judge with the other Bellas as reigning champions. As Beca begins to say their chosen audition song, the movie ends and cuts to the credits.

Pitch Perfect 2

Three years after the first film, the Bellas participates in the Kennedy Center performance for the president on his birthday, where Fat Amy had a wardrobe malfunction that cost the entire group much embarrassment and unwanted media plus public attention. The Bellas, humiliated once again, also loses any chance of auditioning for new members as well as performing unless they win the World Acappella Championship, wherein they can then get reinstated. They also heard of their new arch-nemesis, a group called Das Sound Machine, that's poised to take over their shows. On the side, Beca starts an internship at a music production company, an opportunity she's very keen on. She decides not to tell Chloe, the co-leader, afraid what she might think when she's not 100% focused on the Bellas, which would break Chloe's heart as the girl (unlike Beca) has given her entire heart to the group and purposefully failed classes to not graduate and stay with the Bellas for 3 years.

The Bellas decided to scout the competition and watches Das Sound Machine perform at the car show, where the Bellas were supposed to perform. Taken aback by how many members they have, how in sync they were and how choreographed their performance was, the Bellas realized they have tough competition ahead. Later during an exclusive riff off, the Bellas and the Das Sound Machine's smack down but the former loses when Emily inpurportedly sings Flashlight, her original song, when the category is supposed "90's Hip-hop Jamz", making the Bellas humiliated in from of the Das Sound Machine once more. Chloe scolds Emily for doing that but Beca tries to ease the situation. Later on, during another disastrous performance that shows the Bellas are really losing it with way-over-the-top antics, which nearly got Cynthia-Rose's hair burned, Chloe decides to get the girls on a retreat to find their sound and harmony once again. She (Chloe) plans to take the Bellas to Aubrey Posen, former co-leader who is now running a team-building effort in a forest. When Beca got frustated over the camp activities claiming they are not singing any songs that will be going to their set and she "doesn't have time for this", Chloe questions how anything could be more important than the Bellas, and Chloe finally knows of Beca's recent inconsistency towards the Bellas is because she is having an music producing internship that only Jesse, her boyfriend, and Fat Amy knows about. They argue and when Beca is about to leave, she got trapped, much to Chloe's delight and later extreme concern for the safety of Beca. Lilly eventually cut her down from the trap and all were safe. Later in the night, The Bellas and Aubrey are having a heart to heart talk about their future, and Chloe finally decides to graduate this year after Aubrey shows her by example that it's not that scary to graduate. She sings a heartwarming rendition of Cups along with the Bellas with teary eyes. Later she graduates with all the Bellas except Emily, and flies to Copenhagen for the World Championship. She performs happily with the Bellas and the former Bellas. At the movie's ending, it is revealed that they are the World Champion and are about to give Emily a proper aca-initiation.

Pitch Perfect 3

Personality

In Pitch Perfect, Beca is introduced a rebellious, free-spirited, courageous and "original" alternative whose interested in music producing, composing, or remixing songs. She is actually not so keen to attend college; she does it because her father wanted her to. She has an abilty to sing, however she does not like publicly showing it, when she denies the audition offer from Chloe. She is somewhat easygoing, and a kind person at heart, yet due to her upbringing and parent's divorce she has grew distant and likes to keep to herself, shunning those who would care about her. It is just that her rebellious nature seems to make her look ignorant to people. She does not like to be tied down with something. This is proven to be true: when everyone seems to obey Aubrey's rule, Beca constantly defies her, to the point when she suddenly blends the song "Bulletproof" with the old setlist of the Bellas, something that would not be done by the other Bellas as they are not that brave to change Aubrey's songs. However, her personal boundaries continue to get pushed backwards as Chloe sees her talent and keeps encouraging her, even if it makes Beca feel awkward, such as during the shower scene where they sing "Titanium" together despite being stark naked. Chloe is also frequently seen as the one who defends Beca and continues to support her even when the DJ keeps putting up fences.

As the movie progresses, Beca comes out of her rebellious shell to show what an intelligent, creative, caring and devoted person she is, swallowing her pride to apologise to Aubrey for their competition fiasco, helping the Bellas come up with new songs (original vocal remixes) and staying committed to them by performing with them. Beca's innovative performance with the Bellas earned them the first place award in the International A Capella Competition.

In Pitch Perfect 2, Beca appears to be less alternative. She is driven to get a proper DJ job at a record label, but ends up being an intern. Despite having an irritable boss who sets high expectations, Beca strives to achieve her dream to produce music. She eventually becomes tired as she tries to juggle being a Bella and an intern and is thus less committed to the Bellas. In the end, Beca comes back to the Bellas, fully committed.

