If you've been following my reviews of Disney, you'll have gotten the impression I don't like the fairy tale love story aspect of a lot of these films. And considering my dislike of Snow White, you would think I wouldn't be very fond of this one either considering it seems to be essentially Snow White done all over again. This is another one that would have been true if you asked the last time I saw this movie when I was still a kid, but much like with Cinderella my opinion has started to change after re-watching it.
There is no getting around this is a second attempt at Snow White. Love at first sight with a prince, even a sorceress casts a spell on her to put her to sleep, lives in a cabin in the woods with mythical creatures who help her out against the big bad, saved by said prince's kiss and they live happily ever after. There are so many similarities between the two it's crazy. But at the same time, the movie fixes a lot of the issues I had with Snow White, it's like they wanted a second crack at the same kind of story now that they had so much more experience at making movies.
It does pay off as everyone has so much more personality than before. Aurora does have that child-like innocence that has always bugged me and still does, but she is also a lot more playful and prone to bigger emotions. Her inability to deal with people because of her isolation also leads to a scene I completely forgot about, where she is talking with the prince about how they can never meet again and in seconds that becomes 'Tonight'. I still can't get into the love story aspect of it, but there are a lot of funny and charming moments like this.
Another thing that feels sort of interesting is that I don't think it's fair to call Sleeping Beauty herself the main character of this movie, or even the prince who goes to save her. The Fairy's who take care of Aurora seems to be the stars of the show. It's their actions that drive the plot after all, and it gives this story an interesting theme as a result. With the love story kind of being second fiddle if you assume the fairies are the lead, it gives you this story about how the fairy's, who have been acting as the mothers of the Princess this whole time, is having a hard time of letting go of their little girl. They seem to think they know what is best and what will make her happy, as well as what must be done for the Kingdom, but when they realize they were wrong they don't know what to do with themselves. Lost and confused parents is a far more interesting story I feel than the true loves first kiss stuff. And with all the characters being quite likable, it's easy to start to care about it from that angle.
And the best part about this movie is easily Maleficent. No, she does not have any depth as a character, and she is a pretty one-note villain, evil for the sake of evil. But sometimes, if you have a character whose design and voice a perfect enough, it kind of doesn't matter if the character lacks depth. She has such an intimidating presence she manages to work as a villain despite all that. There are a few other examples of this working, Vicious from Cowboy Bebop or Kefka from Final Fantasy VI as examples, but it is a rarity to be able to pull this off so well. There is a good reason she is the most prominent Disney Villain in Kingdom Hearts.
Throw in a lot of funny comedy as the Kings speak about the arranged marriage of their children, or even the scenes of the fairy's fighting each other, you have a pretty great movie. I kind of wish I gave this movie more credit when I was younger, but at least in doing these reviews I've gained more appreciation for these old movies. Give Sleeping Beauty a watch.
I love Disney cartoons too, even as an adult, there is this one i desired so much to watch again. Its called Anastasia, I watched that years back and lost the disk, i dont know which site to download that frok.
That movie was not made by Disney Actually. I do remember it though, mostly I just liked 'Once Upon a December', rest of the movie I thought was a bit forgettable.
Thank you for that