plot point in Sleeping Beauty that bugs me

[polish_princess]

Why did the fairies bring Aurora back to the castle before her birthday was over? Wouldn't it have made more sense to keep her hidden until past that?

[ajmrowland]

Yes, but it says before the sun sets, meaning they were expecting to unveil her at nightfall. They were just a little early.

Traffic must've been light.

[Lazario]

Obviously they thought she would be safe alone in that one room for 5-10 minutes. They felt there was no way Maleficent would get her if they were with her all the time. They were very unwise. But when you think about it, emotionally... they didn't want to hurt her worse than they felt they already had by staying with her. She didn't even know anything about Maleficent or her curse. It would have taken too long to explain.

[SpringHeelJack]

The thing is, they thought they left at the correct time. Fauna's watch was still set up for daylight savings time. Upon arriving at the castle, they realized they had an extra hour to kill, and after a brief scuffle in which Fauna's watch was turned from pink to blue and back again, they just decided to shove Aurora in the nearest room, declare good work, and took the rest of the night off.

[WilbyDaniels]

So there would be a Story!!!!!!

[Margos]

Obviously they thought she would be safe alone in that one room for 5-10 minutes.

Jeez, haven't they learned over the course of 16 years that they need to Aurora-proof a room before leaving her alone in it?

[IagoZazu]

Well, they didn't know that Diablo had discovered Aurora, and she was depressed about not seeing Phillip again even though he's the prince she's going to marry. The fairies knew Maleficent was still searching, so I guess after 16 years they let down their guard a little even after so long of strictly going without magic. That was pretty short-sighted of them.

[Disney's Divinity]

I always thought they took her to the castle because "the boy" (Phillip) was coming back to the cottage that evening.

But, yes, it was bad to leave her alone in the room.

[Lazario]

Also, if you remember their one conversation about being careful - they never mentioned Maleficent. I know they didn't forget about her completely, but they had 16 years away from her evil and even sheltered themselves from the rest of the people in the kingdom. Which was the only sensible thing to do, since as mortals- they looked exactly the same as they did as fairies. Even wearing the same colors.

[candydog]

I was just thinking about this the other day!

Yeah, they should really have waited until the day AFTER her 16th birthday to bring her back. Logically Maleficent would have been expecting her to return to the castle on that evening and would have been watching the place carefully anyway, whether the raven found her or not, so it was a little stupid to bring her back then. I know her parents wanted her back, but after 16 years one more night for her own safety wouldn't have done them any harm.

Buuut then there would be no story. Wait.... actually there could have been.

If they planned to take her back the next day, the raven would still have found Aurora in the cottage so Maleficent could just have gone to the cottage and had Aurora prick her finger there. Maleficent went to the castle because the raven knew that the fairies were taking her there. If the fairies said they were taking her back the next day then the raven could have just brough Maleficent to the cottage that evening instead.

Having the whole thing take place in the castle just sets up a more romantic story: Aurora following the green orb down winding corridors and staircases, being left sleeping in the tallest tower, being guarded by Maleficent's forest of thorns. There's just a lot more you could do with a castle to make the story, it has a sense of romance and adventure about it already.

EDIT: on the other hand, snow white was cursed by the queen in a cottage in the forest and it didn't do her story any harm, so what do i know?

[Lazario]

I don't think fans of Snow White should compare that movie to this. Completely different things. Snow White knew about the Queen's wanting to kill her / harm her and still, she let any old stranger into the cottage. Even after the Dwarfs warned her the Queen was into black magic.

That scenario and the one in Sleeping Beauty are completely different.

[CampbellzSoup]

I don't think fans of Snow White should compare that movie to this. Completely different things. Snow White knew about the Queen's wanting to kill her / harm her and still, she let any old stranger into the cottage. Even after the Dwarfs warned her the Queen was into black magic.

That scenario and the one in Sleeping Beauty are completely different.

If you watch the movie though you can obviously tell Snow White isn't the brightest out of all the princess that we've had.

[Flanger-Hanger]

And here I was thinking they were just a bunch of senile old broads cable of forgetting things.

Maybe King Stefan demanded that she'd return at that time and not a minute later?

[SpringHeelJack]

Maybe King Stefan demanded that she'd return at that time and not a minute later?

Psh, by that time King Stefan was as drunk as a Dartmouth boy. Like he'd know.

