Aurora (Sleeping Beauty)

Filmmaker Walt Disney had long been struggling to adapt the fairy tale "Sleeping Beauty" into a full-length animated film for several years, intending to base the project on both Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm's versions of the story.{{Cite web|url=http://www.dvdizzy.com/sleepingbeauty-platinumedition.html|title=Sleeping Beauty: Platinum Edition DVD Review|last=Bonanno|first=Luke|date=October 7, 2008|website=DVDizzy.com|access-date=January 21, 2016|archive-date=January 25, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125154614/http://www.dvdizzy.com/sleepingbeauty-platinumedition.html|url-status=live}} Disney was considering abandoning work on the film altogether until singer Mary Costa was discovered, the casting of whom as the film's heroine finally allowed the project to graduate from development to production.{{Cite web|url=http://www.dvdizzy.com/sleepingbeauty-interview.html|title=Mary Costa Interview|last=Joy|first=Renata|date=October 10, 2008|website=DVDizzy.com|access-date=January 20, 2016|archive-date=February 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160220020813/http://www.dvdizzy.com/sleepingbeauty-interview.html|url-status=live}} At the time Aurora was conceived, there had only been two prior Disney princesses: Snow White and Cinderella, the heroines of Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and Cinderella (1950), respectively. Disney wanted his third princess to be as different from Snow White as possible,{{Cite web|url=http://www.whosay.com/articles/6647-disney-sleeping-beauty-trivia|title=10 Facts You Didn't Know About 'Sleeping Beauty'|date=January 29, 2015|access-date=January 20, 2016|website=WhoSay|last=Bellman|first=Sarah|archive-date=January 26, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160126022321/http://www.whosay.com/articles/6647-disney-sleeping-beauty-trivia|url-status=live}} but several strong similarities remain between the two characters and their respective stories.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H9FfbBUMAH0C&q=Discovering+The+Magic+Kingdom%3A+An+Unofficial+Disneyland+Vacation+Guide+aurora&pg=PA36|title=Discovering The Magic Kingdom: An Unofficial Disneyland Vacation Guide|last=Shaffer|first=Joshua C|publisher=Author House|year=2010|isbn=9781452063133|location=United States|pages=36|via=Google Books}} Gary Susman of Moviefone observed that both films feature "an evil witch jealous of a young and beautiful princess, the princess hiding out in a woodland cottage with a group of comic-relief caretakers{{nbsp}}... and the witch putting the princess into a deathlike sleep, from which only true love's kiss can awaken her."{{Cite web|url=http://www.moviefone.com/2014/01/27/sleeping-beauty-facts/|title='Sleeping Beauty': 25 Things You Didn't Know About the Disney Classic|last=Susman|first=Gary|date=January 27, 2014|website=Moviefone|access-date=January 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160120163839/http://www.moviefone.com/2014/01/27/sleeping-beauty-facts/|archive-date=January 20, 2016}}

In the original fairy tale, the princess actually sleeps for 100 years before she is finally awakened by the prince's kiss; this detail was adjusted for the film in favor of having Prince Phillip introduced earlier, and thus Aurora is awakened much sooner. In the Grimm version, the princess is destined to prick her finger at the age of 15, while Disney decided to age the character by one year.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E8Pj3FtAoAQC&q=aurora+feminist+disney&pg=PA187|title=Multiculturalism and the Mouse: Race and Sex in Disney Entertainment|last=Brode|first=Douglas|publisher=University of Texas Press|year=2009|isbn=9780292783300|location=United States|pages=187|via=Google Books}} Tchaikovsky named the princess "Aurora" in his ballet, whereas "Briar Rose" is the name of the character from the Brothers Grimm fairy tale.Jacob and Wilheim Grimm, Grimms' Fairy Tales,[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/sleepingbeauty/stories/littlebriarose.html "Little Briar-Rose"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070520012058/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/sleepingbeauty/stories/littlebriarose.html|date=May 20, 2007}} Disney utilized both names in the film,{{Cite web|url=http://mentalfloss.com/article/54852/13-sleeping-beauty-facts-are-anything-snooze|title=13 Sleeping Beauty Facts That Are Anything But a Snooze|last=Conradt|first=Stacy|date=February 3, 2014|website=Mental Floss|access-date=January 20, 2016|archive-date=February 2, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202171601/http://mentalfloss.com/article/54852/13-sleeping-beauty-facts-are-anything-snooze|url-status=live}} with the princess's birth name being Aurora, and her assumed name while living as a peasant being Briar Rose. Aurora was the last princess in whose conception Walt Disney himself was directly involved prior to his death.{{Cite web|url=http://www.popsugar.com/love/Disney-Princess-Facts-37095670#photo-37095722|title=40 Disney Princess Secrets You Never Knew Growing Up|date=January 19, 2016|access-date=January 27, 2016|website=PopSugar|last=White|first=Hilary|archive-date=March 8, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308231320/http://www.popsugar.com/love/Disney-Princess-Facts-37095670#photo-37095722|url-status=live}}

