- “But King Stefan, still fearful of his daughter's life, did then and there decree that every spinning wheel in the kingdom should on that very day be burnt. So it was done.”
- ―Narration describing Stefan as he tries to save his daughter's life
King Stefan is the overarching protagonist in Disney's 1959 animated feature film Sleeping Beauty. As ruler of his kingdom, he is the the dignified, yet debonair, father of Princess Aurora.
Background[]
Development[]
Animators John Lounsbery and Milt Kahl were hired to animate Stefan. An early outline described Stefan as "bemused, but dignified.... stickler for form".
Voice[]
Originally, Hans Conried auditioned for the character in a dialogue version of the deleted song called "It Happens I Have a Picture", but the vocal part went to Taylor Holmes in the final version as his last film role before his death eight months later. Nevertheless, Conried still remained as a live-action model for the character. He had previously worked on this post, also performing live action reference for the two characters he voiced in Peter Pan, as both Captain Hook and Mr. Darling.
Personality[]
Despite his royal position, Stefan is shown to be a humble and debonair figure, a suave and loving father, and a more forceful side of the kingdom's monarchy consisting of himself and his wife, Leah. When confronted by the evil Maleficent, he mostly remained silent, but with a stern, stoic, and fairly intimidating expression. Aside from that scene, he is mostly seen as a soft-spoken man; specifically during his scenes with the more boastful and jolly King Hubert, Stefan's jolly best friend and the father of his daughter's betrothed, Prince Phillip. He's also considerate, as shown when he inform Hubert to slow down with their plan to have their children marry until they get better acquainted. Stefan is also protective of his kingdom and family, especially when he wanted to ensure the safety of Aurora, due to the curse Maleficent had inflicted on his daughter.
However, Stefan is sometimes stubborn, hypocritical, grumpy, and argumentative, especially when he refused to have Aurora marry Phillip soon and when he got into an argument with Hubert that led to him trying to declare war that contradicts their original plan. As considerate as he is, Stefan also doesn’t show much intellect, as shown when he was fooled by Maleficent into thinking that she’s not offended and passively let her inflict her curse on Aurora. He also happens to be extremely short and bad tempered if he's provoked too much, gradually becoming annoyed over the thought of his daughter being taken away again, after only just getting her back after 16 years apart until finally he got furious at the thought of Aurora not being good enough for Phillip by insulting Hubert. He is also shown to be a bit of a worrier, as shown when he is still fearing for Aurora's life from Maleficent, even if he was trying to ensure his daughter's safety.
Nevertheless, in spite of his grumpy and stubborn attitude at times, Stefan is also shown to be strongly caring and devoted to his family, kingdom, and to all of his servants, including Lord Duke and Minstrel.
Physical appearance[]
Stefan is shown as a tall, slender middle-aged man. He is shown wearing a large golden crown on his long black hair (he also has a decorated mustache and goatee). He is shown to be lavishly dressed with a long yellow tunic and a long black and yellow robe with a coral red colored collar and sleeves.
Appearances[]
Sleeping Beauty[]
King Stefan and Queen Leah are the monarchs of an unnamed European kingdom during the late 1300's, possibly in France. He and his wife had been married for many years before finally having a daughter and named her Aurora, whom they named her after the dawn, for she filled their lives with sunshine.
The whole kingdom was invited by Stefan to celebrate her birth, including his lifelong friend, King Hubert, and his young son and betrothed to the infant girl, Prince Phillip. Also invited were the three good fairies called Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather, whom Flora and Fauna gave Aurora the gifts of beauty and song, respectively. But the happiness between him and his wife is short-lived as their celebration got crashed by the arrival of the evil fairy, Maleficent. As Maleficent is about to leave, both Stefan and Leah failed to provide a proper explanation of their lack of invitation to her, with Stefan remaining silent and Leah asking Maleficent if she's not offended, to which the latter pretended she wasn't. To take revenge on him and the others for not inviting her to the baby's celebration, Maleficent then prophecies that on Aurora's sixteenth birthday, she will die from pricking her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel. An enraged Stefan angrily ordered his troops to capture and arrest Maleficent. But before the troops can get to her, she cackles and disappears, leaving Stefan, his wife, and the other servants and guests in the royal court worried about Aurora's doomed future. However, one of the Three Good Fairies, Merryweather (who still had her wish), alters the curse that their daughter will sleep instead of death until True Love's Kiss that will break the spell. As a first response, Stefan ordered all spinning wheels in the kingdom to be burned in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the curse from happening. The King and Queen are persuaded to make the hardest decision of their lives: their daughter must be raised by the Three Good Fairies away in the forest in order to protect her. The narrator reveals that sixteen sad and lonely years passed for Stefan and his dear queen.