[Disney Duster]

Divinity, if they left so that the boy wouldn't find her, that wouldn't fit with how the fairies were. The wouldn't risk Aurora's safety for that and they wouldn't want to hurt the boy's feelings, either. I think the film makes it clear the King and Queen demanded she be brought home by sunset.

Lazario hit on what I was going to say. The fairies were thinking emotionally, as most good Disney characters do, and in a way, Disney films (and the Disney filmakers) do. They think with their hearts.

Now, Disney does also try to have a logical side and can be very good with that, but this was one story where they actually said they focused less on the logic (they knew it didn't make sense for Phillip to get to the castle so fast, it was about emotional intensity, and they knew Sampson shouldn't be able to reach that cliff at the end, etc.).

But anyway, the King and Queen wanted their daughter, who they had to give up for so long, as soon as they could have her. I have a bit of a problem with their acting, I think they could have acted a lot bigger about the whole deal, but maybe these sophisticated monarchs held it in, would act solemnly or reservedly, or after so many years they got kind of desensitized over a baby they were only with for a few days, but damnit they still wanted their kid really, really badly.

BUT see that Aurora would have been perfectly safe if they stayed with her in the room until sunset. This is where emotions really come into play...

The fairies had Aurora's extreme emotions to deal with, and they weren't heartless, so they acted the way they did. Of course sometimes emotions make you be strict and very protective so your loved one doesn't get hurt, but she was sobbing her eyes out, so they wanted to give her a moment.

And of course there's also something about fate, as well as not being able to escape death.

As for the castle vs. the cottage candydog, the castle, highest tower, and thorns was all part of the original Perrault tale. Faithfullness to the original is good so you actually tell that tale, if Disneyfied in the details.

candydog did strike on an oddity that does seem to be a flaw, that Maleficent knew about the kingdom not inviting her to Aurora's christening but yet she didn't know Aurora was returning to the castle, and she needed her Raven to find that out?

But there may be an explanation...the kingdom might have been very, very hush hush about the whole deal, for fear of Maleficent finding out. They may have learned theeir lesson from the first time she found out things they didn't want her to know, so they whispered and had codewords and who knows what else.

Hey, it could've happened. Maleficent had stupid goons doing her work. And why? Probably because those were the crappy minions she was given by the devil, or maybe the only ones who wanted to join her. The point may be that evil only gets what evil deserves...

[Lazario]

Duster - you been on vacation or something?

[Disney Duster]

No, my parents have taken UD away from me. I'm 21 and to quote Aurora, they still treat me like a child. But I proudly admit I am childlike, being on a Disney forum (hey, I know Walt aimed for adults but children at the same time). But as you can see I have found some ways to get on sometimes.

But I am so glad you noticed. That really makes me feel good.

Hope you liked/agreed with what I said or at least some of it.

[Escapay]

No, my parents have taken UD away from me. I'm 21 and to quote Aurora, they still treat me like a child.

Whoaaaa. That's quite a dickhead move on your parents' part. How exactly did they take away UD from you? Block it with parental controls? Or just a "Mike, don't go on that site anymore."

albert

[Disney Duster]

Oops, I forgot to mention they took it away because I wasn't going to school (college) for a week or two. I just didn't wanna go (and I'm paying for it). Whatevs. Thanks for your understanding and sympathy though, Al! Hey, like Aladdin! Your favorite Disney character?

But yea, parental controls.

[Escapay]

Oops, I forgot to mention they took it away because I wasn't going to school (college) for a week or two. I just didn't wanna go (and I'm paying for it). Whatevs.
<snip>
But yea, parental controls.

Whoaaaa, Part Two. By paying for it do you mean you paid for the semester and you didn't want to go, or the metaphorical "I didn't go, and now I'm paying for it" the way someone says "My stomach isn't good with spicy food, but I ate that chili anyway, and now I'm paying for it"?

Now it doesn't seem so dickhead-y if it were punishment for you skipping school, but at the same time, parental controls for a 21 year old is still dickhead-y.

Stay in school, Mike!

Still, I know how you feel, sometimes I simply didn't want to go to school on a particular day(s) and opted for mental health days.

Thanks for your understanding and sympathy though, Al! Hey, like Aladdin! Your favorite Disney character?

Actually my favorite Disney character(s) are Chip 'n' Dale.

albert