"Maleficent doesn't know anything about love, or kindness, or the joy of helping others. You know, sometimes I don't think she's really very happy." - Fauna (the green fairy)
Initial thoughts before viewing: I freaking love Sleeping Beauty. I watched it on repeat as a kid. I would literally play the movie, take the VHS tape out when it was over, put it in the rewinder machine (remember those?), and play it again. And again. 📼
When I tell people that I love and favor Sleeping Beauty, I often get a lot of blank stares and confused reactions. I've been told that Sleeping Beauty is a bit of an odd choice for a child to love - but I'm not sure why. It's Disney fantasy and storytelling at its finest!
Why don't more people like this classic? Is it that they've never seen it, don't really remember it, or else think it's a little boring? Welp, buckle up because I'm going to tell you all about my love for Sleeping Beauty and why it's an underrated Disney classic. 💗
If you've never seen Sleeping Beauty or need a refresher, here is a link to the movie's Disney Wiki page where you can read the plot summary.
Highlights:
-Maleficent = GOAT 👑 Here she is, ladies and gentlemen: the greatest Disney villain of all time. Maleficent is hands down the best part of Sleeping Beauty and a huge reason why I love this film. She steals EVERY scene she's in. Let's break it down:
The Design: Maleficent is not your typical ugly baddie -- her dramatic, elegant, and beautiful design is captivating and sets her up as a formidable contrast against Princess Aurora (fun fact: Disney legend Marc Davis actually animated both leading ladies). Maleficent has long robes which resemble flames at the end, a headdress that incorporates the wings of a bat, and finally horns of the devil. The magic that Maleficent performs manifests itself as an eerie green color which is a beautiful contrast to her own black and purple design.
The Voice: Maleficent was brought to life by Eleanor Audley, a powerhouse voice actress who was known for her commanding, regal performances. If her voice sounds familiar, it's because Eleanor Audley was basically Disney Royalty: she also voiced Lady Tremaine (aka the evil step mother) in Cinderella and Madame Leota in the Haunted Mansion attraction. Audley was also the live-action reference for Maleficent, and animator Marc Davis claimed that many of the character's expressions and mannerisms were taken directly from Audley herself. She's a legend!
The Motivation: Don't you just hate getting snubbed? Okay yes, cursing a newborn because you weren't invited to their christening is petty, but I LOVE THE PETTINESS OF IT. Remember: Maleficent is an incarnation of pure evil ("the mistress of all evil" in fact), so she LIVES to cause unhappiness and unrest. The truth is, Maleficent isn't really offended by not being invited -- she's just EVIL, and crashing a party and cursing a baby is just the sort of thing evil does! Aurora's arrival is the perfect opportunity for her to have some fun.
Did somebody say dra-gon? Forget the Mother of Dragons, MALIFICENT IS A MOTHER-EFFING DRAGON. Her evil powers are off the chart and make for a unforgettable climactic showdown (more on that later).
With her limitless powers, bad ass design, and proclivity for dastardly deeds, Maleficent is unconditionally the best character in Sleeping Beauty AND the best Disney villain of all time. Sure she was evil, but she was one seriously cool villain, elegant, commanding, and so powerful all in a very evil way. FIGHT ME.
-Designed to be different. 🎨 I'm obsessed with the art direction and stylized features in Sleeping Beauty. Disney was very aware of the fact that they'd already produced 2 animated features based on fairy tales (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Cinderella), so the direction for Sleeping Beauty was make it different. The result was a medieval-gothic style (told though a very graphic 1950s POV) that focused on strong verticals with incredibly sophisticated, detailed backgrounds.
The film was also the first animated feature to be photographed in the Super Technirama 70 widescreen format. This allowed for ultra wide high-resolution backgrounds that were so decorative and detailed that they usually took 7-10 days to paint (for comparison, a normal animation background typically took about 1 day to complete). The attention to detail and sophistication of Sleeping Beauty makes it stand out from other animated features -- each individual frame of this movie could be considered a piece of artwork.
-That muuusic! 🎵 To match the elegant and stylized art direction of the film, Disney decided to use music inspired from from Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty ballet. This classical music inspiration elevates the movie to a whole other level. "Once Upon a Dream" is also a timeless, beautiful duet between Princess Aurora and Prince Philip that remains one of the most popular love songs of all time. My personal favorite rendition of this song is 2014's cover performed by Lana Del Rey for the live-action Maleficent.