Aurora is voiced by American singer Mary Costa,{{Cite book|title=How to Be Like Walt: Capturing the Disney Magic Every Day of Your Life|last=Williams|first=Pat|publisher=Health Communications, Inc|year=2010|isbn=9780757394461|location=United States|pages=171|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RV2hAgAAQBAJ&q=mary+costa+sleeping+beauty&pg=PA171}} who was 22 years old when she was cast as the character in 1952.{{Cite web|url=http://animatedviews.com/2008/once-upon-a-dream-mary-costa-as-sleeping-beautys-princess-aurora/|title=Once Upon A Dream: Mary Costa as Sleeping Beauty's Princess Aurora|last=Noyer|first=Jérémie|date=October 7, 2008|website=Animated Views|access-date=January 21, 2016|archive-date=January 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160111143028/http://animatedviews.com/2008/once-upon-a-dream-mary-costa-as-sleeping-beautys-princess-aurora/|url-status=live}} Costa had grown up a fan of Disney films, the first of which she saw was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. As a child, Costa adored the film so much that she would imitate Snow White by parading around her house wearing a bath towel as a makeshift cape.{{Cite web|url=http://www.artistdirect.com/entertainment-news/article/interview-mary-costa-the-voice-of-sleeping-beauty/4812786|title=Interview: Mary Costa, the Voice of Sleeping Beauty|last=Florino|first=Rick|date=September 23, 2008|website=ARTISTdirect|access-date=January 20, 2016|archive-date=September 27, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150927011646/http://www.artistdirect.com/entertainment-news/article/interview-mary-costa-the-voice-of-sleeping-beauty/4812786|url-status=live}} Costa described herself garnering the role of Aurora as simply "being in the right place at the right time."{{Cite web|url=http://www.dvdizzy.com/sleepingbeauty-elcapitan.html|title=Sleeping Beauty at the El Capitan Theatre|last=Chism|first=JP|date=September 8, 2008|website=DVDizzy.com|access-date=January 20, 2016|archive-date=March 9, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309054830/http://www.dvdizzy.com/sleepingbeauty-elcapitan.html|url-status=live}} The filmmakers had long struggled to cast Aurora, having been searching for the right voice for the character for three years. Disney himself had been considering to shelving the project unless a suitable voice actress was found,{{Cite web|url=http://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/Giving-a-voice-to-Beauty-Mary-Costa-remembers-2585509.php|title=Giving a voice to 'Beauty' / Mary Costa remembers working with Walt Disney|last=Clark|first=John|date=September 28, 2003|website=SFGate|access-date=January 20, 2016|archive-date=January 28, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160128045412/http://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/Giving-a-voice-to-Beauty-Mary-Costa-remembers-2585509.php|url-status=live}} insisting that the same performer provide both the character's speaking and singing voices. Costa was attending a dinner party for the entertainment industry, to which she had been invited by a friend who was hoping to introduce her to some influential people, where she performed the popular standard "When I Fall in Love".{{Cite web|url=http://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/moviemom/2008/10/interview-mary-costa-of-disney.html|title=Interview: Mary Costa of Disney's 'Sleeping Beauty'|last=Minow|first=Nell|website=Beliefnet|access-date=January 20, 2016|archive-date=September 27, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150927041035/http://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/moviemom/2008/10/interview-mary-costa-of-disney.html|url-status=live}} The performance was heard by film composer Walter Schumann who, impressed by her vocals, approached Costa about possibly voicing Aurora and inviting her to audition the following morning. Despite doubting that she would be cast, Costa agreed to audition mostly because she wanted to meet Walt Disney. Upon arriving at the studio the next day, composer George Bruns welcomed Costa by asking her to perform a bird call, which she did successfully. However, being from Knoxville, Tennessee, Costa's strong southern accent nearly prevented her from being cast until she proved that she could sustain a fake British accent for the entire film. The filmmakers likened the situation to English actress Vivien Leigh successfully feigning a southern accent for her role as Scarlet O'Hara in the film Gone With the Wind (1939). Within hours of her audition, Walt Disney himself contacted Costa via telephone to offer her the job,{{Cite book|title=The First Peace; My Search For The Better Angels|last=Hatfield|first=Chris Wilson|publisher=AuthorHouse|year=2013|isbn=9781491830512|location=United States|pages=379|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6cH-AQAAQBAJ&q=mary+costa+sleeping+beauty&pg=PA379}} which she immediately accepted. Aurora became Costa's first major film role.{{Cite web|url=https://www.seventeen.com/celebrity/movies-tv/news/a39478/sleeping-beauty-voice-mary-costa/|title=The Real-Life Voice of Sleeping Beauty Just Wrote the Sweetest Letter to Her Fans|last=Friedman|first=Megan|date=April 6, 2016|website=Seventeen|access-date=August 23, 2018|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308171942/https://www.seventeen.com/celebrity/movies-tv/news/a39478/sleeping-beauty-voice-mary-costa/|url-status=live}}

File:Mary Costa 1976.JPG, who feigned a British accent for the role.]]

