Sleeping Beauty (1959)

by Tristi Pinkston | More from this Blogger

01 Mar 2007 12:17 AM

One of my favorite Disney classics of all time, "Sleeping Beauty" tells us the story of Aurora, the beautiful princess born to a king and queen who had thought themselves unable to have children. Coming as a miracle, she was adored and doted on, and a grand celebration was held to commemorate her birth. All the good fairies in the land were invited to come, and each bestowed upon her a gift. Beauty, kindness, and a lovely singing voice were amongst the gifts, and the king and queen couldn't be happier. But then the evil fairy Maleficent arrives, furious that she was not invited to the party. She grants a wish to the baby too - that on her sixteenth birthday, she will prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die.

There is one fairy left to grant a wish, and while she can't undo Maleficent's curse, she can soften it. The princess will not die, but she will fall fast asleep until love's kiss awakens her.

The king orders all spinning wheels in the kingdom destroyed, but he knows that Maleficent will stop at nothing to hurt his daughter. So, regretfully, he sends the baby deep into the woods to live with three of the good fairies - Flora, Fauna, and Merriweather. These three good women put away their wands so their magic will not alert Maleficent to their whereabouts, and they devote their lives to taking care of the little baby girl.

Sixteen years go by, and Aurora, who has grown up under the name "Rose," is a lovely young woman. On the morning of her birthday, the fairies send her out to pick berries while they prepare her birthday party. It's to be their last with her; that night, they are supposed to take her back to the castle so she can be married to the prince from a neighboring kingdom. The marriage was arranged nearly the moment she was born, and she has never met the prince. But she's about to.

Wandering in the woods, she comes upon a hunter, and they spend part of the afternoon together. He asks her to return later to meet him, and while she's hesitant, she agrees, having fallen in love with him. But on her return to the cottage, the fairies tell her the truth about her identity, and they leave as soon as dark falls, making their way back to the castle.

Of course, there is one old, dilapidated spinning wheel left in the castle, and of course she finds it and pricks her finger on it. Of course the hunter in the woods turns out to be Prince Phillip, the man she's supposed to marry. It's all pretty predictable, especially when we're so familiar with the fairy tale, but the way that it's executed is just charming. The fairies are the dearest women, Maleficent is a pretty freaky villain (those are the best kind) and the romance is sweet and touching.

The best part of the movie is when the fairies are trying to get ready for Rose's birthday. They don't know how to do anything for themselves, and so they pull out their wands, just this once. A wand fight ensues over whether Rose's birthday dress should be pink or blue, and spatters of color fly everywhere. They're still fighting over it to this day, I assume.

Related Blogs:

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

The Sword in the Stone

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

Learn more about Tristi Pinkston

I've been a blogger for Families.com since August of 2006.

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