Aurora

Princess Aurora

King Hubert (father in law)

Clover (sister)

Merryweather

Phillip

**Aurora** first appears in the full length animated feature film, Sleeping Beauty produced by Walt Disney pictures. She is the third Official Disney Princess. She is also the last princess to be developed by Walt Disney.

## Background

### Personality

Aurora is kind, elegant, shy and sophisticated, as well as a hopeless romantic. At first, she is seen as a slightly naive and carefree young woman as a result of being sheltered for most of her life. Aurora is very loyal to her "aunts" and usually obeys their rules respectfully, although she may disagree with them. Since she was raised not to talk to strangers, Aurora was naturally startled and apprehensive when the handsome Prince Phillip appeared in the forest. However, she was drawn to him before remembering her aunts' rule about not talking to strangers. Aurora then compromised in agreeing to talk to him by arranging to meet him at her cottage, under the supervision of her aunts. In later media, she is shown to have matured and become more self-assured, independent and confident in her opinions and abilities. Though it can arguably be said that as a character, she is very difficult to pin down, due to her short appearance in the movie, at least awake, that is.

### Physical Appearance

Aurora is a supremely beautiful young woman, magically blessed with curly and wavy waist-length golden hair like sunshine, violet eyes, a tall and slender figure, and lips that shame the red rose. Her complexion is fair and flawless and unlike Snow White or Cinderella, her face is less rounded and more refined, giving her an appearance of maturity rather than youth despite being only 16.

In her peasant guise of Briar Rose, she wears a gray skirt with a white petticoat, a black bodice over a light gray blouse with long sleeves and goes barefoot. She also has a black headband and carries a purple shawl. After discovering her status as a princess, she wears an evening gown that changes from blue to pink and back due to Flora and Merryweather's disagreeing on the color.

#### Abilities

In Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams, Aurora was given a magic wand from Merryweather to use, and Aurora was able to wield its magical powers such as making two stacks of papers pick themselves up, transforming her nightgown into a ballgown with a dazzling necklace, matching earrings, and a jeweled tiara. She summoned chickens and cows and temporarily turned a man into a duck. Later in the story Aurora fixed her problems and gave away the cows to peasants. At the end of the story she returned the wand to Merryweather.

In the original film, despite Aurora having been enchanted by Maleficent, a powerful sorceress, Aurora's willpower combined with shouts from the fairies temporarily gave her the strength to regain control of herself for a few seconds before she pricks her finger and falls asleep.

## Appearances

### Sleeping Beauty

Aurora's parents named her after the Roman goddess of the dawn because she filled their lives with sunshine. Soon after she was born, she was presented to the kingdom at a christening, where she was betrothed to Prince Phillip, the son of King Stefan's good friend King Hubert. Also invited were the three good fairies, Flora, Fauna and Merryweather, who bestow blessings on the newborn princess. Flora and Fauna give the infant princess the gifts of beauty and song, respectively. However, before Merryweather has the opportunity to give her gift, the evil fairy Maleficent arrives. Angered because she wasn't invited to the ceremony, Maleficent puts a curse on baby Aurora. According to Maleficent, before the sun sets on Aurora's sixteenth birthday, she will prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die. Maleficent disappears, leaving everyone in shock and horrified. Merryweather, though unable to lift the curse, could soften it. Instead of death, she would remedy the situation by placing Aurora into an enchanted sleep, only to be awakened by true love's kiss if this was to happen.

Still fearful for the princess's safety, the three good fairies agree to hide the princess as a peasant for 16 years until the danger has passed. They take the baby to a cottage in the forest and raise her, disguising themselves as her mortal aunts and renaming her Briar Rose.

On Aurora's sixteenth birthday, her "aunts" send her out into the forest, so that they can prepare for her birthday party in secret. 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 friends. But she soon meets Prince Phillip, who had followed her melodic voice. Not knowing who Phillip 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 then left, realizing she wasn't allowed to give her name to strangers. She does, however, 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 man again, not knowing that he was actually her betrothed. Heartbroken, Aurora breaks into tears as she heads upstairs to weep on her bed.