Costa communicated with Walt Disney at least twice a week for nine months, but almost exclusively via telephone because the producer feared that her personality or physical appearance would influence his vision of Aurora if they were to meet in person too soon. They first met when Costa was recording "Once Upon a Dream", Walt's favorite song in the film. When Costa asked Walt why he decided to cast her as Aurora out of all the actresses who auditioned, the producer explained that it was because her singing voice sounded "like an extension of speech." Walt advised Costa to "paint with [her] voice", as well as refuse to let anyone demonstrate her lines for her. Walt also instructed Costa to avoid catching a cold, eat a warm meal two hours prior to her recording sessions, exercise her vocal cords, and get nine hours of sleep every night. Walt and Costa developed a special father-daughter relationship. Aurora's supervising animator Marc Davis would often observe and sketch Costa while she worked in order to incorporate her mannerisms into the character. Costa worked closely with actresses Verna Felton, Barbara Jo Allen and Barbara Luddy, the voices of Flora, Fauna and Merryweather, respectively, with whom she became good friends, while declaring the utmost respect for actress Eleanor Audley, voice of Maleficent. She also recorded with actor Bill Shirley, voice of Prince Phillip, admitting to having had a crush on him. Costa cites the scene in which Aurora and Phillip meet as her favorite. Schumann, the composer responsible for discovering Costa, eventually departed the project due to creative differences with Disney,{{Cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/2862768/disney-sleeping-beauty-letter-weep/|title=This Letter From Disney's Sleeping Beauty, Now 86, Will Make You Weep|last=Bell|first=Crystal|date=April 6, 2016|website=MTV|access-date=August 23, 2018|archive-date=August 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180823105808/http://www.mtv.com/news/2862768/disney-sleeping-beauty-letter-weep/|url-status=dead}} and ultimately died before the film was completed.

Costa's singing voice is a combination of classical and pop singing. Aurora's songs were recorded within the first year of production. Costa would practice her songs live with the orchestra before recording them. After working on the film for three years, Costa finally finished recording in 1955, long before the film was completed; it would take the animators another several years to complete the footage to accompany Costa's vocals and dialogue. Costa would often return to the studio to re-record lines as the story changed and evolved, which she described as a "painstaking" process. However, with only 18 spoken lines, Aurora speaks less than any other main character in a full-length Disney animated feature{{--}}aside from Dumbo, who is completely silent{{Cite web|url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/90-disney-facts/|title=90 Facts You Didn't Know About Disney|date=October 14, 2013|access-date=January 20, 2016|website=Empire|archive-date=January 31, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160131231547/http://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/90-disney-facts/|url-status=live}}{{--}}and has absolutely no dialogue once she is awakened from her deep sleep. Ultimately, Costa's performance in Sleeping Beauty{{--}}and Walt Disney himself{{--}}inspired her to pursue a full-time career as a professional opera singer, advising her "Mary, just remember the three Ds... Dedication, Determination, and Discipline, and you'll achieve your Dreams!". Costa's salary was $250 per week.

Aurora's blurb on the Disney Princess website once cited the character as "gentle and loving".{{cite news|title=Aurora|access-date=25 April 2016|work=Disney Princess|publisher=The Walt Disney Company|archive-date=November 7, 2015|url=http://princess.disney.com/aurora|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151107131633/http://princess.disney.com/aurora}} Walt Disney introduced Aurora to Costa as "a very layered character", describing her as "different. She's calm, yet she's playful. She has a sense of humor, and she has an imagination." Despite popular opinion that Aurora is a very passive character, Costa believes that the princess is actually "very strong", citing her urge to defy her guardians as an example of her strength, while referring to the character as "a beautiful personification of femininity." Raised exclusively by three women in a very sheltered environment, Aurora had never been exposed to a man prior to meeting Phillip. Costa believes that, because of this, Aurora is "innately romantic" as opposed to simply lonely, explaining, there "was a certain part of her that maybe she didn't realize that was just so romantic and maybe expecting something that she didn't even know what", and credits the fact that she was raised by three older women as opposed to her parents with making her "a little bit older, and yet, she ... had this young outreaching spirit." A very loving character, Aurora enjoyed her lonely life as much as she did because she had never experienced anything else. Additionally, the character's close companionship with woodland creatures is used to demonstrate that she is a loving individual.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jc79AQAAQBAJ&q=aurora+feminist+disney&pg=PA242|title=Dancing Women: Female Bodies Onstage|last=Banes|first=Sally|publisher=Routledge|year=2013|isbn=9781134833177|location=United Kingdom|pages=242}}

File:Audrey Hepburn 1956om (3x4 cropped).jpg inspired Aurora's physique.]]

