Sometimes I Think Too Much About Things That Really Don't Matter

I am going to ruin this for you right now:

Obviously, it's his favorite princess movie.

So the little girl I was babysitting wanted to watch this movie yesterday.  I put it on and there have always been a few things that have bothered me about this story as I got older.  I mean, let's face it.  When I was four, I just loved watching her dance through the forest and singing with her forest animal friends.  Glorious.  I still love that part.

Disney's version of this beloved tale is pretty simple.  I thought, the Grimm brothers might have done a better job with this, so I was bored, and looked it up.  You can find it here.  Apparently, the Brother's Grimm version is actually called Little Briar-Rose.  I did not know that.  It's not nearly as awesome as Disney's version, though.  I was a little on the disappointed side.  Who can resist the excitement of the Prince Phillip fighting the dragon?  Sword fights and dragons are cool.  Maleficent is an incredible villain.  She's just so happy to be evil.  But the witch in the Grimm tale is really just a fairy who didn't get invited to a birthday party because the king ran out of golden plates.  Really?  The king couldn't be a good host and eat off the silver plate and invite everybody?  What an idiot.  He deserved it.  Also, in the end, the prince does not cut through a bunch of thorny bushes.  By the time this prince gets there, the 100 years of sleep are over and the bushes are flowering and just let him through.  Can you say anti-climactic?  He still kisses her awake because he is so struck by her beauty.  Sigh.  But she was about to wake up any way, so it's not like he did anything special.  No true love broke that spell.

Back to Disney's version.  Like so many many stories, a lot of what goes on boils down to a supreme lack of communication.  I mean really?  Did the fairies really need to break Aurora's heart that way?  "You can't fall in love with some random guy in the forest!  You're already betrothed!"  Wait.  You mean to tell me in all her sixteen years in that forest, she never met another person?  How is that even possible?  Why didn't they simply ask what was his name?  What did he look like?  Was he handsome?  And honestly, why did she need to be hidden away in the first place.  Maleficent's curse wasn't going to take effect until she was sixteen any way.  How is bringing her back to the castle on her birthday going to protect her?  They should have arranged to bring her back on the day after her sixteenth birthday.  That would have made Maleficent really mad.  And you know, maybe teaching Aurora how to use a spinning wheel instead of burning them all so she had no way of knowing what one even was would have been a good idea, too.  If you know what you are doing, you probably won't prick yourself on it.  But in the end, the curse plays out.  Aurora is left in a room all by herself, where a green ball of light puts a spell on her and makes her prick her finger.  All the precautions in the world couldn't keep Maleficent from doing what she was going to do.  I don't really have a conclusion here.  Just thought I would mess with you a little. ;)