Sixteen years later, he is waiting for his now teenage daughter's return to the his castle. While in the dining room drinking, with the court composer, Minstrel, drinking to himself, Hubert reveals that upon Aurora's return, she and Philip shall be instantly wed and move to another home (which is already built). This frustrates Stefan into initially opposing their original plan to have their children marry soon, as he wanted to see Aurora and suggested Hubert that their children should get to know each other. And upon Hubert stating what if Phillip doesn't like Aurora, the two monarchs begin to quarrel with each other and Stefan goes too far in losing his temper and threatening to declare war on Hubert. But after Hubert grabs a fish as a weapon, it leads to laughter between the two kings, as they quickly made up by realizing they're fighting over nothing. Later in the film, Stefan is subsequently put to sleep by the fairies (though unknown to him and the others, Aurora pricked her finger and is in a state of sleep) so that he will wake upon Aurora's awaking, along with Hubert, Leah, and the other residents of the kingdom. However, it is prior to Hubert telling him what Phillip had told him on a peasant girl (she is Aurora in reality, though neither Hubert nor Phillip were able to realize this).
Afterwards, King Stefan is not seen again until the end of the film just after Maleficent's demise at the hands of Phillip when Stefan wakes up from his slumber, along with Hubert, Leah, and the other residents in the kingdom that were all freed by Phillip's True Love's Kiss on Aurora. Stefan, Leah, and Hubert share a happy reunion with Aurora and Phillip, and the three watch their children dance.
Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams[]
King Stefan in Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams
King Stefan reappears in the Keys to the Kingdom segment of the film Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams, now voiced by Corey Burton.
He is first seen in the beginning of the first segment, talking to Aurora about him, Leah, Hubert, and Phillip going out of town for the Royal Conference for two days (where Hubert is due to give a speech) before asking his majordomo, Lord Duke about the arrangements he made for the kingdom and for the Royal Conference. After Stefan leaves with Phillip, Hubert, and Leah, Aurora is given the Keys to the Kingdom and with a little advice from Duke, she becomes a temporary ruler for Stefan and Leah, though he is seen unsure and worried if Aurora can rule, but she comforts her father.
King Stefan is then seen at the end of the first segment, arriving back from the Royal Conference, along with King Hubert, Queen Leah, and Prince Phillip, when Duke comes running to the carriage and told him that he saw giant chickens, green pigs, and cows in the throne room. At first, Stefan was confused about what Duke said, but he told his master to check the throne room immediately. But when Stefan, Leah, Hubert, Phillip, and Duke all arrive in the throne room, there were no animals and Stefan frustratingly asks Duke if he sees any cows, to which his majordomo said there's none.
Stefan is seen at the end of the first segment, sitting next to Hubert at the Royal Banquet, alongside the other major characters as they talk about "the rumor" about cows and green pigs, as Phillip mentions giant chickens. He starts laughing, along with the fairies, Duke, Hubert, Leah, Phillip, and Aurora.
Live-action appearances[]
Maleficent[]
King Stefan in Maleficent.
King Stefan reappears in the 2014 live film perspective film Maleficent, portrayed by Sharlto Copley. In contrast to the character seen in Sleeping Beauty, this version of Stefan is the main antagonist of the film and is shown to be an evil, power-hungry, and a vengeful tyrant. Here, he's also shown to be even more bad-tempered, stubborn, and jerkish than he was in the original film and happens to have had quite a history with Maleficent, making her a victimized villain.