Walt Disney challenged his animators to make the film's characters appear "as real as possible".{{cite book|last1=Maltin|first1=Leonard|title=The Disney Films|date=September 7, 1995|publisher=Disney Editions|page=156|edition=3}} Animator Marc Davis was the supervising animator for Aurora, responsible for animating the character's most important scenes who also animated the film's antagonist Maleficent.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bs2PCgAAQBAJ&q=aurora+marc+davis+disney&pg=PA359|title=The Nine Old Men: Lessons, Techniques, and Inspiration from Disney's Great Animators|last=Deja|first=Andreas|publisher=CRC Press|year=2015|isbn=9781135015862|location=United States|pages=359}} By the time he started working on Sleeping Beauty, Davis' prior work experience had already established him as "one of Walt Disney’s go-to animators for pretty girls,"{{Cite web|title=Marc Davis: Style & Compromise on Sleeping Beauty|url=http://www.waltdisney.org/blog/marc-davis-style-compromise-sleeping-beauty#sthash.EBkAU8E7.dpuf|last=Seastrom|first=Lucas O.|date=August 4, 2014|website=Walt Disney Family Museum|access-date=January 21, 2016|archive-date=January 29, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160129045251/http://www.waltdisney.org/blog/marc-davis-style-compromise-sleeping-beauty#sthash.EBkAU8E7.dpuf|url-status=live}} having previously animated Snow White and Cinderella,{{Cite web|title=Marc Davis; Early Disney Animator, Art Teacher|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-jan-14-mn-53995-story.html|last=Solomon|first=Charles|date=January 14, 2000|website=Los Angeles Times|access-date=January 20, 2016|archive-date=January 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160113191219/http://articles.latimes.com/2000/jan/14/news/mn-53995|url-status=live}} as well as Alice from Alice in Wonderland (1951) and Tinker Bell from Peter Pan (1953).{{Cite magazine|title=How Disney's legendary animator helped Maleficent steal 'Sleeping Beauty'|url=https://www.ew.com/article/2014/10/01/sleeping-beauty-bluray-maleficent|last=Labrecque|first=Jeff|date=October 1, 2014|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=January 20, 2016|archive-date=March 10, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310083349/http://www.ew.com/article/2014/10/01/sleeping-beauty-bluray-maleficent|url-status=live}} Although heroines are among the most difficult characters to animate, Davis' knowledge of the human body and anatomy "brought these iconic female characters to life and made them believable", according to The Walt Disney Family Museum.{{Cite web|url=http://waltdisney.org/exhibitions/leading-ladies-and-femmes-fatales-art-marc-davis|title=Leading Ladies and Femmes Fatales: The Art of Marc Davis|date=2014|access-date=January 21, 2016|website=The Walt Disney Family Museum|publisher=The Walt Disney Family Museum|archive-date=January 30, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160130093458/http://waltdisney.org/exhibitions/leading-ladies-and-femmes-fatales-art-marc-davis|url-status=live}} While other Sleeping Beauty animators struggled to adapt to artistic director Eyvind Earle's unprecedented preference for detailed backgrounds, Davis himself rather embraced this new style. Collaborating with character designer Tom Oreb on Aurora, Davis "crafted a leading lady of elegance", while Oreb drew vertical lines into the pleats of Briar Rose's skirt and incorporated two-dimensional swirls into her hair.{{Cite web|title=11 Royal Facts You Might Not Know About Sleeping Beauty|url=https://d23.com/11-royal-facts-about-sleeping-beauty/|last=Fanning|first=Jim|date=January 24, 2019|website=D23|access-date=May 31, 2020|archive-date=February 8, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230208154824/https://d23.com/11-royal-facts-about-sleeping-beauty/|url-status=live}} With a dignified, angular shape that complemented Earle’s vertical and horizontal backgrounds, the princess was "more refined" than preceding Disney heroines, and thus required much more attention to detail than any animated character before her. Quality control animator Iwao Takamoto described working on Aurora as "a laborious job ... because the drawings were so refined", and ultimately limited in-betweeners such as himself to completing only seven drawings per day. With an artistry "characterized by a sense of style", Davis incorporated Art Nouveau and Art Deco into Aurora's long, golden curls. The character also has violet eyes, Disney's first princess to have eyes that are this color.{{Cite web|title=39 Disney Princess Facts That Will Blow Your Mind|url=https://www.tvguide.com/galleries/38-facts-about-disney-princesses-you-wont-believe/photo/edabb62c-e9b2-4d92-bd14-b9dd9b49a174/|website=TV Guide|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205045833/http://www.tvguide.com/galleries/38-facts-about-disney-princesses-you-wont-believe/photo/edabb62c-e9b2-4d92-bd14-b9dd9b49a174/|archive-date=February 5, 2016|access-date=January 28, 2016}} Notably, Davis animated Aurora throughout the entire film as opposed to eventually being replaced by another animator which, according to Costa, would have altered the appearance of the character for the worse. Aurora's refined features complement those of her nemesis Maleficent, who is similarly as refined and "alluring" but in a more "manipulative manner." Both characters were animated by Davis.{{Cite web|url=http://www.silverpetticoatreview.com/2015/11/08/revisiting-disney-sleeping-beauty/|title=Revisiting Disney: Sleeping Beauty|date=November 8, 2015|access-date=February 2, 2016|website=The Silver Petticoat Review|publisher=Silver Petticoat Review|last=Cavender|first=Bailey|archive-date=February 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160213145031/http://www.silverpetticoatreview.com/2015/11/08/revisiting-disney-sleeping-beauty/|url-status=live}}

