Sleeping Beauty: Old vs. New

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Many, if not all, of Disney’s fairytale movies stem from some story passed down through generations throughout different cultures. Some of the most seemingly innocent movies we see today come from a more deranged version of the story. A story that has a little more of a gruesome past than most is Sleeping Beauty. The oldest form of the tale is from an old Italian fable by Giambattista Basile titled “Sole, Luna e Talia” (Sun, Moon and Talia). While Disney did manage to stay pretty close to the basic story line, they had to water down many of the details in order to make a more child-friendly film; the enchanting characters, the wicked curse, the actual beauty being laid to rest, her meeting the love of her life, all the way to the defeat of the antagonist differ from the original. Princess Aurora, a.k.a. Briar Rose is the epitome of a Disney princess; she is innocently gorgeous and of course has a choir of animals that follow her every step. Talia, from Basiles’ version, does share similar qualities with Aurora, she is just as beautiful and naïve but lacks the animal entourage and isn’t actually a princess, she is the daughter of a lord. Prince Phillip is the dashing man who steals Auroras’ heart, but Talia captures the eye of King. Both men are courageous, stand up for their love and would fight to the death for her. Princess Aurora is looked after by three fairies, Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather; Basiles’ story only contains two fairies and they aren’t nearly as prominent as those in Disneys’. Out of all the characters in the story, the antagonists have the least in common. In Disneys’ movie, there is Maleficent, an evil fairy who has an air of elegance surrounding her, when she’s not turning into a dragon that is, she is always accompanied by her raven and even has an army of little monsters. The one after Talia is instead a Queen, wife to the King, who takes a

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