Aurora

Princess Aurora is the main protagonist of Disney's 1959 hit Sleeping Beauty. She is the daughter of King Stefan and Queen Leah. She is also a member of the Disney Princesses. She is voiced by Mary Costa, Erin Torpey, and later Jennifer Hale.

Personality
In the film, Aurora is an extremely beautiful young woman with hair that is golden like sunshine, and lips that shame the red rose. As a peasant, she wears a simple grey dress with a black corset, and goes barefoot. After discovering her status as a princess, she wears a more formal dress, that changes from pink to blue and back, due to Flora and Merryweather disagreeing on the color.

Aurora is described as being kind and sophisticated, as well as a hopeless romantic. At first, she is fairly naive as a result of being sheltered. In later media, she is shown to have matured and become more self-assured.

Sleeping Beauty
Aurora was named by her parents after the Roman Goddess of the Dawn because she filled their lives with happiness. Soon after she was born, she was presented to the kingdom at a christening, where she was betrothed to Prince Philip, the son of King Stefan's good friend King Hubert. Also invited were the three good fairies, Flora, Fauna and Merryweather, who give blessings onto the newborn princess. Flora and Fauna give the infant princess the gifts of beauty and song, respectively. However, after Fauna gives her gift, the evil fairy Maleficent arrives. Angered because she wasn't invited to the ceremony, Maleficent puts a curse on Aurora. According to Maleficent, on Aurora's sixteenth birthday, Aurora will prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die. Maleficent disappears, leaving everyone in shock and horrified. Merryweather, who had not yet given her gift, could not lift the curse, but she could soften it. Instead of death, she would remedy the situation by placing Aurora on a sleeping spell, only to awake by true loves kiss if this was to happen.

Still fearful for the princesses safety, the three good fairies agree to hide the princess as a peasant for sixteen years, until the danger has past. They take the girl to a cottage in the forest and raise her, disguising themselves are her mortal aunts.

Fast forward to Aurora's sixteenth birthday, where it is revealed that Aurora's name has been changed to Briar Rose. Her "aunts" send her out into the forest, so that they can prepare her birthday party in secret. While Aurora is out in the forest. While Aurora is out, she dreams of meeting a handsome prince, while singing Once Upon a Dream. At first, she is singing with her forest creature friends. But she soon meets with Prince Phillip, who followed her melodic voice. Not knowing who Philip was, or of their betrothal, she believes him to be a stranger, and attempts to leave. However, she dances with him for a bit, and ends up falling in love. When he asked for her name, she questioned him then left, realizing wasn't allowed to give her name to strangers. She does tell him where she lives, and asks him to meet her there that night.

At home, Briar Rose comes home to a splendid birthday party. She tells her aunts about the young man that she met, but is confused when they aren't happy for her. Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather reveal Briar Rose's true identity as Princess Aurora, as well as the fact that she is betrothed. The fairies sadly explain that she can never see the young many again, not knowing that he was actually her betrothed.

The fairies bring the upset Aurora to her father's castle, and leave her alone for a time. While they are gone, Maleficent enchants the girl, and leads Aurora to a spinning wheel. The fairies realize the danger and go to rescue Aurora, but before they can, Maleficent forces the girl to prick her finger, invoking the curse.

Aurora remains under the curse for sometime. In the meantime, The fairies had discovered that Phillip was the man that Aurora met, after overhearing Philip's father speak of the prince meeting a peasant girl. After a battle with Maleficent, Phillip is able to get to Aurora and kiss her, breaking the curse. Aurora smiles after she realizes that her betrothed and her love are the same person. The pair go down to meet Aurora's parents, and share a dance.

Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams
Princess Aurora appears in the first Sleeping Beauty story,"Keys to the Kingdom", since the original film. In the story, Prince Philip, King Hubert, King Stefan, and Queen Leah go off for a Royal Conference for 2 days. During this time Princess Aurora, Flora, Fauna and Merryweather are in charge of the Kingdom until they return.

House of Mouse
Aurora makes numerous appearances in the television series House of Mouse. She also appears in Mickey's Magical Christmas and Mickey's House of Villains.

