Sleeping Beauty

In preparation of Disney's new movie Maleficent I will review Disney's Classic Sleeping Beauty
On
May 19, 2014
Before I get into "Sleeping Beauty" I want to talk about my expectations of "Maleficent."



Based on the trailers it looks really good. I hope it lives up to my expectations. Since it is from Walt Disney pictures I expect it to have the same charm of the original animated classic "Sleeping Beauty." I also expect this new version to give Maleficent more of a back story and I also expect "Maleficent" to be a darker film. I do not expect it to be too dark since it is only PG. As far as how the character Maleficent looks, I think it is great. The make-up artists and costumers did a good job just based on what I seen in the trailer.



Now a bad resemblance if I do say so myself. Another thing I noticed from the trailer was it said, "Now find out the truth." I want to find out what that truth is. Also I do hope that Angelina Jolie does the part justice, because Maleficent is one of my favorite Disney villains.

Now, let's move on to "Sleeping Beauty."



I first seen this film when I was 14 I believe. It wasn't bad. Years later I rediscovered it and liked it more. I like the story and Maleficent; also the romance is tolerable. The artwork in this film is great. I also like the music. The music is based on Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's ballet Sleeping Beauty. There are few songs in this Disney version, but the song "Once upon a Dream" is the one that stands out. I think that this song is where most young boys would lose interest. It is not bad for the girls though.


Girl Stuff


What about the story? I will assume most people reading this seen the movie so I shouldn't have to say too much. There is this princess born in the some unnamed kingdom of long ago and is named Princess Aurora. Everyone in the kingdom shows up to welcome her including the three good fairies; Mistress Flora, Mistress Fauna, and Mistress Merryweather.


Three Fairies Yippee!
Each one gives her a special magical gift. Flora gives her the gift of beauty. I wonder if she was an ugly baby before this gift. Fauna gives her the gift of song. However before Merryweather can give her gift the evil sorceress Maleficent crashes the celebration.

Maleficent is upset that she wasn't invited and Merryweather has the nerve to tell her she is not wanted. Maleficent being upset at this casts a spell to have Aurora prick her finger on a spinning wheel before sunset on her 16th birthday and die. That is pretty evil if you ask me. She could have killed the baby right then and there. That truly would have been sickening, but all too easy for her. On the other hand to let her grow up into a woman and then having her die on her 16th birthday, that is just as bad. Imagine their parents worrying all those 16 years knowing that their child will die on that particular day. That would just be a terrible situation.


Merryweather cannot completely remove the curse, but she can help


However, Merryweather has her gift. She cannot completely remove the curse, but she can make it so where Aurora only sleeps if she pricks her finger and be awoken by true loves first kiss. True loves first kiss fixes everything in fairy tales.

Even though Merryweather was able to adjust the curse in which the spinning wheel won't kill her if she touches it the king took no chances. So King Stepahan ordered all the spinning wheels off the kingdom to be burnt that very night. The fairies know that Maleficent's magic is too great and setting all the spinning wheels on fire won't stop her. So Flora comes up with the idea that Maleficent can't harm her if they cannot find her. She decides that she along with the other fairies will raise her in a cottage in the woods as peasant women and without magic just to make sure there is no trace leading to them.


King Stepen and Queen Leah (Side note: Her name was never mentioned in the movie only in promotional materials)


So King Stephan and the Queen Leah allow this to protect her daughter. That would have to be so hard for the parents to accept that their only daughter will be raised away from them some place secret and they can never see her until her sixteenth birthday. That would be so heartbreaking to me if I was a parent and I would be in continued state of worry; not knowing whether or not she'll be okay. So then the fairies raise her. Under their care they gave her the name Briar Rose.


Briar Rose AKA Princess Aurora


Time has passed and it is the day of Aurora's 16th birthday. She still doesn't know she is a princess. The fairies want to surprise her for her birthday with a cake and new dress; so they ask Rose to go out into the woods and pick some berries. They also remind her not to talk to strangers. Being 16 Rose is tired of being treated like a child and wants to meet someone. Then she begins to sing. Prince Phillip whom is riding his horse in the woods hears her beautiful singing and then wants to pursue it and find out who is singing.

So now we have the song "Once upon a Dream." Prince Phillip meets Aurora; neither one knowing who the other is but surprise surprise, spoiler alert, they end up together. Who honestly didn't see that coming?

In all honesty I like this movie. I also like the song "Once upon a Dream." I don't like to admit the latter because "Once upon a Dream" is actually a girly song, but it is still a good song. I think this movie is great; despite the fact in appeals more to female audiences, and not so much for guys. The character Maleficent is awesome and I cannot wait until "Maleficent" comes out so I can see Angelina Jolie's take on the character.

Retrodave's rating: 9 out of 10.
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