Once upon a dream...

Alright, it should come as no surprise to anyone that my favorite of the Disney Princess movies is Sleeping Beauty.  If you're surprised, go watch it again, and try to keep your shocked face in your pocket.

See, there are so very many things to love about that movie. 

First, it starts with a complete family.  Two parents and a new baby.  Yep, that's right!  Two parents!  A mom AND a dad... that's pretty unusual in Disney movies.  Prince Philip has two parents as well, so we're off to a good start.  Even though the Queens sort of mostly disappear and leave all the talking to the two dads... (We'll skip over the child betrothal part, because that's a historical thing, right?  Right.) I guess the extra ink for a second parent just isn't in the budget.  Wendy Darling & Princess Aurora are the only two that I can think of.  (Feel free to correct me in the comments, I'm leaving my allotted research time for this one completely dedicated to finding pictures of awesomeness.)

Second, there are fairies.  Flora, Fauna and Meriweather.  Yes, Flora is my favorite.  She's bossy, she's prissy, and she's pink.  Fauna is sweet natured and innocent like and a bit daffy.  Meriweather is sassy and a little rebellious, and blue.  They all sparkle, and fly.  I'll save my adoration for the last fairy until later.  Save the best for last, and all that.


So, Princess Aurora (great name) gets whisked away to live in the forest with her three fairy godmothers--first of all, Cinderella only got one, Aurora gets three... how awesome is that?  Really awesome!  Oh, only these fairy godmothers swear off magic so they don't give away their secret hiding place.  They rename the darling princess Briar Rose (another great name), and raise her to be a good, wholesome, beautiful, country girl... with dainty feet and a tiny waist.  Eventually, she gets to wear the dress that inspired years of my doodles.  I was convinved that I would wear a dress just like it to prom and my wedding, only in purple, and then white.  That never quite happened, but it's still a dress that I would love to own.

But I digress.

Third reason why I love this movie--Prince Philip. 

Oh, not only is he the dreamiest dreamy prince to ever ride up on a gallant white steed (and he does just that, several times), he has... wait for it... a PERSONALITY!

Yes, from his introduction to the screen as a reluctant suitor--he's four-ish being betrothed to a baby Aurora, and he makes a face at the baby in the cradle!

Then, when we see him again 16 years later, he's this strapping prince charming riding on his steed, who consequently also has a personality, because it's Disney, and anthropomorphism is what these things are all about. 

Anyway, upon meeting the fair maiden, thinking she is just a charming country girl, he actually woos her.  She is reluctant to talk to strangers, and he convinces her, there's a song, and some hand holding.  It's all very sweet and romantic, in that random fairy tale sort of way.  But my point is, he does a lot more than some other princes out there.  He has a name, which is more than we can say for the love interests of either Cinderella or Snow White.  "Charming" is  not a name, it's an adjective.  At least "Charming" dances with our lady of the cinders.  Mr. No-name Prince just sort of mysteriously shows up for the first time at the very end of the movie, brushes some dwarves aside, sweeps in for a kiss, and then we're done.  No howdy do, no name exchange, no nothing! Anyway, this isn't meant to be a lament of the lameness of other princes.  Just pointing out that Philip is superior in every way.

Oh, and did I mention that he fights a dragon?  He does.  He (with the help of some faries) fights a dragon to save the love of his life (whom he just met that afternoon, even though he's betrothed to someone else, but he doesn't know that his love and that someone else are one and the same... ).  A DRAGON!! 

Only Eric, Ariel's flame, comes close to being that cool in fighting an giant octopus woman, Ursula, who consequently is my second favorite of the Disney Villainesses.

My first favorite is Maleficent.  The fourth fairy in this story is a bad fairy. 

And she is so very bad, but so great!  She's all dark purple and tall and wicked.  Check out the amazing hat!  The purple eyeshadow!  The long, graceful fingers--perfect for plucking out the hearts of her enemies!  She has minions and a crow for her familiar, and she does magic.  Oh, and she turns into a dragon. 

A DRAGON!!

Yeah, even Ursula can't do that.  She is also dark purple, though more wide than tall, and she has minions (only two though) who are also sort of her familiars, and she does magic, but she doesn't turn into a dragon.  She just sort of swells up to gigantic proportions.

So, aside from the total awesomeness of the animation and stuff, the Tchaicovsky music, and the great colors and names, it's the characters that make this my favorite Disney Princess movie.

And really all that is a preface for the fact that in the wee hours of the morning tomorrow, I'll be at Nordstroms @ the Galleria, waiting to get my very own Maleficent make up.  Yep, MAC is releasing a whole line of make up this fall inspired by Disney villains.  My only regret is that they chose Dr. Facilier over Ursula.  But they got the Evil Queen & Cruella, so I guess that's ok.  Yes, I really am willing to get up before dawn on a Saturday to go play with  make up.  I even have friends who'll come with me.  I'll be sure to take pictures after I get my MAC makeover.  So excited! 

Evil fairy, here I come!