Walt Disney strongly encouraged Costa to work closely with Davis while he animated Aurora so that she could learn as much as possible about her character and familiarize herself with "all aspects of her." Drawing Aurora to resemble her voice actress,{{Cite web|url=http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Mary-Costa-voice-of-Sleeping-Beauty-3188190.php|title=Mary Costa, voice of Sleeping Beauty|last=Clark|first=John|date=October 26, 2008|website=SFGate|access-date=January 20, 2016|archive-date=February 1, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201070335/http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Mary-Costa-voice-of-Sleeping-Beauty-3188190.php|url-status=live}} Davis incorporated Costa's habit of gesturing with her hands while speaking and singing into the character's design, and defended the singer's performance when it was incorrectly referred to a voice-over by a fan, explaining that Costa's voice was "the ocean of sound upon which we animated." Davis and Costa eventually became close friends. Actress and dancer Helene Stanley served as the live-action model for Aurora, providing visual reference for the animators. The performer was recruited due to the high degree of realism required to animate Aurora. Stanley's costume was designed by costume designer Alice Estes at the behest of Davis, then a student of the animator at Chouinard Art Institute.{{Cite web|url=http://thedisneydrivenlife.com/2012/02/06/a-real-disney-legend-marc-davis/|title=A Real Disney Legend – Marc Davis|date=February 6, 2012|access-date=January 21, 2016|website=the Disney Driven Life|publisher=the Disney Driven Life|last=I.|first=Bill|archive-date=January 30, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160130141858/http://thedisneydrivenlife.com/2012/02/06/a-real-disney-legend-marc-davis/|url-status=live}} To complement the "tapestry pattern" of the film's backgrounds, Estes agreed to design the dress to "move like [the tapestry] was animated."{{Cite web|url=http://www.dvdizzy.com/alicedavis-interview.html|title=UltimateDisney.com's Interview with Alice Davis, wife of animator Marc Davis and costume designer for Disney films, park attractions|date=March 5, 2008|access-date=January 21, 2016|website=DVDizzy.com|publisher=DVDizzy.com|last=Braun|first=Amy|archive-date=March 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315140319/http://www.dvdizzy.com/alicedavis-interview.html|url-status=live}} Estes and Davis eventually got married. Meanwhile, British actress Audrey Hepburn served as Oreb's inspiration for Aurora's body type, from whom they borrowed the princess' "elegant, slender features". The studio disagreed about whether Aurora's gown should be pink or blue, a conflict that was written into the film in the form of an argument between Flora and Merryweather. Aurora has a total of only 18 minutes of screen time.

When Sleeping Beauty was released in 1959, a dubbing process was started which, in the space of one year, brought the movie to number 10 dubbings by 1960. Along the years, Disney's expanded its market to new countries, having the movie dubbed into a constantly growing number of dubbings, as well as a starting massive re-dubbing process which regarded many of the oldest dubbings. To this date, only five of the 10 dubbings initially released are still in use and were never redubbed. To this date, the animated movie numbers a total of 34 dubbings currently in use in as many languages, and 9 more versions which were later substituted by newer dubbings.{{Cite web|title=Briar Rose / Aurora|url=https://disneyinternationalvoices.weebly.com/briar-rose--aurora.html|access-date=2020-10-04|website=CHARGUIGOU|language=en|archive-date=September 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930223421/https://disneyinternationalvoices.weebly.com/briar-rose--aurora.html|url-status=live}}

Originally, in the Danish and the first Latin American Spanish dubbings, Aurora's speaking voices, Ellen Winther and Estrellita Díaz respectively, were meant to sing the princess' songs as well. But while Winther was replaced by Inge Stauss because the Danish directors thought that her voice didn't suit Aurora's singing well enough, Díaz didn't get to sing because she died short after having recorded her spoken lines, without having recorded the songs.{{Cite web|title=Sleeping Beauty / Latin Spanish|url=https://disneyinternationaldubbings.weebly.com/sleeping-beauty--latin-american-spanish-cast.html|access-date=2020-10-13|website=CHARGUIGOU|language=en|archive-date=January 2, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102222704/https://disneyinternationaldubbings.weebly.com/sleeping-beauty--latin-american-spanish-cast.html|url-status=live}}

{{legend|PaleTurquoise|Highlighted versions were released between 1959 and 1960}}{{legend|Lavender|Highlighted versions are a redubbing of an older dubbing}}

