Review: Sleeping Beauty (DMC #27)
Welcome back, everyone. As you may have heard on our social media channels, we decided to push back our viewing schedule last week given the events going on in the United States. We felt we should both use our time to help our BIPOC communities, and we will continue to do so both in our personal lives and by doing our best to call out racism and sexism in these films as we work our way through the challenge.
This week we continued with the 27th film in the challenge, Sleeping Beauty. As always, our synopsis is below for those folks who need a refresher or are first-time viewers, and the rest of our review is below.
Synopsis
King Stefan and Queen Leah proclaim a holiday to celebrate the birth of their daughter, Princess Aurora. At her christening she is betrothed to Prince Phillip, son of King Stefan’s friend King Hubert, in order to unite their two kingdoms. The three good fairies Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather arrive to bless Aurora. While Flora and Fauna are able to bless her with beauty and song, Merryweather’s gift is interrupted by the arrival of the evil fairy Maleficent. Maleficent is angry over not being invited, and curses the princess as revenge: before the sun sets on her sixteenth birthday she will prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die. The fairies are unable to undo the curse, but Merryweather weakens it by having Aurora instead fall into a deep sleep which will only be broken by true love’s kiss. King Stefan orders all spinning wheels to be burned, and at the insistence of the good fairies, he and the Queen reluctantly allow Aurora to live with the fairies, hidden away within a cottage deep in the forest until her sixteenth birthday. Aurora (renamed Briar Rose) grows up into a beautiful young woman. On her sixteenth birthday, the fairies plan a surprise party and send Aurora away so they can prepare. Prince Phillip happens to be riding through the forest and follows Aurora’s singing. The two meet, and while she is initially wary of him they fall in love. Aurora invites Phillip to meet her at her cottage that evening.
Back at the cottage, Flora and Merryweather try making a dress for Aurora while Fauna makes a birthday cake. They are unable to do any of it properly without magic, and eventually give in to using their wands. Flora and Merryweather argue over the color of the dress, and their magic attracts the attention of Maleficent’s raven Diablo, who has been sent to find Aurora. Aurora returns home and is happy to tell the fairies that she has met someone. They reveal her true heritage and tell her they are taking her back to the castle that evening. They regretfully tell her she cannot see the man again, leaving Aurora heartbroken. Phillip briefly returns to his father to tell him he wishes to marry a peasant girl and Hubert is devastated. The fairies take Aurora to the castle, and leave her briefly while she grieves. Maleficent lures Aurora to a high tower and tricks her into touching the spindle of a cursed spinning wheel, fulfilling the curse just before the sun sets. The good fairies are left devastated and lay the sleeping Aurora in the topmost tower. The fairies put the kingdom to sleep until Aurora awakens. Flora overhears a conversation between the sleepy kings and realizes the man Aurora has fallen for is Prince Phillip. They return to the cottage to find Phillip, but Maleficent has abducted him. The fairies rescue Phillip, arming him with the Shield of Virtue and Sword of Truth. They fight off Maleficent’s minions and attempt to ride toward the castle, but Maleficent halts Phillip’s progress with a field of thorns. Phillip fights through the thicket, causing Maleficent to confront him directly by transforming into a massive dragon. Although she initially has the advantage, the fairies enchant Phillip’s sword, which he throws at Maleficent, killing her. Phillip awakens Aurora with true love’s kiss, and the kingdom awakens as well. The two return to the castle ballroom and Aurora is reunited with her parents. Everyone celebrates Aurora’s return, and the princess and prince dance while Flora and Merryweather continue to fight over Aurora’s dress color.
Thoughts Before Watching
Kevin: Oooh, I am so glad we’re watching this! I have so many thoughts about this already that I will just have to keep it brief. I know my excitement is partly thanks to being tired of the underwhelming movies we recently watched, but I’ve always liked Sleeping Beauty. It’s probably the most quotable Disney film of its decade, possibly of all its predecessors (I can’t tell you how many times I quote Merryweather’s “come on bucket, mop, broom” line), and the film is certainly one of the most memorable to me. I’m more interested in what new thoughts I may have after we watch.