-Prince who? Prince PHILIP, you peasant! 🤴 As the first Disney prince with a proper name, Prince Phillip is also the first prince to have an actual role that is key in the storyline. He even has his own fun sidekick, his loyal horse Samson. The addition of Samson allows Prince Phillip’s character to blossom on screen. From Prince Phillip’s first scene running around with Samson in the woods, it’s established that the prince is charming and seeks out adventure and the unknown. Prince Phillip later defies his father King Hubert and jovially proclaims that he will marry the girl he loves, regardless of her social class. “Now, father, you're living in the past. This is the 14th century!” he says. We get the sense that Prince Phillip is a young, generally carefree spirit who is honest and true to himself.
The bottom line is that unlike previous Disney princes, Prince Phillip has enough character development to convincingly play a larger part in the story itself. Rather than stumbling across a sleeping Snow White or commissioning a search for Cinderella, Prince Phillip has to actively fight Maleficent to rescue Aurora. Prince Philip is not perfect or fully fleshed out as a character (I see you, Flynn Rider) but HEY it's progress in the prince department!
-Follow this eerie green light. It's totally safe and fine. 🟢 There's a deeply sinister sequence where Maleficent uses her magic to lure Princess Aurora away from her chambers to the prophetic enchanted spinning wheel. The visuals from this sequence are some of my favorite in the entire movie: Maleficent's glowing eyes, the floating green magic orb, Aurora's transfixed gaze -- it's all SO DANG GOOD (and a little terrifying). The final reveal of Aurora on the ground beneath Maleficent's robes is appropriately dramatic and shocking (does it sound like I am rooting for Maleficent? Huh...) The music is also a HUGE part as to why this sequence is so eerie and frightening. There's a particularly chilling part in the beginning where it sounds like a disembodied voice is actually calling "Aurora" during the dramatic score. This voice is actually Mary Costa, the voice of Princess Aurora herself. WHOA. If you've never seen this movie, watch it for this sequence alone. It's perfection!
-A Dance with a Dragon 🐲 Maleficent vs. Prince Philip is the most powerful climactic sequence in any Disney film. "Now shall you deal with me, O Prince - and all the powers of HELL!" Maleficent menacingly proclaims as she transforms into a gigantic black and purple dragon. Fun fact: A flamethrower was used to create the dragon breath sound effect, while castanets were used for the sound of its snapping jaw. I love Prince Philip's "Oh crap" close up when he sees the dragon, and Maleficent's final attempt to take him out as she snaps at him while falling down the cliff AFTER already having been mortally hit by the Sword of Truth (she's resilient!). This sequence is impressive, dramatic, and feels like an appropriate end for such a powerful villain. Few Disney princes have had to work THIS hard to get the girl. Nice effort, Philip! 👏
-The Three Good Fairies are the real protagonists. 🧚🏼♀️ There's no denying it: the fairies Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather are the real heart and heroes of this story. They have the most screen time, most character development, and were drawn with more friendly, rounded "Disney-esque" features vs the other vertically oriented characters. Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather are selfless, giving, and committed to only doing good with their magic (although they are far less powerful than Maleficent).
They also provide the more light hearted, comedic moments in the story, particularly in the sequence where they prepare for Aurora's 16th birthday by making her a dress and cake. One of my favorite moments is this zinger:
Aside from providing the comic relief, Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather are also integral to the plot: they are the ones who free Prince Philip from Maleficent's fortress and provide him with the Sword of Truth and Shield of Virtue, which they state to be weapons of righteousness that will triumph over evil (spoiler alert: they work!). Later, the fairies bless the Sword of Truth with one final incantation ("Now sword of truth, fly swift and sure, that evil die and good endure!") before Flora actually directs the sword with her wand into dragon Maleficent's chest.
So wait...are Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather actually responsible for defeating Maleficent?!
-The age old question...make it blue or pink?! 💙💗 I adore the running gag of Flora and Merryweather changing the color of Aurora's dress. It adds a little extra fun to the story, and allows plucky Merryweather (the blue fairy) to to showcase maximum sass. Fun fact: this running gag was inspired by the filmmakers' real life problem as to deciding what color to make the dress. In the end, Aurora's dress is actually blue for the majority of its screen time.
Disliked:
-Aurora is MIA. 😴 It's called Sleeping Beauty, yet the titular beauty only has 18 minutes of actual screen time. She's in 24% of the movie. That's shameful! We don't get to see any of her character development beyond the "Once Upon a Dream" sequence, which is a huge miss. I really like Aurora too -- I think she is objectively the most beautiful and musically talented of ALL the Disney princesses (her voice actress, Mary Costa, was an international opera star). I think it's fascinating that she grew up not knowing she was royalty at all and has BOTH parents alive at the end of the movie (a rarity for Disney princesses). She has a LOT in common with Rapunzel from Tangled now that I think about it...sigh. It just goes to show you what could have been!
