The Spinning Wheel is an enchanted object which, when the spindle is touched, will send its victim (in this case Aurora) into a deep ageless sleep, originally death, which was cast by Maleficent, but was softened by Merryweather. The victim of this sleep can only be revived by True Love's Kiss.
The spinning wheel plays a major role in the film because it is used by Maleficent to cause her curse on Aurora to be completed. Upset about not being invited to the baby's christening, she casts an evil spell upon Aurora that she would prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die before the sun sets on her sixteenth birthday. This causes lots of grief and sorrow on the kingdom, but Merryweather softens the curse so that Aurora would not die, but just enter an enchanted sleep that will only last until True Love's Kiss. Still fearful for his daughter's life, King Stefan orders that all spinning wheels in the kingdom be burned. Meanwhile, the fairies decide to secretly raise Aurora in their care, calling her "Briar Rose" and hiding every bit of detail from her real life.
Sixteen years later, on the day of Aurora's 16th birthday, the fairies' plan goes off well, but a fight between Flora and Merryweather ends up exposing Aurora's location. Just before sunset after Aurora is returned to the castle, Maleficent hypnotizes Aurora and turns invisible, using the light from her scepter in the form of a will-'o-the-wisp, to lure Aurora up to the top of the tower before producing the spinning wheel, with the spindle glistening with eerie light. Aurora reaches her hand out to touch the glowing spindle, but resists briefly when she hears the fairies telling her to not touch anything; On Maleficent's command, Aurora reaches out again and pricks her finger and fulfills the evil fairy's prophecy, thus the fairies' plan has failed. After which, the spinning wheel disappears. Maleficent then captures Prince Phillip so he can't break her spell, but the Three Good Fairies manage to rescue him. Moments later, he battles Maleficent to her death then finally kisses Aurora, breaking the spell.
A spinning wheel is an item belonging to Rumplestiltskin, who has had the ability to spin since he was a child and was abandoned by his father. Years later, Rumplestiltskin's son Baelfire was a child during the Ogre Wars. The wheel appeared in his small home where they lived together and again, later, in the main room of his grand estate house where he held Belle captive. He also teaches a young Cora to spin straw into gold to marry Prince Henry. He tells her to think of a moment where she was humiliated and use that to motivate her. When asked what moment he chooses, Rumplestiltskin tells of his humiliation of a King's Duke where he made him kiss his boot. Cora chooses the moment when a young Queen Eva trips her whilst delivering straw to the noble court and being forced to apologize. Cora names the technique "bloodlust" to which Rumplestiltskin approves. Rumplestiltskin is periodically depicted sitting at his wheel and spinning, lost in thought, claiming it helps him to forget.
Maleficent also used a spinning wheel with a weakened version of the sleeping curse with other ingredients to drug herself. She later used it to put Aurora under a sleeping curse.
His wheel is also featured in Storybrooke. One night, Belle finds Mr. Gold spinning his wheel and making potions. David's voluntary submission to a sleeping curse to reach Mary Margaret in the Netherworld is enacted by him pricking his finger on the spinning wheel's spindle, which Gold refers to as "the old-fashioned way", referring to Maleficent's sleeping curse.
Cora is also seen by Mary Margaret and Regina with the spinning wheel in a spirit form within an enclosed room after Mary Margaret, David, Emma Swan, Captain Hook, and her daughter Regina Mills attempt to make communication with her.
When declaring her curse on Aurora, Maleficent got the idea of her pricking her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel after spotting one among the gifts for the baby princess. Not long after the curse was officialize, King Stephan not only ordered all the spinning wheels in the kingdom to be broken and burnt, but also had them locked in the deepest dungeons of the castle to prevent any usage for the curse.
With Maleficent having come to care about Aurora, the curse itself provides the spinning wheel. As Maleficent and Diaval race to the castle with Phillip in tow, the curse reforms a crude and deformed spinning wheel, among the burnt pieces. The spinning wheel seems to be calling out to Aurora, leading her through hidden passages in the servants' wings, and causing an itch under her finger, until she finally touched the spindle, drawing blood on it, then she falls into her foretold deep sleep.
The spinning wheel that was used by Maleficent to put Audrey's mother into an eternal sleep, appears as a museum exhibit at the Museum of Cultural History. After all those years, it still works, as Mal used it to send the museum security guard to sleep. Unlike with Aurora's case, the guard woke after hearing an alarm go off in the museum, implying that the spinning wheel is a dud, or only works on Aurora.
The spinning wheel first appears in the princess dressing room along with Aurora in the Internet. In the scene of the princesses rescuing Ralph, Aurora uses the spinning wheel to strengthen Rapunzel's hair to ropes for the rescue.
Prince Phillip's mother, Queen Ingrith, has been secretly keeping the spinning wheel inside the castle. She used the spindle to prick King John and frame Maleficent for putting him under a curse. After Maleficent officially removes the curse, causing the spindle to ultimately disappear along with the rest of the spinning wheel, the king is awakened and ended the war.
Other appearances[]
The Spinning Wheel has a minor cameo in Tangled within Rapunzel's room as one of her possessions. It is also seen in the Tangled: The Series episode "Keeper of the Spire", as one of the framed items on the Spire's Vault wall.
It also has an appearance in Disenchanted.
Trivia[]
In the original fairy tale, the Dark Fairy disguises herself as a kindly old lady who offers to teach the princess how to spin thread, which is the way she tricked her into pricking her finger on the spindle.
The concept of fooling the heroine through disguise, however, was seen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs where the Evil Queen disguised herself as an old woman and tries to trick Snow White into taking a bite of the Poisoned Apple and put her into a sleep that could only be broken by True Love's Kiss.
A deleted scene featured on the Diamond Edition of Sleeping Beauty shows the original storyline from the fairy tale, with Maleficent disguising herself to trick Aurora to prick her finger. However this was replaced with Maleficent hypnotizing Aurora and luring her to a tower where she pricked her finger on the Spinning Wheel.
An Unversed boss, the Wheel Master, is possibly modeled from the wheel.
But whether the wheel became an unversed or not is questionable.
The spinning wheel is never mentioned or seen ever again after the curse is fulfilled.
Despite being called a spindle, the design of the spinning wheel was closer to the flax or Saxony designs, which replaced the spindle with a distaff (which held the plant fiber waiting to be spun).
Gallery[]
A concept painting of Aurora lying asleep near the spinning wheel by Eyvind Earle.
A story sketch of Aurora approaching the spinning wheel by Joe Rinaldi.
A 1959 publicity still of Maleficent luring Aurora to the spinning wheel.
A vision of the spinning wheel in Maleficent's curse.
Aurora pricking her finger on the spindle of the spinning wheel.
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