As a child, Stefan was an orphan and often stole things. He first meets Maleficent when he escapes to the Moors after stealing a gem. The two became the best of friends and on Maleficent's sixteenth birthday, Stefan gives her true love's kiss as their close friendship gradually blossomed into romance. However, one night, Stefan steals Maleficent's wings so he could lie that he killed her and become the new king. He marries King Henry's daughter, Princess Lelia, and together, they have a child of their own, a baby girl named Aurora. However, his treacherous actions would cost him dearly, as Maleficent places a dark curse of eternal slumber upon his daughter Aurora as revenge for what he did to her. Over the next sixteen years, Stefan becomes extremely paranoid and obsessed with hunting Maleficent down, so obsessed that he doesn't care less for his dying queen.
When Aurora returns on the day before her sixteenth birthday, he has her locked up. But when the curse starts, she finds her way to the dungeons where the spinning wheels were burnt and pricks her finger, putting her into her deep slumber, much to Stefan's dismay. Maleficent is able to lift the curse with the power of true love, but Stefan and his guards capture Maleficent and Diaval. He brutally tortures and taunts Maleficent. But as he is about to kill her with his sword, Maleficent's wings return to her, thanks to the help of Aurora.
Stefan is quickly overpowered and carried onto a tower by Maleficent. She beats Stefan and nearly strangles him, but decides to spare him. Blinded by his overwhelming pride and seething rage, Stefan refuses to concede defeat and attacks her again. The two fall from the tower, but Maleficent manages to become airborne, while Stefan plummets down to his death, ending his venomous wrath forever.
Once Upon a Time[]
King Stefan in Once Upon a Time.
King Stefan appears in the television series Once Upon a Time and is portrayed by Sebastian Roche. After Maleficent curses Briar Rose into an eternal sleep, her victory falls short when King Stefan awakens the cursed maiden with true love's kiss. He and Briar Rose later marry, presiding over their kingdom in a palace, and have a daughter named Aurora. Maleficent, on the other hand, becomes dejected since her revenge is spoiled and loses her ability to turn into a dragon. Years later, Aurora is set to marry Prince Phillip, and in a bid to restore Maleficent to her former glory, Regina tries motivating her into getting vengeance on Briar Rose's daughter. Fearing the former dragon will harm Aurora, King Stefan and his soldiers arrive at the ruined portion of land that Maleficent once scorched with her flames decades ago. When they begin arresting her, Maleficent attempts to transform, but it fails, leaving both her and Regina to be captured for execution.
As the women are tied and forced to walk, Regina burns her own binds and hurls a fireball at the men before her magic dries out. Luckily, Maleficent morphs into a dragon and as she swoops down from the air, King Stefan shouts for his guards to retreat. With a well-aimed breath of fire, she shoots it at the king, who manages to block with his shield. Later, when Maleficent confronts Aurora, she reveals she did not kill King Stefan in order to make him suffer and see his precious daughter be cursed as her mother was.
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil[]
Due to his assassination in the first film, King Stefan made no physical appearance in Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, but he is briefly mentioned by Queen Ingrith when she tells how Aurora became queen of the Moors.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Though King Stefan and Queen Leah do not appear in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, the thrones on which they sit are present in the hall of the castle where Terra faces the Wheel Master Unversed.
- Stefan is one of the few characters who are good in their original appearance and then antagonized in the live action version of the character.
- Before Taylor Holmes was cast in as Stefan in the final version for his final film role, Hans Conried was originally considered to voice Stefan, as he recorded some additional lines of dialogue for the dialogue version for the deleted song.
- Due to this, Stefan is technically the first Disney Princess Father to have two different voice actors in the same film; Hans Conried for the dialogue version for the deleted song and Taylor Holmes for the film's final cut.
- There was originally a scene that was to have taken place in the beginning where King Stefan and King Hubert argue about the future of their children and compare portraits of their young children, a song called "It Happens I Have a Picture" (heard in the second disc of the 2008 Platinum Edition DVD of Sleeping Beauty and The Legacy Collection: Sleeping Beauty), spoken by Hans Conried and Bill Thompson. Although Thompson ended up voicing Hubert in the final film, the truth regarding the herald's voice may still never be known because after providing some additional lines, Conried himself was eventually replaced by Taylor Holmes for the vocal part of Stefan in the film's final version.
- He is the first Disney Princess father to not be deceased, not counting his villainous counterpart in Maleficent.
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