In Megan’s humble opinion, the best fairy tale adaptation ever is the Disney classic animated version of Sleeping Beauty (1959). Here’s why.
- It opens with a jeweled book.
- The three fairies are the best comic support cast.
- The evil fairy is elegant, not a mockery. She possesses knowledge, but not love.
- The story only minimally deviates from classic texts (preferring Perrault’s version over Grimm’s for family-appropriate entertainment).
- The three fairies have their serious discussion concerning Princess Briar Rose over tea. How else should they have it?
- The music is drawn from Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty ballet. Yes, even the theme “Once Upon a Dream.”
- The princess works humbly and cheerfully.
- The movie sparkles with funny moments (without dippy humor).
- The prince is a well-developed hero, not a flat character who shows up at the end.
- Good and evil characters are clearly defined.
- There is a prophecy, and Maleficent claims victory (Genesis 3:15 and Mark 15:37).
- The castle is guarded by thorns and Maleficent assumes the form of a dragon.
- Prince Philip is armed by the good fairies with the shield of virtue and sword of truth, by which he overcomes the dragon.
- The dress keeps changing, even at the end. Such a delightfully humorous detail.
If you haven’t seen this one, do try to watch it. You won’t be disappointed.
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I love that movie too. A big part of is because of the three good fairies. They remind me of the little old ladies at my church. It’s kind of awesome that there’s a movie where “church ladies” are the ultimate force of good.
In particular, I love the bit where one of the fairies, Merryweather, says she’d like to turn the villain into a toad. The others object that this “isn’t a very nice thing to say” and their magic only bring joy and happiness. (“Well, that would make me happy,” says Merryweather.) It’s reminiscent of how Christians are supposed to love their Christians though it’s very much against our inclinations. (The equivalent characters from the recent-ish movie, Maleficent, are reminiscent of negative stereotypes of Christians, which is one of the reasons I dislike it.)
If the filmmakers had actually tried to portray average Christians, it would have doubtless been a disaster, but they accidentally made one of the most accurate ones I’ve seen from Hollywood.
Excellent observation, Cody! They knew the limits of their power, but faithfully did what they could while they waited for the curse to be broken.
It’s always been a favorite movie of mine, and I thoroughly agree with your assessment, although I never made the correlation about Christianity. The innocence of Aurora, the delightful chemistry between the good fairies…just love it!
Isn’t it fun to discover that a story is actually a STORY?