Megan: I love this movie! Honestly, it’s one of my favorite Disney princess movies. Yes, it has some problems from a feminist standpoint (we’ll get to that later), but weirdly that doesn’t keep me from enjoying this film. Maybe it’s nostalgia? Maybe it’s the fairy tale story structure? Or maybe it’s the sheer number of female characters? Seriously, this might be one of the first films we’ve seen in this challenge where speaking female characters outnumber speaking male characters—and they’re great characters! Okay, Aurora gets a little boring toward the end, and her mother is only on screen for a blip, but Maleficent is fantastic as a villain, and the good fairies are hilarious! Even Prince Phillip wins some points for actually having some personality, unlike the princes from Snow White or Cinderella. I am so glad we’re finally watching this one!
Thoughts After Watching
The music is such a step up!
Megan: After watching the last several movies, the music of Sleeping Beauty feels like such a step up! Maybe this is nostalgia talking, but I have always loved the songs in this one. They’re not all songs I’ll play on repeat when I listen to my Disney music playlist, but they’re still catchy. From the moment I hear the song “Hail to the Princess Aurora” I’m hooked (and also singing along). Of course, there’s also the iconic “Once Upon a Dream” and the hilarious “Skumps” drinking song. Even the music that plays in the background during different sequences of the film is iconic—the blares of horns and drums when we see the Forbidden Mountain, and the whimsical melodies that accompany the fairies’ preparations for Rose’s birthday party—these bits of music are inseparable from the scenes of this film. While I’m not too fond of the songs that play while the fairies are granting their gifts in the opening, the rest of the film’s music is spot on!
Still the most epic film so far, with the most epic villain.
Kevin: Compared to all the movies that came before it, Sleeping Beauty plays up on the classic fantasy tropes more than any other, and it does it well. There are kings and queens, princes and princesses, fairies, dragons, and magic. Previous films had some of these elements for sure, but not all of this tied up into a single adventure. To me, this film represents the peak of classic Disney (where I define the classics as basically from the beginning up to the 1960s). Sleeping Beauty doesn’t technically belong to Disney’s Golden Era. It came at the end of a decade of revival for the studio—heralding yet another downward slope of less-than-stellar films. It helps that the movie features what may be the studio’s most well known (and even beloved) villain. I mean, does any villain before or after Maleficent really come close to her, in terms of popularity, influence, and sheer epic? With maybe the exception of the original Evil Queen in Snow White, I think any other contender doesn’t quite hit all of those marks.
Megan: I couldn’t agree more. And in my opinion, the Evil Queen has nothing on Maleficent. Maleficent is such a great villain! Think about it. She gets her grand entrance when she suddenly appears in the middle of the party for Aurora, and, let’s be honest, she’s actually kinda hot with her angular features and her makeup, in spite of her pasty complexion and choice of headwear. (I can almost imagine the Evil Queen’s mirror telling her that Maleficent is fairer than she is—perhaps not the fairest in the land, but she’s for sure a step above the Evil Queen in my book.) Maleficent’s cool confidence when she speaks to the King and Queen is far more chilling than a villain who yells and rages, and that confidence is well-deserved. She knows exactly how powerful she is—even the good fairies admit “Maleficent’s powers are far too great” to be undone with their magic. She’s also wicked smart. Not only did she manage to get to Aurora before sunset on her sixteenth birthday (which, can I just say, I really do feel for her when her minions turn out to be so completely incompetent), but she had the foresight to also lay a trap for whatever man Aurora fell in love with. That she managed to catch Prince Phillip was just icing on the cake. To top it all off, Maleficent can turn into a freakin’ DRAGON! I mean how do you top that?! As a kid, Maleficent definitely terrified me, but watching this as an adult, honestly, you kinda respect her—even while rooting against her.
Did Merryweather do everything during those sixteen years?