Aurora is a member of a trifecta known as the "Golden Era" of Disney heroines.{{Cite web|url=http://movies.about.com/od/animatedmovies/a/disney-princesses.htm|title=The Evolution of the Disney Princess|last=Nusair|first=David|website=About.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150406043520/http://movies.about.com/od/animatedmovies/a/disney-princesses.htm|archive-date=April 6, 2015|access-date=February 12, 2016}} Alongside her two predecessors Snow White and Cinderella, Aurora is one of the three original Disney princesses.{{Cite web|url=http://www.bustle.com/articles/45099-from-snow-white-to-moana-the-evolution-of-the-adventurous-disney-princess|title=From Snow White to Moana: The Evolution of the Adventurous Disney Princess|date=October 24, 2014|access-date=January 16, 2016|website=Bustle|last=Garis|first=Mary Grace|archive-date=December 8, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208140058/http://www.bustle.com/articles/45099-from-snow-white-to-moana-the-evolution-of-the-adventurous-disney-princess|url-status=live}}

By default, Aurora is usually considered to be the film's main character.{{Cite web|url=http://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/why-your-protagonist-might-not-always/|title=Why Your Protagonist Might Not Always Be Your Hero|date=May 29, 2013|access-date=February 10, 2016|website=Helping Writers Become Authors|publisher=Helping Writers Become Authors|last=Weiland|first=K. M.|archive-date=February 16, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160216023152/http://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/why-your-protagonist-might-not-always/|url-status=live}} Leigh Butler of Tor.com argues that the role of "protagonist" rightfully belongs to the three good fairies because they "make all the critical decisions in the film, the ones which drive the action", while Aurora acts as little more than a pawn. Butler expounded that Aurora "never grows as a character during the course of the film; she has no agency at all, in fact. She doesn’t act; she is acted upon. So she is definitely not the hero of the story." Helping Writers Become Authors' K. M. Weiland agreed, writing, "Sleeping Beauty has no arc. Prince Phillip has no arc. And, even more importantly, neither of them are present from start to finish in the story. Without the fairies to hold this thing together, the plot would have lacked any kind of impetus or cohesion." Upon initial viewing of Sleeping Beauty, a writer for Anibundel originally dismissed Aurora as "the ultimate Disney princess in the most negative and passive sense of the stereotype ... playing no part whatsoever in her own outcome." However, in retrospect, the author's opinion eventually evolved upon subsequent viewings: "Although Aurora has little to do with her own conclusion, it’s not a mark of her being a non-person. Instead it reflects how sometimes bad things just happen which we have no control over, a difficult but important lesson."{{Cite web|url=http://anibundel.com/2014/05/22/natural-born-reviewers-disneys-sleeping-beauty/|title=Natural Born Reviewers {{!}} Disney's Sleeping Beauty|date=22 May 2014|website=Anibundel|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160222160426/http://anibundel.com/2014/05/22/natural-born-reviewers-disneys-sleeping-beauty/|archive-date=February 22, 2016|access-date=February 14, 2016}} Anibundel does agree that although Aurora is Sleeping Beauty{{'}}s title character, she can hardly be considered the film's protagonist, believing instead that the film actually lacks one completely. Meanwhile, the author dubbed Aurora the film's most sympathetic character because she has "thoughts, feelings, aspirations, and emotions," elaborating, "While most characters ... are overly focused on the plot and reacting to events, Briar Rose is unaware of the other events so we get to see a more authentic everyday side of her." In his book Multiculturalism and the Mouse: Race and Sex in Disney Entertainment, author Douglas Brode wrote that the fairies' raising of Aurora mirrors "precisely that sort of women's commune numerous feminists experimented with throughout the seventies."

Writing for Durham College's The Water Buffalo, Michelle Munro observed that the first five Disney Princesses share physical and personality traits, namely their white skin, naivety, kindness and compassion, "showing viewers what Disney believed a princess should look and act like" at that time.{{Cite web|url=http://www.thewaterbuffalomagazine.ca/the-evolution-of-the-disney-princess.html|title=Evolution of The Disney Princess|last=Munro|first=Michelle|website=The Water Buffalo|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150711235945/http://www.thewaterbuffalomagazine.ca/the-evolution-of-the-disney-princess.html|archive-date=July 11, 2015|access-date=January 22, 2016}} Munro concluded that Aurora specifically can appear both spoiled and childish in demeanor at times. Bailey Cavender of The Silver Petticoat Review believes that the character's appearance and style is reminiscent of the Gibson Girl, a popular character created and designed by graphic artist Charles Dana Gibson, who embodied the idea that "physical beauty was a measure of fitness, character, and Americanness". According to Cavender, Aurora's beauty was considered to be "ideal" for women at the time her film was released, embodying the "classic standards of beauty." In his book Debating Disney: Pedagogical Perspectives on Commercial Cinema, Douglas Brode agreed that Aurora is "a model of modern (1950s) female glamour", comparing her long blonde hair to that of actress Brigitte Bardot while likening her gown to the work of fashion designer Christian Dior. According to The Dissolve's Noel Murray, Aurora's story is a metaphor about a "young woman being cautioned to avoid penetration."{{Cite web|url=http://thedissolve.com/reviews/1118-sleeping-beauty/|title=Sleeping Beauty|last=Murray|first=Noel|website=The Dissolve|access-date=January 22, 2016|archive-date=January 28, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160128221352/http://thedissolve.com/reviews/1118-sleeping-beauty/|url-status=live}} Similarly, Carrie R. Wheadon, writing for Common Sense Media, interpreted Aurora's arousal by a handsome prince as being symbolic of a young woman's "transition to adulthood and sexual awakening."{{Cite web|url=https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/sleeping-beauty|title=Sleeping Beauty|date=January 12, 2005|access-date=January 22, 2016|website=Common Sense Media|publisher=Common Sense Media Inc|last=Wheadon|first=Carrie R|archive-date=February 2, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202182013/https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/sleeping-beauty|url-status=live}} According to Multiculturalism and the Mouse: Race and Sex in Disney Entertainment author Douglas Brode, Aurora is "torn between childlike loyalties and adult instincts", while The Disney Middle Ages: A Fairy-Tale and Fantasy Past author Tison Pugh believes that Aurora's first encounter with Prince Phillip "tips her from fantasy into reality, from childhood into womanhood."{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ljMmuV2VUXwC&q=aurora+marc+davis+disney&pg=PA198|title=The Disney Middle Ages: A Fairy-Tale and Fantasy Past|last1=Pugh|first1=Tison|last2=Aronstein|first2=Susan|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2012|isbn=9780230340077|location=United Kingdom|pages=198}}{{Dead link|date=March 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

