In January 1950, anticipating the success of Cinderella, Walt Disney began developing an animated adaptation of another Charles Perrault's tale, Sleeping Beauty. The earliest known story treatment was written by April 1951 and was significantly different from the final film. Notably, Aurora (who was then simply referred to as the Princess) was raised in her family castle, instead of the forest cottage, and was more of a "poor little rich girl", burdened by her royal pedigree and dreaming to explore the world outside the castle walls, similarly to Jasmine from Aladdin over 40 years later. Development of this version of Sleeping Beauty concluded in June 1952, when Disney rejected the full storyboard presentation, feeling that this story approach turned out to be too similar to their previous films, such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Cinderella. The story team had to start development from scratch, although several story ideas introduced in this version remained in the final film, which was released in 1959.
The full version of 1951 outline was included as a bonus feature on special edition DVD of Sleeping Beauty, released in 2003.
Plot[]
Once upon a time, the King and Queen give birth to a daughter. On the day of her christening, the Princess is bestowed with various gifts, including a silver spinning wheel decorated with gems, but nobody is aware who had sent it. The holiday is attended by the Three Good Fairies who were invited to be the godmothers of the Princess and bless her with their own magical gifts. Fernadell, the Fairy of the Forest, gives her the beauty of the wild flowers and the voice of the nightingale, while Merryweather, the Fairy of the Elements, gives her a sunny disposition and the gentleness of spring rain. Then, as Tranquility, the Fairy of Beautiful Dreams, is about to grant her wish, the celebration is interrupted by the arrival of Maleficent, the Fairy of Darkness. Furious at not being invited, she curses the Princess to die when she pricks her finger on a spinning wheel's spindle before the sun sets on her sixteenth birthday. Tranquility manages to soften the curse, decreeing that the Princess will not die, but will instead fall into a deep slumber until the spell is broken by true love. Soon, by the King's command, all the spinning wheels in the kingdom are burned, except for the silver one that turns out to be indestructible. After several unsuccessful attempts to destroy it, the King orders to banish it, but Maleficent, revealed to be the one who created that spinning wheel, returns it back with her magic and hides it in the Dark Woods. One night, the King hears a strange whining sound coming from the forest, and, the following morning, the footprints of the spinning wheel are found outside the castle walls. Desperately, the King commands the castle walls to be greatly heightened and gives the order that his daughter must never leave the castle grounds until the curse expires.
Fifteen years later, the Princess grows into a beautiful young woman with lovely voice. Not wishing to alarm her, the King never tells her about the curse and indestructible spinning wheel, so she does not understand why she is never allowed to leave the castle. Despite the attempts of the King and Three Good Fairies to shower her with jewels and magical gifts, the Princess grows melancholic and wishes to see the world beyond the castle walls. One day, as her maidservant does a needlework on her birthday gown, the Princess comes up with an idea to switch clothes with her maidservant and secretly leave the palace. The following morning, the disguised Princess slips away from the castle and, accompanied by birds and animals, goes to a Hummingbird Hill that is located nearby. Soon, Merryweather discovers her disappearance and, in a panic, causes the rain. Searching for shelter, the Princess encounters a handsome young man, who turns out to be a prince, and they fall in love with each other. The Prince then tells that he has to go on a journey to a far away land, and the Princess, whom he believes to be a maidservant, promises to wait for him forever. To seal the pledge, the Prince gives her a locket with insignia engraved upon it. Unbeknownst to them, the scene is observed by Maleficent's pet falcon who immediately flies off to warn his mistress. On her way back to the castle, the Princess is chased by a mysterious creature, but she manages to reach the castle and escape, while the royal guards capture the creature, revealed to be Maleficent's spinning wheel, and wall it in the little room in the highest tower of the castle. Later, Maleficent gets informed about that by her falcon. Meanwhile, the Princess, dreaming of her secret love, starts acting more happy, much to the delight and surprise of her father.
On the day of the Princess' sixteenth birthday, the King throws a grand celebration, while the Three Good Fairies, realizing that Maleficent will undoubtedly try to make a last attempt on the life of the Princess, surround the castle with a protective circle through which "no evil thing that walks, or flies or crawls can ever pass". Unbeknownst to them, Maleficent manages to enter the castle by disguising herself as a fish caught by the pantry boy. In the middle of the party, the Princess notices a ball of yarn and follows its thread to the room in the upper most part of the castle, where she meets Maleficent, disguised as an elderly spinner. She uses the silver spinning wheel to create a magic garment for the Princess and prompts her to do the same. Remembering about her guests, who at this time discover that she's missing from the party, the Princess politely refuses and prepares to leave. Maleficent pretends to accidentally drop the spinning wheel, and the Princess tries to help put it back, accidentally touching the spindle in the process. The Three Good Fairies find the Princess just as she falls into a slumber, and carry her to the bedroom, noticing the locket on her neck and insignia carved into its face. Then, so that the Princess would not be left alone, Tranquillity casts a spell on the castle, putting everyone inside into a deep sleep until the Princess is awakened. After the fairies leave the castle, Maleficent surrounds it with an impenetrable forest of vines and thorns.
In next few years, the story of the sleeping princess became a legend, while the cursed spinning wheel settled in the Dark Woods, haunting the simple folk with its sinister whining sound every night. Tempted by the royal riches hidden in the castle, several young men tried to get through the impenetrable forest, only to perish on its thorns. One day, the Three Good Fairies are informed that a cavalcade of knights has returned from a mission in a far away land, with their leader being the Prince who gave the locket to the Princess. Maleficent, also informed by her falcon, tries to stop the Prince, but with the help of the fairies, he manages to break through her hazards, including the forest of thorns. As the Prince finally reaches the castle, Maleficent raises the drawbridge and taunts him, and then Merryweather strikes her on the temple with a little lightning bolt, causing Maleficent to fall from the castle's parapet. Fernadell's birds lower the drawbridge, and the Prince and the fairies enter the courtyard, discovering the shattered spinning wheel, indestructible as long as its mistress lived, and Maleficent's dead body with the spindle through her heart. Upon seeing his mistress' fate, the falcon dies as well. The Prince finds the Princess and, realizing that she and the maidservant he met in the forest years ago are the same person, kisses her on the forehead, awakening both her and the rest of the castle. In the following days, the Prince and the Princess are married, with Fernadell, Merryweather and Tranquility being the bridesmaids.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- At this point of the story development, the titular heroine and her prince were simply referred to as the Princess and the Prince. Apparently, they were named Aurora and Phillip during the rewriting process as there is no indication of otherwise.
- In later version of the story, Maleficent's falcon was rewritten as more comically incompetent vulture.
- This version also introduced the character of Cyril, one of Fernadell's bluebirds and the Princess' animal friends.
- In later version of the story, the meeting between the Princess and the Prince occurred at the country fair.
- The same version of the story included a scene of another encounter between the Princess and Maleficent, disguised as a gypsy.