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
Aurora is the child of King Stefan and Queen Leah, born into a kingdom called Enchanted Dominion. At infancy, the evil witch Maleficent laid a curse on the infant, proclaiming that, on her sixteenth birthday, Aurora would prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die. The three good fairies (Flora, Fauna and Merryweather), softened Aurora's curse with Merryweather's gift. Rather than dying, Aurora would fall into a deep sleep, one which she could only be awoken from by "true love's kiss". Flora and Fauna bestowed the princess the gifts of beauty and singing voice. To keep her safe, she was renamed "Briar Rose" and relocated to the forest of her world with the three fairies caring for her. On a chance meeting, Aurora encountered Prince Philip, to whom she was betrothed (unbeknownst to her) and had several dreams of. When the fairies took her back to her kingdom on her sixteenth birthday, the witch put her under a spell to prick her finger on a spindle and placed her in the tallest tower of the castle where she slumbered. At the same time, Prince Philip was captured and taken to Maleficent's castle to keep the princess from ever awakening.

By the time Terra arrives at the Enchanted Dominion, Aurora has already been placed in a deep slumber under the influence of the curse laid by Maleficent. When Terra reaches the tower and meets Maleficent, she uses the darkness in his heart to temporarily take control of his body and forces him to take Aurora's heart. Her heart was kept in Maleficent's castle until Ventus comes to retrieve it with the three fairies. Although her heart returned, the curse is not broken. Prince Phillip eventually escapes with Aqua's aid and reaches the tower where he kisses Aurora and breaks the spell.

During the ending credits, she and Prince Philip are seen dancing in the audience chamber of the castle. Feeling disapproved by their respective colors, the 2 fairies; Flora and Merryweather, relentlessly change the color on her dress with magic.

Kingdom Hearts
Sometime after the events of Birth by Sleep, Aurora was captured once more and her world was devoured by the darkness. It is unknown at what point of the original story Aurora was taken to Hollow Bastion by Maleficent (as there is a 10 year gap between Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep and Kingdom Hearts).

Aurora's likeness first appeared in Kingdom Hearts on a red-tinted pillar in the Awakening world. She was depicted in a state of sleep, suggesting that she had already been captured and imprisoned by Maleficent at this point.

She is first seen in Hollow Bastion when Maleficent attempts to open the Final Keyhole. Maleficent had placed Aurora in a standing glass case in the wall, alongside the other Princesses of Heart. Her heart leaves her when the Keyhole is partly opened, but is returned to her when Sora sacrifices his own heart to save her and the other Princesses, particularly Kairi. Upon awaking, Aurora stays in Hollow Bastion with the other five Princesses to keep the darkness from consuming the world. She also reveals Maleficent's origins to Sora. After Sora sealed the Keyhole, she and the other princesses remain in Hollow Bastion to protect it, along with the Beast, Yuffie, Leon, and Aerith.

When Sora finally sealed Kingdom Hearts, Aurora is returned to the Enchanted Dominion.

Kingdom Hearts II
While Aurora does not make an appearance in Kingdom Hearts II, her name is found to be part of the password to access the DTD in Tron's world. In addition, many characters from her world appeared in the game, including Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather; and Maleficent with her pet raven, Diablo.

Disney Parks
Princess Aurora is a meetable character at Disney Parks around the world. She is usually at stage shows being that there is always a princess scene, If it is not her and Prince Philip, it is Belle and Beast or Ariel and Eric.

Fantasmic!
Princess Aurora appears during the Princess Melody, but not in every showing. Aurora also reappears riding either the Mark Twain Riverboat or Steamboat Willie at the top with other Disney princesses and many other Disney characters.

Dream Along with Mickey
Aurora appears dancing with Cinderella, Snow White and their princes. Aurora assists Cinderella and Snow White in making Minnie dreams come true as being a princess. Aurora reappears at the end and celebrate with other Disney characters the defeat of Maleficent and her minions Captain Hook and Mr. Smee.

Trivia

 * Aurora's design is the visual basis for Princess Allura from the anime Voltron: Defender of the Universe.

Aurora