The fairies bring the upset Aurora back to her father's castle with Clover, her new sister waiting, take her to a room, and decide to leave her alone for a time. They conjure a crown and place it on her head so that she can eventually come to realize her royalty. While they are gone, Maleficent enchants the princess and leads her up an abandoned tower staircase. At the top floor within the empty room, Maleficent conjures a spinning wheel. The fairies realize the danger and frantically run up the stairs to stop Aurora, but before they can, Maleficent forces the girl to prick her finger, invoking the curse. The fairies arrive, but run into Maleficent, who mocks their efforts to stop her, reveals the fallen princess, who has been cursed, and vanishes.

The fairies place Aurora, now in an enchanted sleep, upon a bed at the top of the highest tower with Clover taking care of her. While putting everyone else in the castle to sleep, the fairies discover that Phillip had been the man that Aurora met after overhearing King Hubert speak of the prince meeting a peasant girl. So the fairies go to the cottage to get Phillip, but are prompted to go to Forbidden Mountain, Maleficent's domain, after discovering that Maleficent has captured the prince. They rescue Phillip from the dungeon and arm him with the Sword of Truth and the Shield of Virtue, then have to fend off Maleficent's minions and finally exit the Forbidden Mountain and head for Stefan's castle, but Maleficent conjures a forest of thorns to prevent further entrance which is hacked through by Phillip's sword. Angered at this, Maleficent suddenly appears in their way and transforms into a dragon. After defeating the dragon with help from the fairies, Phillip enters the castle and walks up the staircase to the tower room where Aurora is still sleeping. He gives her a kiss, true love's kiss, which finally awakens Aurora and breaks 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 Phillip's father with Clover, and Aurora kisses King Hubert on his cheek before sharing a dance with Phillip. While the couple dance, Flora and Merryweather reignite their rivalry on their respective colors as the two bickering fairies relentlessly change the color on her dress with their magic. Aurora's dress keeps changing colors as she and Phillip continue dancing and share another kiss, with the final words in the book, below the illustration of the couple romantically kissing (and the color of Aurora's dress still changing from blue to pink) "and they lived happily ever after".

### Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams

Princess Aurora appears in the first Sleeping Beauty story, "Keys to the Kingdom", since the original film, this time as the main protagonist. In the story, Prince Phillip, King Hubert, King Stefan and Queen Leah go off for a Royal Conference for two days. During this time Princess Aurora, Flora, Fauna and Merryweather are in charge of the Kingdom until they return with Clover. Throughout the segment, Aurora attempts to rely on staying calm during hectic situations but this proves to be a challenge. Later on, Flora, Fauna and Merryweather leave the castle to return Hubert's forgotten speech. Before she left, Merryweather allowed Aurora to use her magic wand during harsh times. Aurora initially thought of this as an easy way to avoid hassle, ignoring her original vow to stay calm with Clover helping. Soon enough, the magic causes more trouble than before having her result to her previous plans which prevail. Aurora succeeds and when the others return, they enjoy a banquette she prepared. It is implied in this story that Aurora's favorite color is pink seeing how she only wore her pink princess dress for this entire story and she changed the color of her nightgown pink right before she went to bed.

Mary Costa, the original voice of Aurora, was not fond of this story and felt that it did not work.

### Sofia The First

Aurora appears in the Christmas Special "Holiday in Enchancia". She is the first Disney Princess to not sing on the show, instead she only gives Sofia some good advice.

When King Roland goes missing, Sofia and her family go out into the cold blizzard snow to find him, but as a result they get lost, too.

When Sofia's amulet starts to glow, she wonders off to a spot where she can be alone and finds Aurora with Clover. Aurora tells Sofia she can always count on her animal friends to help her through tough times, before disappearing.

