Here Comes the Princess Aurora

As we reach the first of the last four movies that Walt Disney worked on, I can’t help but feel more relieved than sad. Not because of my bias of being born at the height of animated storytelling but because I can see the growth of the man who created a now 100-year-old empire. And I love it. Fun fact: My first experience with Sleeping Beauty was when they released the 2-disc DVD remastering of it in 2003. To tell y’all that I played this movie out is an understatement. I have no idea what possessed me to watch this movie at nausea when I was a child, but because of this small moment in time, I haven’t watched it since. My hazy memories of rewatching it in 2019 pale in comparison to the memories of my seven-year-old self dancing around my living room in plastic princess heels and a plastic crown. A fairytale classic about a princess saved by true love's kiss……that’s the description. Never mind the evil fairy that cursed her because she wasn’t invited to a party. Is this movie another golden standard or are my memories of 20 years ago just a joy that can be found once upon a dream? I think it’s time we found out together.

Another bejeweled book with our favorite white man narrator kicks off the story. It’s wild to see how long this man was working with the company and how he is one of the foundations of the early Disney movies. I’m a sucker for the princess fanfare at the beginning. Just like with Cinderella, I find myself singing along to the opener and taking in the details of the backgrounds depicted in the opening credits. As a kid, I used to glaze over them and didn’t take the time to appreciate the hand-drawn design and innovative creativity. I just took them for granted because they were just drawings, and anyone can do that, right? (Cue the manic laughter). I like how Aurora was born and her parents immediately declared it a holiday so the entire kingdom, no matter the status, could come to shower her with gifts. No wonder Maleficent was upset. Literally, everyone, including the peasants, was invited except for her. I'd be upset too.

There must’ve been no wind that day because all those flags are STIFF. The presentation of the grand ballroom looked like a scene in a Where’s Waldo book. I never thought to ask this, but where is Philip's mom? King Hubert decided to come to a royal event without his wife and was only in high spirits because he came to betroth his, like, 8–10-year-old son to a baby princess that’s like, 2 seconds old. I don’t know about y’all, but that just made the romance between these two a little bit less romantic. No? Just me?

Philip doesn’t seem to think very fondly of it either. Just saying.

The three great fairies are like those aunties that smother you in kisses at family events. They bless her with beauty, a good singing voice, and then Maleficent shows up. In a bolt of lightning and green smoke, Maleficent crashes the party and becomes a legend in a matter of minutes. The queen of petty award has to go to her, hands down. She tells the royals that she isn’t upset about not being invited and turns around and curses their child to die on her 16th birthday by pricking her finger on a sewing needle. Like, come on now. The way that she sets up Aurora's demise always has me cackling as much as Malificent as she vanishes in a flash of green smoke.

I hate how much pressure is put on Merriweather to give her gift to Aurora. Screw the gift that she was going to originally give. We’ll never know what that was gonna be. But her brilliance creates a loophole in Maleficent’s curse and the troupe of true love's kiss is once more revived. I like her’s more than Snow White's. Unless we’re talking Once Upon a Time, then that’s a whole different topic. But, alas, I digress.

On that same day, King Stefan said fuck fashion and burned all of the spindles in the kingdom. There are many hidden mickeys within this movie that I’ve never noticed before. Fauna has to be my favorite of the three fairies because, even though she is extremely ditzy and innocent, she sees things for what they are. Her dialogue tunes into the truth about why these events are unfolding in the first place, giving layers and backstory to the characters. They have a history together beyond the narrative of this story. This is the first time that I’ve seen Disney drop into a person’s life since Pinocchio and Dumbo. The plot, though simple, sucks you in and entices you to want to know what happens next. The animation also borderlines an early form of animated realism as they move throughout the kingdom and showcase a more angular style to their characters. I never noticed that Flora and Merriweather’s battle of blue vs pink is from the very beginning of their screen time together and I think it’s hilarious. The undertone of a battle over a color really shows the true undertones of our society's need to define things with abstract concepts.

The older I get, the more I empathize with these Disney villains. Imagine finding out that your minions have been looking for the wrong person for 16 years and having to rely on your precious pet as your last resort for restoring evil. Aside from living in a drafty castle in the midst of sharp mountains, I’d say she’s not that bad.

I high key want to live in that cottage far away from everyone under the pseudonym Briar Rose. The banter of the fairies as mortals is hilarious and I can see them as the groundwork for so many trios I know throughout future animations. I also love how every single Disney horse is sassy until they’re bribed with food. Briar Rose is, of course, friends with all of the animals in the forest and sings with them about her dreams of love and princes. Their kind gesture of pretending to be her "prince charming" is what leads Philip and Aurora to meet in the first place. At first, I thought that maybe they had some secret dream connection or something going on the way she easily melted into his arms. But when he asked for her name, my hopes for a bigger story instantly died with the music.

The kind gesture of the three fairies is what gets Aurora in trouble by the way. They should’ve just taken her ass home and spared all of those eggs folded into that cake. I do like that Aurora’s father tries to prevent his best friend from marrying off his daughter the moment she arrives.

I love the misunderstanding that runs through the heart of the movie's dialogue. The two are unknowingly betrothed to the one they love, but they think they are two different people. Maleficent doesn’t hesitate to hypnotize the princess the moment she’s alone and lead her to her fate. It’s all very dramatic for Disney standards. They play into the darkness towards the second half of the movie and really give a sense of texture to the stone walls. I love how Flora decides to put an entire kingdom to sleep to save them from the heartbreak of knowing that the trio failed to keep Aurora safe. Thank goodness she fell in love before she fulfilled the prophecy or the entire kingdom would’ve been fated to sleep for eternity.

I’m mad that the three fairies thought that Maleficent didn’t know a thing about love. A woman that evil had to have gotten her heart broken. That’s why she’s one step ahead of everyone and captures Philip. Disney really leans into the darker parts of medieval times and paints a vivid picture of all their backdrops. They play around with size, light, and texture that puts their previous movies to shame. While some of their characters are simply drawn, their background work balances it out.

Maleficent has definitely gotten her heart broken before because her plan to release Philip once he’s old and gray is nothing short of the plan of a woman scorned. The pettiest queen of them all. Without that enchanted shield and sword, Philip would’ve been screwed against Maleficent. He braves escaping the rubble of Maleficent's castle with the help of the fairies and doesn’t hesitate to charge through thorns and fight a fire-breathing dragon. Compared to the other Disney movies in the past, this one is the most intense by far. They show the confirmation of Maleficent being dead and even set the mood for the worst being over. Their use of color in this movie is seamless. I love how King Hubert was the only one who was lost at the end of the movie and ended up just going along with everything.

This movie ranks high on the list of Walt’s movies for me and is an inspiration for how far someone can come in storytelling through animation. Bravo. I look forward to seeing you in whatever form I appear. Until next time!

About the Author

Crystal Cabrae is a storyteller who specializes in writing dystopian, romantic, and adventurous worlds for animation and fantastical fiction. She is a proud graduate of Full Sail University, AMDA, and New World School of the Arts. Her six years of acting training in both New York and Miami gives her a unique perspective when approaching her characters. She has a passion for sharing how to create stories with the world and inspiring the storyteller that lives within all of us. Follow her on IG or Pinterest to know the latest.