THE STORY
"Sleeping Beauty" is set in medieval Europe someplace, where a King and Queen have desperately been trying for a baby. Finally, a girl is born, and they name here Aurora after the dawn, because she brought light into their lives. They held a grand event for the birth of their little girl, and invited all of the kingdom, except for the evil Maleficent. Prince Phillip, the young son of the King's good friend, has also attended the event and he is betrothed to the baby.
The three good fairies Flora, Fauna, and Merriweather set about giving their gifts, one of beauty, one of song, when Maleficent interrupts the party, angry she was not invited. For revenge, she casts an evil curse on the infant princess, that on the night of her sixteenth birthday, she will prick her finger on a spinning wheel before sundown, and die.
Obviously, the King and Queen were quite horrified at Maleficent's "gift," and begged the good fairies to help their poor daughter. While they cannot lift the curse, Merriweather can help soften the curse. Not death, but a deep sleep shall the princess fall under, only to be awakened by love's first kiss. However, to ensure that this never happens, the fairies devise a plan to live as mortals until her sixteenth birthday, living in seclusion from the world and taking care of the infant princess, whom they rename Briar Rose.
Maleficent is successfully tricked and cannot find Briar Rose for these sixteen years. On the day of her sixteenth birthday, Briar Rose goes out into the forest to pick berries while her "aunts" prepare a surprise birthday party for her. While she's singing with her animal friends, Prince Phillip hears her angelic voice through the forest, and anxiously pursues it. Finally, he finds the source, a beautiful but seemingly common young girl with hair of gold and lips red as the rose. Instantly he falls in love with her and begins to woo her. Although young Briar Rose has been warned not to talk to strangers, she can't help but fall in love with this handsome man, meanwhile neither knows the other's true identity. They make plans to meet at Briar Rose's cottage that night, and part ways.
While Briar Rose is in the forest, the fairies try unsuccessfully to prepare a birthday celebration for Briar Rose. The cake falls over, the dress is in tatters, and the entire place is a mess. Merriweather finally convinces Flora and Fauna to break out their magic wands they have hidden for all these years to make the celebration. They carefully seal every nook and cranny and get to work. While working, Flora and Merriweather get into a magic fight over the color of the dress, and while they shoot bursts of magical color, some of it bounces out of the chimeney, while one of Maleficent's henchman is flying over the forest.
Briar Rose returns to the cottage excited to tell her aunts of the young man, but is horrified to discover that she's really a princess, and tonight she must return to the castle and her parents, the King and Queen. The fairies assure her that she will never see him again, and she runs to her room in tears.
At twilight, the fairies and Princess Aurora make for the castle, and reach it there safely. Aurora is less than happy to arrive, and begins to cry again once inside the castle, in her room. The fairies think it best that they leave her alone and let her have her cry out, so they decide to wait outside her door.
Meanwhile, Maleficent is waiting in the cottage for the fairies and the princess to return, but behold! It isn't the princess that falls into the trap, but Prince Phillip, come to see Briar Rose. Maleficent informs him that she is really the Princess, and takes Phillip prisoner and sets after Aurora.
While in her room crying, Aurora looks up and discovers a green glowing orb in her fireplace. She becomes entranced by it, and follows it into a secret passageway behind the fireplace. She follows the orb up a staircase when the fairies suddenly realize that perhaps it was not such a good idea to leave Aurora alone. They enter the room to find it empty, and begin a frantic search for the princess. They use their powers to go through the wall behind the fireplace and up the staircase, looking for any sign of the princess.
Finally, the glowing orb takes Aurora to a room with a spindle in it. Maleficent's voice commands Aurora to touch the spindle, and after hesitating she does touch it. The fairies arrive in the room too late, only to find a triumphant Maleficent and a sleeping beauty.
The fairies decide to put the whole castle to sleep along with Aurora, and while they are putting Phillip's father to sleep, they hear him mumble about some peasant girl his son fell in love with that day in the forest. The fairies put two and two together and realize that Aurora and Phillip have fallen in love, and it is him that can break the spell with love's first kiss.
The path is frought with many perils, but finally the fairies reach the Prince and grant to him the Sword of Truth and a shield. They make it out of Maleficent's castle, but she won't let them get away that easily. She encircles the castle Aurora slumbers in with a thick forest of thorns. Phillip manages to fight his way through, only to meet Maleficent in the form of a gigantic dragon. Phillip lauches his sword at the dragon's heart, and it succeeds in killing the beast.
Phillip rushes upstairs to where Aurora sleeps, and bestows loves first kiss which breaks the spell. The castle awakens and it is announced that the Princess has returned. Princess Aurora and Prince Phillip descend the stairs together and Aurora has a brief reunion with her parents until Phillip wisks her away on to the dance floor, which quickly turn into clouds, and they live happily ever after.