### Once Upon A Time

Aurora appears in the second and third seasons of the ABC television series Once Upon a Time. She is portrayed by Sarah Bolger. She was afflicted with the Sleeping Curse by Maleficent, and it was revealed that her mother was afflicted with the same curse by Maleficent years before making her the second "Sleeping Beauty". She is cursed by Maleficent, who wanted revenge because her first attempt, to kill Aurora's mother, the original Sleeping Beauty, failed. Aurora began her slumber less than a year before the casting of the Dark Curse. The palace in which she slumbered was untouched by the curse. While she slumbered, Prince Phillip (portrayed by Julian Morris) and Mulan (portrayed by Jamie Chung) journeyed to find her. They were frozen for 28 years while the Curse was in effect, but were able to resume their search after Emma Swan weakened the Curse in Storybrooke. Aurora was awakened by Phillip with True Love's Kiss but soon after Phillip was marked by a creature called a Wraith. He hides it from Aurora and Mulan.

When he goes to sacrifice himself Aurora and Mulan follow him. It is there Aurora discovers Mulan has feelings for Phillip too. But he has his soul sucked out of him by the Wraith and is killed. Aurora and Mulan carry his body back to Aurora's palace where Mulan explains the dark curse to Aurora. They hear a sound and find Emma Swan and Mary Margaret Blanchard underneath some rubble. Aurora, thinking that they were responsible for the Wraith's appearance, takes them to a safe haven as prisoners. When Emma and Mary Margaret were thrown into the pit they were eventually brought to the leader who turns out to be Sir Lancelot (portrayed by Sinqua Wells). Aurora expresses her distrust in him to Mulan. She also holds Emma and Snow White responsible for Phillip being gone and wants revenge but Mulan warns her against this. But when her back is turned, Aurora grasps a knife tightly in her hands.

Mulan accompanies Emma and Mary Margaret on their journey to find their way back to Storybrooke but Aurora secretly follows them. When Mary Margaret is alone Aurora seizes the opportunity and holds her and knife-point and holds her responsible for Phillip's death. But Mary Margaret easily overcomes her and pins Aurora to the ground stating that what happened to Phillip was not her fault and that she knows what it's like to lose someone she cared about. Mulan and Emma return to see what is going on. Emma is furious Aurora tried to kill her mother, but Mulan says she will deal with Aurora on her own terms. Later, Mulan is seen telling Aurora to keep up and that it is her own fault for being cold as she should have stayed on the island. Emma takes pity on Aurora and gives her her jacket to keep her warm. At the castle, Aurora and Mulan keep guard at the gate. Later, Aurora agrees to help Mary Margaret and Emma with trying to find another way home as it will give her a chance to channel her anger.

Aurora discovers Captain Hook beneath a pile of bodies, and Hook attempts to deceive the four of them by stating he survived Cora's attack on the camp by hiding under some dead bodies. Emma is not buying his story and pulls a knife on Hook's throat, stating that she wants the truth and she can tell when a person is lying. She then ties Hook to a tree and whistles for the ogres, and begins to walk away. Aurora believes that he may be telling the truth, but then Hook reveals his true identity as a shocked Mary Margaret pulls his hook out of his satchel. He states that he was working with Cora, but will now join forces with Emma and her team. He leads them to a giant beanstalk stretching up into the sky, Aurora lagging behind, stating that there is a magical compass at the top, but first they must deal with the giant. At the beanstalk, Aurora volunteers to go up, as she says she has no one left to her in this world, but is overridden when Emma says she will go up instead.

After Emma departs, Mulan suggests that the remaining three women split time taking watch. Mary Margaret volunteers to watch first, but Aurora refuses to sleep, saying she is having nightmares since her sleeping curse. Mary Margaret reassures her, saying the dreams will go away in time as she, too, also dealt with the after effects of the sleeping curse. Later, Aurora wakes up screaming from a nightmare, and Mary Margaret comforts her as Mulan looks on. Aurora describes her dream, in which she is in a windowless doorless room with blood red curtains and flames. Another person, a man, is looking at her from across the room, and she is scared. Mary Margaret comforts her and coaxes her back to sleep. When Mulan moves to cut down the beanstalk, Aurora asks why. Though Mulan was acting on Emma's orders, Mary Margaret tackles her to the ground to stop her from cutting it.