The truth is that Aurora is NOT the real protagonist of her own movie - she is a talking MacGuffin (a mere plot device, or the thing that inspires all other character to take action). Every single other character's motivation and action focuses on Aurora: Maleficent wants to find and kill her, the fairies want to keep her safe, Prince Phillip wants to marry her, the king and queen want Aurora to come home. Poor Aurora herself doesn’t really get to do much of anything except sing, touch the cursed spinning wheel, and fall asleep. She doesn't even have a scene with Maleficent herself (unless you count the spindle scene where she's collapsed underneath Maleficent's robes, which I don't). I hate to say it, but Sleeping Beauty is an all time low for proactive princesses. 😥
Random thoughts I had while Watching:
-What was Merryweather's original gift? ✨ Flora blesses baby Aurora with the gift of beauty while Fauna bestows the gift of song. Merryweather is interrupted by Maleficent's sudden entrance. Once the curse is played, Merryweather must then change her own gift so that she can help lessen Maleficent's blow ("Not in death, but just in sleep, the fateful prophecy you'll keep"). But I've always wondered...what was Merryweather's original gift going to be? Kindness? Grace? Intelligence? A personality? 😜 Well, according to the Platinum Edition DVD commentary, the answer is happiness!
-What the heck is "skumps"? 🥂 I've pondered this since I was a kid (pre-Google days). If you aren't familiar, Kings Stefan and Hubert sing "The Skumps Song" in which they drink and congratulate themselves on their children's impending nuptials. The best I can figure (after consulting the world wide web) is that "skumps" may come form the Finnish word "skumpaa" meaning wine...but the movie is set in France, so that's not confusing at all! 🤪
Closing Thoughts:
-Strong, mature female characters. I know Aurora's lack of screen time and development is problematic AF, but hear me out: Maleficent, Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather more than make up for the titular beauty's lack of progressive action. Take Merryweather, for instance: Merryweather is brave and plucky, boldly telling Maleficent, "You weren't wanted!" during the christening scene. She is clearly the youngest and most inexperienced of the three good fairies, yet it is her gift to Aurora that ultimately saves the day (I love this). She later repeatedly tries to fight Maleficent one-on-one. She's never allowed to, but still, it's pretty impressive that she has to be repeatedly restrained from attacking Disney's most evil villain. And don't forget, it's the fairies that actually defeat Maleficent in the end. Kick ass feminism at its finest.
-The pinnacle of Disney animation. The sophistication and precision of the artwork in Sleeping Beauty resulted in a 6 year production timeline - a record that still stands today at Disney (technically, this record is shared with 1985's The Black Cauldron). It was the most expensive Disney film up to that point (production costs are estimated to have totaled $6 million in 1959!). The movie performed well in theaters, but the high production costs made it difficult for Disney to make a profit on Sleeping Beauty during its original run.
It took a huge amount of time, effort, and money to create a movie this detailed and elaborate, and unfortunately Sleeping Beauty marked the end of an era in terms of perfection and attention to detail in hand drawn Disney animation. Disney simply could not afford to spent that much on a single feature again. Still, the grandeur and beauty of this movie undoubtedly proves that animation is art.
-Its most enduring legacy: Sleeping Beauty Castle. Walt Disney was building Disneyland while Sleeping Beauty was in production. To help promote the film, he had Imagineers name the park's castle "Sleeping Beauty Castle" (although it hardly looks like the castle in the film). This is the only version of the castle that was overseen by Walt Disney himself, and it has become an iconic landmark and symbol of the Walt Disney Company. Disneyland Paris also has a Sleepy Beauty Castle that looks a bit more like King Stefan's castle (with a bonus dragon dwelling below).
If you've made it to this point, congratulations! I'm almost done! When it came down to rating Sleeping Beauty, I def factored in what I consider to be the film's one major flaw: Aurora's lack of gravitas. Other than that, this film is a visual masterpiece and its certainly in my top of the top when it comes to all-time favorite Disney animated features. If you've never seen it, GO. WATCH. NOW.
Again, Maleficent is da best.
My Rating: 9.5/10
My Rating Scale/System:
10 - Masterpiece / Award Worthy 🤩
9 - Almost perfect / Exceptional 🥰
8 - Great / Well-crafted 😁
7 - Good / Noteworthy 😊
6 - Above average / Memorable 🙂
5 - Solidly average 😐
4 - Mixed feelings / Mediocre 😕
3 - Uninteresting / Struggle bus 🥱
2 - Barely watchable 😡
1 - Failure / Why is this a thing? 💩
