Maleficent
Growing up , I loved all things Disney , especially their iconic lineup of Disney Princesses . Today , they still fill up me with nostalgia , and even as I write this clause , I haveAladdinin the background because Disney has been such a warm and comforting presence for me throughout my life . As a tike , it was normal for me to wear out my VHS copies ofDisney Princess picture . I swirl in plastic tiara , sing along to every soundtrack , and woolgather about poof tale ending . But looking back , there ’s one princess I wish had been portrayed differently : Aurora fromSleeping Beauty .
Now , Aurora is probably my least favorite Disney Princess because she is so inactive and her personality is hardly developed in the 1959 animated film . Aurora is more of a symbol than a person , a princess whose fate was dictate by others . Then , decades afterwards , 2014’sMaleficentre - imagined Aurora , meet by Elle Fanning , as a princess with agency and deepness . alternatively of being a passive figure waiting to be awaken by honest love ’s buss , she forged her own kinship , made her own choices , and come across the cosmos with wonder rather than naivety . This Aurora was n’t just a dreamer — she was a passionate doer .
Aurora In The Animated Sleeping Beauty Film, Explained
She Isn’t Even In Her Own Movie For Very Long
Aurora , also have a go at it as log Z’s Beauty , feels like she ’s in the rider seat of her own film . Out of all the Disney Princesses , she has the shortest amount of screen time , asAurora only appear on - projection screen for a whopping 18 minutes , despite supposedly being the supporter . aboveboard , the three fairies in the film , Flora , Fauna , and Merryweather , are doing most of the heavy lifting .
Not all Disney Princesses are orphans , and many of them had both their parents alive and well through their picture show . Let ’s take a look .
The three fairies are the ones who raise Aurora on their own in the middle of the woods so she stays clear of Maleficent ’s curse . Plus , it is they who make Aurora ’s iconic pinkish garb and avail Prince Phillip defeat Maleficent at the end of the film . Meanwhile , Aurora spends most of her modified time in the liven flick toy with critters in the woods and cringe over Prince Phillip , even though she only run across him once as a teenager .
Then , she ’s put to sleep for a good fate of the film , only to be arouse by Prince Phillip ’s nonconsensual kiss , which is touch to as " true making love ’s kiss " . Despite its gorgeous vitality , Sleeping Beautyis an uncomfortable watch , primarily because of how they portray Aurora .
Elle Fanning Brings Aurora To Life, Literally
She Added So Much To A Bland Character
Elle Fanning ’s portrayal of Aurora inMaleficentand its subsequence , Maleficent : Mistress of Evil , transformedthe classic Disney Princessfrom a passive dreamer into an active character with agency . Fanning ’s Aurora is independent , compassionate , and self-assertive , which is a refreshing change from her animated similitude . InMaleficent , Aurora is n’t just a beautiful princess waitress for destiny to unfold ; she take form a deep bond with Maleficent , gainsay the traditional fairy story moral force . Instead of being a victim of Maleficent ’s curse , Aurora becomes the bridge between humans and fairies , actively forge her luck rather than being an observer in her own narrative .
Fanning brings warmth , lastingness , and a modern sensibility to Aurora , proving that princesses do n’t have to be passive symbols of romance .
The sequel elevate her agency even further . Aurora leave the social rank of Princess and becomes the Queen of the Moors . She navigates the complexities of love , politics , and war while standing up to Queen Ingrith and cause decisionsthat impact both the fairy and human human beings . She ’s no longer a instrument in a taradiddle about magic and retaliation — she ’s a leader . Fanning convey warmth , enduringness , and a modern sensibility to Aurora , proving that princess do n’t have to be peaceful symbolic representation of romanticism . or else , they can be forces of change in their own right .
What Elle Fanning Has Said About Playing Aurora
She Liked Re-Inventing The Princess Archetype
Fanning was emotional to take on the office of Aurora inMaleficent , and was only fourteen class onetime at the clip of motion-picture photography . To be fair , Aurora is only 16 inSleeping Beauty . The actress detail playing Aurora in an interview withHarper ’s Bazaarshortly afterMaleficent : schoolmistress of Evilpremiered . In the consultation , she hash out how the motion picture alter elements of the original fairy tale to appeal to advanced interview , take that some spectator have issues withSleeping Beauty’sdepiction of diversity , race , and gender . Specifically , Fanning was certain to craft Aurora as a impregnable woman who has a very human need for Latinian language and companionship . Fanning read :
Aurora is a very romantic princess – she dreams of being married and becoming a female parent – and there ’s nothing wrong with that … It does n’t make a fair sex less strong because she wants that . I think that ’s in reality a very modernistic take .
Aurora’s Awakening Kiss Is Wildly Different In Maleficent
It’s A Welcome Change
The kiss that wake Aurora inMaleficentsubverts the traditional fairy tale ending . In the animated celluloid , Prince Phillip , whom Aurora barely experience , kisses her while she is unconscious , fulfilling the fairy tale trope of " dead on target love ’s kiss " . It ’s a romanticized moment , but one that reinforces the idea that Aurora ’s fate is all dependent on an outside force , particularly a man . The kiss is also problematic for more obvious reason , mainly that Aurora is unconscious , making the romantic display non - consensual . No , the candy kiss inSleeping Beautyhas not senesce well .
In contrast , Maleficentredefines the significance of true sexual love . As Aurora lies in an enchanted sleep , Maleficent , toy by Angelina Jolie , who has arise to love the girl as a daughter , kisses her forehead . It ’s a second of deep remorse for Maleficent , who feels that she is creditworthy for Aurora ’s predicament . Maleficent has also seen Aurora as a surrogate daughter throughout the film , so it ’s only born that she would want to send off someone who she sees as family with a kiss . It ’s this enactment of genuine , unconditional sexual love that breaks the curse , which is unlike from the original film that relied wholly upon romance .
Maleficent : Mistress of Darkness left the door open for a Maleficent 3 , but Disney has so far remained still . Here ’s everything we make love .
I call up the variety is welcome here , not just because the original osculation is not only non - consensual but also because it places an vehemence on non - romantic love . So manyDisney moviesemphasize the grandness of “ on-key love ” in the romantic sentiency , which can send the awry subject matter to kids . Do n’t get me improper , I adore Disney and always will . But Prince Phillip kissing Aurora at the end ofSleeping Beautyis saying that only romantic love will save the 24-hour interval and is even necessary to exist when , this ideology could n’t be further from the truth .
There are slew of people who have lived totally satisfy lives despite never getting marry or line up their “ on-key love ” , andit ’s indispensable for hoi polloi , peculiarly nipper , to finger loved by those tightlipped to them , like their parent . So , havingMaleficentplant a motherly buss on Aurora ’s forehead make absolutely because it shows the significance of relationships that are n’t quixotic but still fantastically significant for a happy aliveness .
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