Aurora may be the title character of Sleeping Beauty, and she may be the character who sells the most dolls, but she’s not the protagonist. Generally, a protagonist doesn’t sleep through a good chunk of her own movie.
No, Aurora is the damsel in distress whom the actual protagonists need to save. And yes, I mean that in the plural, because Prince Phillip isn’t the protagonist either. He, too, requires saving so that he can fulfill his role and release the princess from her enchanted coma.
The real stars of the 1959 classic are the Good Fairies—Fauna, Flora, and Merryweather. Sleeping Beauty is the story of three benevolent sorceresses going to tremendous lengths to protect their unnamed kingdom’s princess against the forces of their evil opposite number. This is their movie, from beginning to end.
(This will require more plot summary than usual. Pay attention to who most frequently serves as the subject of active verbs.)
Not only does Aurora sleep through much of the end, but she’s also a baby throughout the beginning. While she lounges around in that passive state, the Good Fairies flutter in and bestow gifts upon her. Rather, two of them bestow their gifts, but then the wicked Maleficent appears and alters the course of their lives for the next sixteen years.
Maleficent curses the infant princess, and Merryweather counters with magical jiu-jitsu. The Good Fairy can’t erase the curse, but she can give it a loophole, thus granting hope to the unnamed kingdom.
But the Good Fairies’ job is not done. They know Maleficent won’t give up so easily, so they devise a scheme to ensure Aurora’s safety. They will relinquish their magic, pose as ordinary women, and raise Aurora in secret. They convince the king and queen of this, then take the girl to a cottage in the forest where none can find her.
Everything goes according to plan—until Aurora’s sixteenth birthday. The Good Fairies, eager to make everything just right for their “Briar Rose,” indulge in a little bit of magic, which allows Maleficent’s raven to discover them and, in turn, the princess.
The Good Fairies, true to their word, return Aurora to her parents. Aurora, having just instantly fallen in love with Prince Phillip without realizing who is he, does not want to go, but she takes no action to resist. Once Aurora is returned to the castle, Maleficent lures her into a trap and causes her to prick her finger and fall into an ensorcelled slumber.
To buy time to set things right, the Good Fairies put the entire castle to sleep, as good fairies do, and they head out in search of Prince Phillip. But Maleficent has already captured him. So the Good Fairies bravely storm into their enemy’s castle and free the prince. They give Phillip an enchanted sword and shield, without which he’d never defeat Maleficent. But he does defeat her with those weapons, and the Good Fairies bring him to Aurora so she can be kissed by him. And the couple lives happily ever after.
But as it’s not the couple’s story, the movie ends with Flora and Merryweather arguing over which color Aurora’s dress should be—the dress she’s already wearing. They keep changing the color back and forth while Aurora dances peacefully with her man and takes no action to resist the changes being forced upon her.
It’s quite clear who’s acting throughout this story and who’s being acted upon.
Now, you could also argue that this is Maleficent’s movie. She’s certainly its biggest scene-stealer and by far the most memorable character. Maleficent is the sort of scenery-chewing, purely evil villain who’s ideal for wrecking fairy tales.
Her design is just about perfect and by far the movie’s strongest visual element. Generally, I much prefer the animation style of the ’30s and ’40s. While Sleeping Beauty’s animation may be technologically more sophisticated, I find it to be a step backward artistically. Nevertheless, Maleficent transcends the art style and exudes a greater vibrancy than everything and everyone around her.
But Maleficent is the antagonist who puts the Good Fairies to their ultimate test. The Good Fairies are kind, loyal, and self-sacrificing while Maleficent is vicious, vindictive, and deadly. The struggle between these opposing forces creates the heart of the movie.
Sleeping Beauty is, like many fairy tales, a “love conquers all” story. But it’s not just the love of royal teenagers who barely know each other—it’s the Good Fairies’ unconditional love for their princess and the unnamed kingdom they serve.