{{main|Sleeping Beauty (1959 film)}}

Aurora debuted in Sleeping Beauty (1959) as the only daughter of King Stefan and Queen Leah. Angered at not receiving an invitation to her christening, an evil fairy, Maleficent, places a curse on Aurora; before the sun sets on Aurora's 16th birthday, Aurora will prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die. Fortunately, one of the three good fairies, Merryweather, alters the curse so Aurora will not die from pricking her finger, but only sleep until she is awakened by a kiss from her true love. Merryweather and the other two fairies, Flora and Fauna, take extra precautions by raising the princess in a secluded cottage under the alias Briar Rose to protect her from Maleficent until her sixteenth birthday arrives. Years later, a 16-year-old Aurora meets a handsome man in the forest. Unaware that he is actually a prince named Phillip, to whom she has been betrothed since infancy, the two fall in love and agree to meet again. However, the fairies finally reveal Aurora's true identity to her and thus forbid her from seeing him because they plan on returning the heartbroken princess to her parents. While alone at the castle, Aurora is hypnotically beckoned by Maleficent, who appears as a glowing green ball of light, to a tower room, where Aurora pricks her finger on a spindle of a magic spinning wheel that Maleficent conjures, and falls into a death-like sleep. After Maleficent reveals the sleeping Aurora to the fairies, they place Aurora on a bed in the highest tower to sleep peacefully and put the entire kingdom to sleep until the spell is broken. Meanwhile, Maleficent has captured Phillip, whom the fairies release upon realizing that he is in fact the same man Aurora met in the forest earlier that day. Along with everyone else in the kingdom, Aurora is successfully awakened by Phillip's kiss and is finally reunited with her parents.

{{main|Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams}}

In Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams (2007), Aurora, voiced by actress Erin Torpey,{{Cite web|url=http://www.dvdizzy.com/princess-enchantedtales-follow.html|title=Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams DVD Review|date=September 3, 2007|website=DVDizzy.com|publisher=DVDizzy.com|access-date=April 4, 2016|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304055604/http://www.dvdizzy.com/princess-enchantedtales-follow.html|url-status=live}} stars in the segment "Keys to the Kingdom", in which her parents leave her responsible for running the kingdom in their two-day absence with assistance of their majordomo, Lord Duke. Declining assistance from the fairies, they give her her own wand instead should she need help. At first reluctant to use it because she is determined to accomplish everything on her own, Aurora eventually succumbs when her duties prove overwhelming. However, her inexperience with magic leads to several consequences, which forces Lord Duke into warning Stefan, Leah, King Hubert, and Prince Phillip, who were all coming back from a royal conference, about the giant chickens, green pigs, and cows. She is then forced to solve without magic before the others came in the throne room. She hosts a banquet for her parents, King Hubert, Prince Phillip, Lord Duke, Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather.

{{main|Maleficent (film)}}

File:MJK 71468 Elle Fanning (Berlinale 2020) (cropped).jpg played Aurora in Maleficent and its sequel.]]