After Emma jumps down from the beanstalk, Aurora wonders where Hook is, and Emma replies that he is being temporarily watched and that the group has a ten hour head start, so they should take advantage of it. It is later revealed that she and Henry Mills, Emma's son, are experiencing the same nightmare. Aurora is seen sleeping when Emma and Mary Margaret pass by. We see her in her nightmare screaming and becoming engulfed by the flames when Henry reappears with the necklace given to him by Mr. Gold and puts out the flames. He tells her his name is Henry and she shouldn't be afraid. She is awakened by Mary Margaret and explains to her and Emma that there was a little boy in her dream, and his name was Henry. She's later captured by Cora, who tries to use her to get what she wants by revealing that Phillip's soul is in another world.

She refuses to help Cora and is knocked out cold, but Hook releases her and it's revealed he took her heart which Cora uses to manipulate Aurora. Cora and Hook then imprison her and the others in an enchanted dungeon. After the spell on the dungeon is broken, Aurora voluntarily stays behind because she knows that she cannot be trusted since Cora has control of her heart. When Hook and Cora are about to escape to Storybrooke in a portal, they attacked by Snow White, Emma and Mulan. At one point during the battle Cora vanishes and Aurora's heart almost falls into the portal, but Hook saves it because he feels that it is not right for a girl to lose her heart especially to him. Mulan then returns to Aurora and puts her heart back in her body. The two of them then resume their quest to save Phillip.

She appears in the season finale where she, Phillip and Mulan find Neal washed off the coast in the Enchanted Forest. They take him back to the palace and tend to his injuries. Upon awakening, she asks who he is, to which the man responds with his name, Neal. Hastily, Aurora rushes over to bring water to him while Neal wonders where this is. She says him he is in their kingdom, and further questioning prompts Prince Phillip to tell Neal they are in the Enchanted Forest. Shocked, Neal murmurs he is back, which causes Aurora to think he's a native of this land, but Mulan points out his clothes are foreign and similar to Emma and Mary Margaret's.

At the mention of Emma's name, Neal realizes they are acquainted with her as well, and tries to explain he needs to save Emma from harm. In attempting to move from the bier, Neal struggles to sit up as his wound is not yet completely healed, but despite that, he is set on finding out if Emma and Henry are alright. Aurora queries if Neal is Henry's father, and goes on to fill him in on how she once met Henry in the Netherworld. She mentions having harnessed the power to walk the dreamworld and find others like her, and it's possible to find Henry. Neal asks if she can find Emma to let her know he is alive.

Assuming a laying spot on the bier, Aurora attempts to find with Emma or Henry in the dreamworld. A moment later, Aurora awakens to notify Neal she was unable to to make contact. However, Neal recalls his father always had plans, and could have left something behind if he ever came back to the Enchanted Forest. He has hopes of finding such an item and using it to get to Emma and Henry by traveling to his father's castle. Prince Phillip raises the question of who his father is, and Neal admits it's Rumplestiltskin. While Aurora and Prince Phillip stay behind, Mulan and Neal head off towards the castle.

When Mulan is offered to join Robin Hood's band, she stopped by Aurora's to share the great news, but before Aurora shares a great news of her own: she and Phillip are expecting their first child. After the two are happy to hear both of their respective revelation, Mulan and Aurora exchange happy tearful hugs and say goodbye.

Sometime later, everyone who was sent to Storybrooke by the Dark Curse return to the Enchanted Forest and Aurora and Phillip greet them. However, after welcoming everyone back the two of them realize that they must tell the Wicked Witch of the West that Storybrooke's residents have returned. If they do not give her this information, she will take their child. However, Aurora and Phillip broke their deal with revelation to Regina, Belle, Snow White and Charming on the primal goal of the witch on Snow White's baby. Angry, the Wicked Witch transforms them into flying monkeys.