Relationships

Jesse Swanson

They first met when she arrives at Barden University, Jesse is also a new freshman. He is seen in a car with his parents, playing an air guitar to Beca, which Beca looks back in confusion. Jesse joins The Treblemakers while Beca joins The Barden Bellas, a rival group whose original members hated one another. During the aca-Initiation night, Jesse hands her a drink and flirts with her by saying "You're one of the acapella girls, I'm one of the acapella boys and we're gonna have aca-children. That's inevitable." Over the course of the first film, they grow as close friends (possibly secret crushes as Beca takes an oath not to have relationships with Treblemakers) to each other, as both of them work at the college radio station, and Jesse shows his movie collection to Beca and they watch it together, in particular "The Breakfast Club". However, Beca always pushes him away whenever he tries to help her, which for her he is more like interfering rather than helping. At a point when Beca does this, Jesse also keeps distance himself from her and rejects her apology, although deep inside, he indeed misses her. At the 2012 Championship of Collegiate Acappella, Beca tries to get his attention by singing "Don't You Forget About Me" at the Nationals, and they finally reunite with a kiss, making their relationship official. In Pitch Perfect 2, they are still in a relationship.

Aubrey seems to be suspicious with their closeness during the aca-initiation night. She accuses her of being in relationship with him and when he tries to clarify this Beca pushes him away, which leads to their relationship strained over the spring break.

Chloe Beale

Chloe first met Beca when she tries to recruit her to audition for the Bellas, in which she rebuffs it saying she can't sing. Chloe realizes that Beca has a voice during a shower scene when she hears Beca sings "Titanium" and convinces her via an amazing duet that auditioning might not be a bad idea after all. They grow close throughout the first film, as Chloe is the one who is able to defend Beca from Aubrey, since she is a co-leader. Chloe is also seen to be more understanding and accepting Beca's advice and suggestions, however it all remains unused due to Aubrey overbearing control of the group.

Chloe also continues to break Beca's personal barriers by showing her concern and support for Beca throughout the two movies. In the second film, Chloe is still a Bella upon Beca's senior year, though chooses to graduate with the group before Worlds. Even after major disagreement between them during Pitch Perfect 2, Chloe never fails to stick by Beca's side and even uses the song (Cups) Beca auditioned for the Bellas 4 years ago when they all confessed how much they will miss each other after graduation. During the tent scene, Chloe wants to get closer with Beca, trying to push her personal boundaries again, offering a back rub and mentions she 'regrets not experimenting enough during college' and gently pushes Beca's hair from her face. Beca is taken aback and turns away from her quickly, and when Fat Amy asks the Bellas to sing, Chloe starts by singing Natalie

Imbruglia's "Torn." When Beca and Chloe argue the next day, Beca's frustrations climax and end with her leaving in a huff and getting trapped in a net. Chloe feeling she's won the argument by proving that Beca clearly needs the Bellas more than she thinks, she quickly grows concerned over the girl's safety.Their tent scene was inspired by the Spider-Man kiss scene. Also there is a deleted behind-the-scene after the Bellas win on stage, where she covers Chloe's face in kisses.

Aubrey Posen

Aubrey seems to take a bigger disliking to Beca than any of the other new Bellas since she does not follow her rule since the very beginning (she shows up late to the audition and so she sings "Cups" rather than "Since U Been Gone" along with the other auditioners) and keeps asking her things she states (such as why are they kicked out in disgrace when they have sex with the Treblemakers). Through the film, Beca is shown to be unable to keep follows Aubrey's rules, which leads to Aubrey taking more dislike in her, and it all boils when Beca adding a new song to the original Bellas setlist. Aubrey furiously shouts at Beca and making her quit. Aubrey is the only one who decides whether Beca could stay with the Bellas or not, and eventually give her the chance and even gave her the lead position. They seems to be in good terms in the last minutes of the film, as Aubrey is able to sing more new upbeat songs. They hug after performing at the ICCA nationals.

Trivia

  • In the first film, Beca was the only new member of the Barden Bellas who is not a "freak".
  • As of the ending of first film, she is now a leader of The Barden Bellas.
    • In Pitch Perfect 2, she shares the position with Chloe.
  • It might be noted that she took an oath not to have sexual relationship with The Treblemakers member, but her budding relationship with Jesse is not a sexual one. So, actually, Aubrey has no rights to be angry about this.
    • The oath could also mean not to have relationships with The Trebles.
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