Kevin: Something that I’ve wondered for years is just how the fairies managed to take care of Aurora while she grew up. When the fairies plan Aurora’s party, Merryweather says she’s “never baked a fancy cake” but Flora informs her that Fauna will be performing that particular duty while Flora makes the dress. Merryweather is incredulous, pointing out that Flora can’t sew and Fauna has never cooked. She’s cut off by Flora, so initially one could interpret that she meant to say Fauna has never baked cake…until we later see she can’t possibly have cooked anything at all as she has a hard time with the instructions, such as not understanding that tsp. means teaspoon (note that Merryweather is the one to help explain this), and her comical misinterpretation of folding in eggs. Given this, it doesn’t feel like too much of a stretch to suggest that Merryweather did a lot of the cooking. With Flora’s clear inability to create a dress—especially by making the mistake of using Merryweather as the model even though she doesn’t match Aurora’s body type—it’s also possible that Merryweather was responsible for creating clothes. The fairies are shown wearing the same clothes they first started out in, but Aurora obviously needed new garments as she got older. Who made the clothes? Who cooked? Did they live off a diet of berries for sixteen years? Can we assume that they traded food for clothes or something? Did they have specific chores throughout those years, which is why Fauna can’t cook and Flora can’t sew? They were supposed to be isolated all that time, so seriously, how did they get basic needs? These are the important questions! Merryweather is clearly the most practical and level-headed of the three, but I still have to wonder just how the four survived in a cottage where it seems like the fairies learned very few skills. It’s why I kind of believe Merryweather did the majority of the true caretaking.
Megan: To give Fauna some credit, she is the one who carried baby Aurora out of the castle that very first night, so perhaps when it came to caring for a baby the fairies were a little more equitable. However, when Flora tells Merryweather to let Fauna cook because Fauna has always wanted to “and this is her last chance,” I have to wonder, does this mean the fairies would just go back to their old ways of using magic as a crutch to do all ordinary things? I mean, if I went sixteen years without a dishwasher and then suddenly had a dishwasher I would totally use that dishwasher every chance I get, but it seems silly that if Fauna always wanted to cook in those sixteen years that she wouldn’t just put down her wand one day in the future and give it a try. Also, if Fauna always wanted to cook, why didn’t Flora or Merryweather let her? I get it that she’s totally clueless about cooking, but in sixteen years no one bothered to teach her even a little? I also find it strange that while Flora doesn’t seem to understand the basics of sewing, once she has a wand in her hand she suddenly knows what to tell the fabric to do. Fauna, on the other hand, clearly doesn’t know the first thing about cooking because she tells the ingredients to follow the instructions in the cookbook and then watches in amazement as the ingredients pull themselves together in the proper fashion. (Also, how badly written was that cookbook if Fauna couldn’t figure out that you bake the cake before you tier and frost it?) I’ve often wondered if it was Aurora (er, Rose) who did everything for them, yet how could she possibly have learned how to do anything with the fairies as her only teachers?
Love: platonic vs. romantic
Kevin: For how short the film is compared to other animated features, I think Sleeping Beauty does a good job showing platonic love. This is best represented in the love the fairies have for Aurora. Although the film moves quickly, we’re given enough time to see that Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather truly care about her when they plan the party, and even later when Merryweather insists they should use magic to give her something truly special since they’re unable to properly prepare otherwise. They grieve tremendously when the curse is fulfilled, and do everything in their power to rescue Phillip. While Aurora is the titular character, this story is really centered on the fairies.
Megan: Exactly! This is the three fairies’ story, not Aurora’s. The fairies are the ones with all the agency and (magical) power, with the exception of their antagonist, Maleficent; they’re the ones who figure out Phillip is the key to breaking the curse; and they aid Phillip in the final battle against Maleficent in order to ultimately bring him to Aurora, thus saving her life.
Kevin: Everything the fairies do is out of love and care for the princess and far less to do with opposing Maleficent, although they certainly do that as well. Similarly, King Stefan and Queen Leah give up their daughter in order to giver her the best chance for survival, albeit they’re heartbroken to do so. Sixteen years later, Stefan expresses apprehension to Hubert’s plans to speed along Phillip and Aurora’s future together. Stefan wisely points out that the sudden changes could come as a shock to Aurora. While it is true that he allowed Aurora to be betrothed, these later actions make it seem like he has some misgivings. He wants Aurora’s transition back to the castle to be easy and comfortable, and these moments show that he has his daughter’s interests at heart.
