A Meet Cute Once Upon a Dream
Couple: Aurora & Phillip from "Sleeping Beauty"
Le Moment: :"Once Upon a Meet Cute"
When I was growing up, I loved watching Sleeping Beauty. Plus, Maleficent is freakin' boss even though I'd rather not cross her. Apart from just enjoying a princess tale, the Disney version took a bit of the creepy and rapey parts out of the equation. So they buffered it a bit with a meeting beforehand to offset the gross awkwardness of kissing a complete stranger.
Quick Rundown:
King Stefan and Queen Leah are finally blessed with a child and decided to throw a shindig for their daughter. Even invited King Hubert over with his young son, Prince Phillip, for them to be betrothed. They also invited three fairies Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather, to bless Princess Aurora with the standard Disney princess fair things that they need: to grow up looking hot and a divine singing voice. But when Merryweather was going into her spiel, Maleficent shows up magnificently to let them know what's up.
So since she's an evil b, Maleficent wasn't invited to the christening. Feelings hurt, she curses Princess Aurora so that on her sixteen birthday, she'll prick her finger on the spindle on a spinning wheel, killing her. Merryweather's gift is now used to weaken the curse since she can't undo it. So instead of dying, Aurora will go to sleep and will be awoken by true love's kiss.
The King and Queen make the difficult choice for the three fairies to secret the princess off and raise her until she sixteen. And on the day of her birthday, is where our meet-cute begins.
Le Moment: "Once Upon a Meet Cute"
Aurora is raised in a cottage in the woods under the name of Briar Rose by the three fairies, who are now parading as humans. She has no knowledge that she's really a princess.
She's grown to be beautiful and can sing like a dream. She is sent out to pick berries so her guardians can prep for her sixteen birthday. While out, she starts singing to her animal friends in the forest. What she doesn't know, her grown fiance, Prince Phillip, overhears her. Finding her, he's immediately smitten. While dancing with her animal friends who had stolen Prince Phillip's cape and hat, Prince Phillip sneaks in like a creepy stalker to resume dancing with her.
With a smexy singing voice on his own, Phillip puts his skills to use, dancing with Briar Rose where they both fall in love without knowing each other's name because true love makes all of that okay. But it's cute and magical as they dance into their way into love, already feeling that they've found THE ONE.
So they both clamor home to tell of what they've found. Prince Phillip's father freaks out that Phillip now wants to marry a peasant, especially since he's still technically engaged to Princess Aurora. Briar Rose returns home where her entire world is upended. Her guardians reveal that she's a princess and they will return her to back to her parents.
But as I mentioned before, I love that this brief scene is here because it helps to establish a connection beforehand. Even if it's a case of insta-love, at least it's there. Especially when Phillip goes to rescue her by going through dragon lady Maleficent and all the fiery bramble. He's doing this for true love, not because she's a trophy to be won.
Where to Find It:
Disney+ has it and....Disney+ has it. A variety of different places may sell it but, almost everyone has seen it at least once but it's always nice to see it every once upon a dream.
Read & Ship On. :)
Jazz