The Heroines of Sleeping Beauty and Enchanted - Movie Review Example

12 November The Heroines of Sleeping Beauty and Enchanted Like any other Disney Films, Sleeping Beauty and the Enchanted have their own priced heroines: Princess Aurora for Sleeping Beauty and Giselle for Enchanted. While both of these heroines possess similar qualities and are fulfilling comparable roles in the film like displaying solid conviction for love, both have an evil woman after them, and undergo the same conflict, that is, to fall into a deep sleep where only the kiss of a true lover can awaken them, both characters likewise have their heap of differences: in Enchanted, there was a change on the love interest of the heroine; while in Sleeping Beauty, Aurora maintained romantic connection with the prince she originally fell in love with. While these films are both Disney-inspired pieces of cinematic arts, they belong to different eras. The Enchanted takes a more modernistic approach, combining archetypal fairy tale concept with a contemporary touch – as manifested by Giselle’s adventure in the city of New York. Conversely, Sleeping Beauty takes a more conventional approach, maintaining the traditional touch of Disney fairy tale films. In an attempt to provide a wider picture of the differences and likenesses of these films, particularly of its individual heroines, this paper seeks to compare and contrast the different roles and qualities exhibited by each character in their [Student’s Last Name] 2 respective stories. The comparison and contrast on the role of both heroines shall encompass the following: the theme of love, conflict and eventual consequences, and individual personality. Conflict is quite similar for both heroines. Both are sent to a deep sleep and the only thing that could wake them up is a kiss from a true lover. In Sleeping Beauty, although it was originally intended by Maleficent, the antagonistic fairy in the movie, to cause death to Princess Aurora, it was brought down to just a deep sleep, with the help of one of the good fairies, Merryweather. While the motives of Maleficent indeed turned out to become a reality after she sent the princess to sleep, it was the kiss of Prince Phillip that awakened her. Similarly, in Enchanted, Giselle was likewise sent to a deep sleep after she ate an apple with a poison. The problem was resolved after Robert gave her a genuine, passionate kiss. It is quite clear that the cause of the deep sleep involves two different approaches – a curse for Sleeping Beauty; an apple with a poison for Enchanted - but both heroines underwent the same taste of conflict, which is obviously comparable. Next, they both have an evil woman after them. Maleficent is the evil fairy in Sleeping Beauty who originally cursed Princess Aurora to death; although, the curse was brought down to a deep sleep. Perhaps, the purpose of placing the antagonistic character of Maleficent in the story is to eventually highlight the theme of love in the film. Remember, the only thing that could awaken the princess is a passionate, genuine kiss, which so given in the last stages of the film. Correspondingly, in Enchanted, the looming presence of an adversary transpired in a very different fashion, that is, through external channels: the apples and the henchman. But, the same with Sleeping Beauty, the evil woman partially succeeded in putting the heroine to sleep; but, was later awaken after Giselle was kissed by his true love, Robert. Looking back, one can [Student’s Last Name] 3 concede that, indeed, the similar idea of putting an evil woman in the story inspired parallelism in the films. The heroines of both films display conviction of finding their one true love. It is fascinating to note that one of the main motives of the films is to underscore the theme of love in the story. Although Princess Aurora appears seldom in the film, because she is asleep in almost all major phases of the film, one thing is for sure: Princess Aurora “holds steadfastly to one dream, the dream of true love” (Sparknotes Editors, “Sparknote on Sleeping Beauty”). She occurs more as a conceptual thought rather than a character. There is no amount of concealing the heroine’s conviction for love beneath her peasant’s cloth. It is there all throughout even after she was restored to throne. In the same way, Giselle, after being separated from his lover, continues to look for him despite the odds of having to contend with the modernistic life she has got stuck into. The evil witch who sends her to New York thought of it as a preventive way for the heroine to achieve a happy ever after ending. The witch believed that New York would be a place where there are no happily ever after. But despite this, the heroine still maintained the love the she has for his man; although, there is well-defined shift on her love interest. Certainly, both films demonstrate comparisons; nevertheless, they also have their differences. Princess Aurora’s personality is slightly different from that of Princess Aurora. In Sleeping Beauty, there are no tremendous changes on the nature of the heroine. In other words, Princess Aurora remained “pure, innocent, and good from the start” (Sparknotes Editors, “Sparknote on Sleeping Beauty”). She has a resolute attachment to her convictions that ensures [Student’s Last Name] 4 her of a happy ever after. Her mild and gentle character coincides with the conditions firstly represented in the film, that is, one of the three god fairies bestowed her with such nature. In contrast, Giselle is much more animated compared to Princess Aurora. This has been manifested in so many instances and in so many forms in the film. Her being animated sometimes goes far from being quite normal. For example, when she ate a piece of glass that bled her mouth; it was a humorous one though. But objectively, this variance in the nature of Princess Aurora and Giselle could be attributed to the setting of the story. As I have mentioned earlier, Enchanted has more of a modernistic setting. Most of the scenes take place in New York and it is duty bound for the heroine to respond to this condition. Perhaps, one of the most interesting parts of the two films is how the heroines maintain their conviction for love but how one maintains the attachment and the other shifts the attachment in so far as their love interests are concerned. For example, although Princess Aurora changed a bit in persona when she was hidden by the fairies in the forest, Princess Aurora did not change her love interest. Her attachment to Prince Phillip did not wane nor alter in the smallest possible degree. This unchanging affection brings consistency to the love theme of the story. Quite the reverse, Giselle and Prince Edward are supposed to get married before the conflict took place. When the struggle came about, and when Giselle was sent off to New York, a gradual change on the love interest of Giselle fall out. She fell in love with Robert. As I have discussed earlier, both Princess Aurora and Giselle have very strong conviction for love. This has been shown in so many occasions in the film. Nevertheless, the case in point is to whom that love is bent to. Obviously, for Princess Aurora, she maintained her affectionate connection to Prince Phillip; but for Giselle, she fell in love with Robert. How was this being shown in the plot [Student’s Last Name] 5 of the film? At the last part of the movie, Prince Edward, in an attempt to save Giselle from a deep sleep, kissed Giselle but was unsuccessful. Further, when Robert kissed Giselle, she woke up and eventually gained her normal senses. Hence, her love interest shifted from Prince Edward to Robert. On the whole, similarities and differences in films define the beauty of cinematic arts. The concepts and themes comprising the Sleeping Beauty and Enchanted help form the skeleton that describe what the film is all about. In Sleeping Beauty, the themes of love and conviction are highlighted by the way the main character, and the heroine, Princess Aurora preserved her character despite the many struggles that struck her. Similarly, Giselle did not lose the drive for finding her special someone. Although, she may have stumbled a lot in the film due to certain conditions like the difference between her place of origin and the place she is stuck into, she still upheld her conviction for love. On the other hand, Princess Aurora possesses a personality that is different from that of Giselle. She is more reserved, mild and gentle as compared to the heroine of Enchanted. Giselle is a livelier, animated woman. In a nutshell, considering these likenesses and differences, one can infer that these unique filmic dais set each film, whether it is a Disney film or not, special from the rest. Works Cited Carrie R. Wheadon. "Sleeping Beauty - Movie Review". Commonsensemedia.org. Web. 27 May 2012. SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on Sleeping Beauty.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2004. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. Vigil, Delfin. "Fairy tale unfolds in the gritty city". San Francisco Chronicle. San Francisco Chronicle, 18 November 2007. Web. 30 January 2008. Read More