Kevin: The way the movie treats romantic love is interesting. On the one hand, it is still very quick. Aurora and Phillip fall in love in almost the exact same way as Cinderella and Prince Charming, right down to the dance and the fact neither of them gets the other’s name before a sudden departure. Yet, that doesn’t stop the pair from wanting to pursue their love in spite of not actually knowing a thing about the other, save for a brief intimate connection (and, I’m sorry, but having dreamt about the other person doesn’t make you know them at all). On the other hand, this romance is pursued in spite of the traditions their families have imposed on them. Phillip disagrees about his arranged marriage, upsetting his father by renouncing his betrothal and stating his plans to marry the peasant girl he met in the woods (resulting in the most amazing line to Hubert that he is “living in the past. This is the 14th century!”). Aurora wants to be with Phillip and is saddened when told she must marry a prince she doesn’t know, or so she understandably believes. The irony, of course, is that the two fulfill their betrothal in the end, but it’s not because their kingdoms forced them to. It’s because—after meeting, forming a connection, and falling in love—they chose one another. This idea is later explored in Aladdin, and definitely done a lot better since we see much more of Aladdin and Jasmine’s development. Still, I give credit to Disney for finally branching out their romances. It could’ve been better executed, but the attempt is noteworthy.
Points for feminism…and points against…
Megan: First the good news—this film passes the Bechdel test with flying colors! From beginning to end we see female characters talking to each other about something other than a man. The Queen and Maleficent talk about whether or not Maleficent is offended and about giving a gift to the baby Aurora; the fairies tell off Maleficent before comforting the Queen (and King); the fairies talk among themselves about Maleficent and how to save Aurora, and then spend a large part of the film talking about how to care for Aurora, often bickering among themselves about the best way to do it up until the final scene. Even in this bickering, however, the fairies are largely supportive of each other. Yes, they have differing opinions, but they express those opinions openly, and very rarely belittle each other (the one unfortunate exception is when Flora tells Merryweather the dress looks awful “because it’s on you, dear”). Merryweather is the best at expressing her opinions, even when they’re unpopular. For example, when Flora and Fauna are clearly failing at the dress and cake, Flora and Fauna are hesitant to critique each other. Merryweather, on the other hand, tells them the truth so they can create something worthy of Aurora. The only downside to this openness in sharing their opinions is that Flora and Merryweather repeatedly fail to compromise—with disastrous consequences when their magical fight betrays Aurora’s location to Maleficent’s crow. Instead of making the dress pink or blue, couldn’t they have made it purple?
When it comes to Aurora (or Rose, as they call her), the fairies clearly want the best for her, as if she were their child. Even though they keep their promise and return Rose to the castle and a future with a prince she (at the time) does not want to marry, they feel awful about hurting her with both the revelation that Rose is Princess Aurora and that she can never see the man she met in the forest ever again. (I mean it really is a terrible birthday party. “Surprise! You’re actually a princess and already betrothed to a man you met when you were a newborn. Oh, and did we forget to mention there’s a curse on you?” Also, why in the world wouldn’t they have waited sixteen years and a day just to make sure Aurora was free and clear of the curse?!) We can imagine that had circumstances been different, the fairies would have preferred to keep on living with Rose in the forest, allowing her the freedom to fall in love with whomever she chose. While Aurora’s real mother gets very little screen time, we can see in the way she tearfully hugs her daughter at the end of the movie that she truly loves her and has missed her and longed for her all those sixteen years. It’s quite possible that if Aurora had rejected Prince Phillip, her mother and even her father would have had her back.
Megan: Now for the unfortunate news. From a feminist perspective, there are still some issues with this story. Part of the problem lies in the original tale of a prince kissing a princess to rescue her. I mean, it’s kind of creepy, some guy you barely know kissing you while you’re asleep—even if it is to save your life. However, let’s start at the beginning of the movie. First, Prince Phillip first meets Aurora, his future bride—as a baby. Here’s a kid who looks to be about five or six years old, and he’s betrothed to a newborn? I’d make that face too, Phillip.