After the Wicked Witch was defeated Leroy revealed that Aurora and Phillip became human again and Aurora is later seen in Storybrooke at the event where Snow White and Prince Charming name their new child. Sometime later, Aurora gives birth to a son who is also given the name Phillip. She goes to parenting classes with Snow White and it revealed that she is still trying to understand the ways of the modern world. Later on, Aurora and Mulan fall in love. Aurora is put under the curse again. But true loves kiss from Mulan breaks the curse and Aurora and Mulan make out.

### Maleficent

Aurora appears in the feature film as Maleficent's secret rival and good friend, portrayed by actress Elle Fanning while Angelina Jolie's daughter Vivienne Jolie-Pitt portrays her as a 5-year old. Out of all other little girls, Vivienne was the only child that wasn't afraid of her own mother in costume since the other kids in casting would run away in fear of Angelina's appearance. As an infant, she was out of vengeance cursed by Maleficent that before the sunsets on her sixteenth birthday she would prick her finger on the spindle of a Spinning Wheel and fall into an eternal slumber like death. To keep her safe she was taken into hiding.

Over the next sixteen years, she comes across Maleficent many times as she grows up and comes to believe the wicked fairy is her fairy godmother. Aurora was nicknamed "Beastie" by Maleficent in their first interaction. She is secretly cared by Maleficent and Diaval since the Pixies are incapable. Even as a toddler she has no fear of being near Maleficent at all, especially when she hugs her and lets her pick her up.

When Aurora turns fifteen, Maleficent brings her to the Moors and two eventually develop a mother-daughter relationship but remains unaware that the fairy she claims to be her Fairy Godmother is the one who had cursed her as an infant. She wishes to stay in the Moors with Maleficent but after learning the truth of her past and Maleficent's identity, she angrily returns to her father. Unfortunately she was not suppose to return until after her sixteenth birthday and as the sun begins to set the curse calls to her and follows a whispering voice to the dungeons where all the spinning wheels in the kingdom were burnt. She approaches one spinning wheel that repairs itself and slowly reaches out for the spindle. She pricks her finger and falls into her eternal death-like slumber.

Maleficent brings Phillip to her, the prince she met in the forest, hoping his brief meeting with her will be enough to break the spell but unfortunately it does not. So sad and ashamed of what her hatred has brought upon her dearest friend, she gives her a motherly goodbye kiss on the forehead and just before she can walk away a miracle happens, Aurora wakes up, happy to see her Fairy Godmother. Maleficent's close and intense motherly love for Aurora was enough to break the curse.

As they try to flee the castle, Maleficent gets captured Stefan's guards, Aurora tries to save her but she is overpowered and told to run. She finds her way to a room where she finds Maleficent's fairy wings and they're still alive. She manages to free them and merge with Maleficent, giving back her ability to fly once more. She allowed Maleficent to kill her deranged father once and for all.

In the last scene, Aurora is crowned Queen of both the human and fairy kingdoms and is reunited with Prince Phillip who both smile at each other as her fairy godmother Maleficent leaves to enjoy flying once more with Diaval. The narrator of the film concludes the tale by revealing that she is in fact an elderly Aurora retelling the whole story.

## Songs

* I Wonder
* Once Upon A Dream
* Keys to the Kingdom (and Reprise)

* When You Love Someone
* If You Can Dream
* Waiting for my Prince (Disney Princess Tea Party CD)
* My Birthday Wish (Disney Princess Party CD)
* A Rose is a Rose (The Princess and the Frog: Tiana and her Princess Friends CD)
* Christmas with my Prince (Disney Princess Christmas Album)
* Beauty of the Season
* Christmas is coming (DPC Album)
* The Twelve Days of Christmas (DPC Album)
* The Princess Dance (Disney Princess Tea Party)

## Trivia

* She is the first Disney character to have violet or purple eyes, followed by Megara

* She is the only true blonde princess, while Cinderella is strawberry blonde and Elsa is platinum blond.