Megan: Then the the fairies decide to bestow gifts on the child that are entirely impractical and a bit sexist. Flora gives the gift of beauty. Unless Aurora was an incredibly unfortunate baby, who’s to decide now, before she’s even grown, that her own natural beauty wouldn’t be enough? After all, it’s not like she has to attract a guy since she’s literally already betrothed before she’s even a month old. Is this gift supposed to be some favor to Prince Phillip? If it is, that’s extra sexist—here, let me make sure this baby is hot when she’s old enough to be your bride. Just…no. Fauna gives the gift of song. I mean, okay, if this were a story told in the 21st century and Fauna was basically making Aurora the next Beyoncé, then I could totally get behind that. However, given the time period (which, if we’re being totally honest, was rife with illnesses and other dangers), it seems like such a frivolous thing. It’s one thing to gift something frivolous if it’s an object like some frilly baby outfit, but when you have magic powers it seems a waste to gift something like song when you could gift, I don’t know, a perfect immune system. I often wonder what Merryweather would have gifted Aurora had she had the opportunity to choose instead of being forced into a rescue gift. Would she, being the most practical and logical of the group, have gifted something more practical? Or would her gift have fallen prey to yet some other sexist stereotype?
I personally have mixed feelings about the way Aurora and Prince Phillip meet. On the one hand, I love that whole iconic sequence. I mean the way Phillip looks at Aurora from afar, you can tell he’s falling in love with her not because she’s beautiful or sings well, but because she’s being herself—singing, dancing, and having fun with her animal friends when she thinks no one is watching. I mean isn’t that what every teen does even in the 21st century, blasting their music and singing into their hairbrush with their pets as their only audience? The part that gets tricky for me is how Phillip then introduces himself to Aurora. Cutting in and taking the owl’s place is mostly okay in my book because it makes for an interesting meet-cute for storytelling purposes (as long as Phillip then expects the shock that comes after). However, it is after Aurora expresses shock that he refuses to let go of her hand! Even though he’s very polite in saying he’s sorry and he didn’t mean to frighten her, his continuing to hold Aurora’s hand against her will comes off as creepy. All seems to be smoothed over when Phillip is able to expertly sing the song Aurora was just singing by herself, but then Aurora realizes he’s a stranger and she can’t give him her name. (All this time they’ve been flirting and dancing and no one exchanged names?!) In an entirely confusing exchange, Aurora tells Phillip he can never see her again…or maybe he can someday…not tomorrow…this evening. Um, what? It’s almost like Aurora knows this chance encounter with a stranger was maybe a little creepy, so maybe she should obey her godmothers’ rules and not see him, but also she’s attracted to him, so okay, invite him to the party. In the end I’m left just as confused as Aurora. Prince Phillip seems great in every other instance—was he just poorly instructed on how to flirt without being creepy? Or is this the first warning sign of a problematic future for this couple?
The artwork is breathtaking.
Kevin: Have I already used breathtaking for another movie? I can’t remember, but I sincerely mean it about this one. I always loved the visuals in Sleeping Beauty, and a few years ago I had the pleasure of visiting an exhibit dedicated to the art of Eyvind Earle. Earle was responsible for the styling, background, and color themes for this movie. He was also behind the use of the bird motifs during the blessing scenes at Aurora’s christening. I highly suggest checking out some of his artwork here, and I’m sure you’ll see the similarities instantly. Some of his work, while not exactly made for Sleeping Beauty, looks like it would be perfect for the movie. I believe this art is some of the best Disney has put out there, even compared to some of their newer work. I also love how the whole style differs from the other movies of the decade, which just emphasizes the film’s “one-of-a-kind” feel and makes it stand out over its immediate predecessors. Earlier works from the ‘50s were based more on Rococo, where Sleeping Beauty instead draws influence from Medieval art and Art Deco. A particular stand out for me is the shot of the castle as Aurora stares out at it. The design here evokes that Art Deco look and makes the shot look like the background painting of a stage play. In fact, one additional cool thing about the movie is how the whole story feels like a stage play. From the artwork to some of the blocking techniques, Sleeping Beauty wouldn’t be out of place as a Medieval play. Of course, it makes sense since it is based off a ballet. It’s never a surprise that artists draw influence in order to tell stories, but it’s still fun to discover the real-life connections.
Verdict
Megan: 9
Kevin: 9
Final Score: 9
Where does Sleeping Beauty rank for you? Tell us in the comments!