In Maleficent (2014), a live-action re-imagining of the animated film, the Sleeping Beauty story is retold from the villain's perspective. Here, Aurora is portrayed by Elle Fanning,{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2014/06/maleficent-costume-design-elle-fanning#1|title=Maleficent's Costume Designer on De-Sexualizing Elle Fanning's Disney Princess|last=Miller|first=Julie|date=June 2, 2014|magazine=Vanity Fair|access-date=April 4, 2016|archive-date=April 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413033448/http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2014/06/maleficent-costume-design-elle-fanning#1|url-status=live}} while Janet McTeer portrays a narrator who turns out to be Aurora as an elderly woman.{{Cite web|url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/08/maleficent-reaches-higher-ground-disney-revisionists.html|title='Maleficent' reaches higher ground for Disney revisionists|last=Simanjuntak|first=Tertiani ZB|date=June 8, 2014|website=The Jakarta Post|publisher=Niskala Media Tenggara|access-date=April 4, 2016|archive-date=October 1, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151001144703/http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/08/maleficent-reaches-higher-ground-disney-revisionists.html|url-status=live}} As an infant, the princess is cursed by Maleficent in order to avenge a years-old betrayal by King Stefan, Aurora's father. Three quarrelsome pixies are charged with raising the princess, but their glaring ineptitude threatens to kill Aurora long before her 16th birthday. Maleficent's pity for the princess overcomes her rage toward Stefan; along with her minion Diaval, the dark fairy herself brings up Aurora albeit covertly. When the young princess ultimately encounters Maleficent for the first time, the dark fairy is touched by Aurora's affectionate nature; the girl, who has never known her biological parents, regards Maleficent as her fairy godmother. When Aurora fulfills her curse, despite the dark fairy's efforts to renounce it, Maleficent herself (rather than Phillip) breaks the spell with a remorseful kiss on Aurora's brow. Aurora then saves Maleficent from her royal father, by returning the dark fairy's wings to her. The princess is subsequently crowned queen of both her own human kingdom and the fairy kingdom known as the Moors.

{{main|Maleficent: Mistress of Evil}}

Fanning reprises the role in the sequel, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019). Five years have passed since Aurora became Queen of the Moors. One day Phillip finally asks for her hand in marriage, which she gladly accepts. Despite Maleficent initially not accepting Phillip's blessing, she agrees to go have dinner at the castle in Ulstead, Phillip's kingdom, to meet Aurora's future in-laws. Maleficent is then wrongfully blamed for cursing Phillip's father, King John, and Aurora refuses to go back home with her. Eventually, Aurora begins to miss her godmother as well as her life in the Moors. She soon discovers that it was Phillip's mother, Queen Ingrith, who cursed the king and that a trap is being set to kill the creatures of the Moors. Aurora and Phillip help Maleficent stop the war against Queen Ingrith, and they are finally married.

{{main|Once Upon a Time (TV series)}}

An alternate version of Aurora appears as a recurring character in the fantasy television series Once Upon a Time, portrayed by actress Sarah Bolger.{{cite web|author=Matt Webb Mitovich|url=http://tvline.com/2012/07/05/once-upon-a-time-casts-sarah-bolger-aurora/|title=Exclusive: Wake Up! Once Upon a Time Has Cast Sarah Bolger as Sleeping Beauty|publisher=TVLine|date=July 5, 2012|access-date=July 5, 2012|archive-date=November 15, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121115155638/http://tvline.com/2012/07/05/once-upon-a-time-casts-sarah-bolger-aurora/|url-status=dead}}

{{main|Sofia the First}}

Aurora made a guest appearance in a Sofia the First episode, Holiday in Enchancia called on by the mystical amulet of Avalor to assist young Princess Sofia in finding her missing stepfather, King Roland II. She assured Sofia that she could rely on her animal friends' to help just as she had long ago.

{{main|Ralph Breaks the Internet}}

Aurora, alongside other Disney Princesses, appeared in the film Ralph Breaks the Internet, as was announced at the 2017 D23 Expo.{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/movies/2017/07/14/wreck-it-ralph-sequel-star-wars-disney-princesses/|title=Wreck-It Ralph sequel will unite the Disney princesses — and Star Wars!|last=Breznican|first=Anthony|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=July 14, 2017|access-date=January 21, 2018|archive-date=July 15, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170715013827/http://ew.com/movies/2017/07/14/wreck-it-ralph-sequel-star-wars-disney-princesses/|url-status=live}}

{{main|Once Upon a Studio}}

Aurora appeared in the short film Once Upon a Studio standing with Prince Phillip in the group photo.{{cite web |last1=Reif |first1=Alex |title=Disney's "Once Upon a Studio" – List of Characters in Order of Appearance |url=https://www.laughingplace.com/w/disney-entertainment/disneys-once-upon-a-studio-list-of-characters-in-order-of-appearance/ |website=Laughing Place |date=October 16, 2023}}

File:Princesses! - 12871848293.jpg]]

Aurora appears as a non-player character in the Kingdom Hearts video game series, depicted as one of the seven Princesses of Heart.{{Cite web|url=http://www.khinsider.com/characters/aurora#Kingdom%20Hearts|title=Aurora|website=Kingdom Hearts Insider|publisher=KHInsider|access-date=May 5, 2016|archive-date=June 10, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610153957/http://www.khinsider.com/characters/aurora#Kingdom%20Hearts|url-status=live}} In the prequel Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep (2010), the character goes through the same events as the original film. Aurora appears in Kinect Disneyland Adventures (2011),{{Cite web|url=http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/video-games/Kinect-Disneyland-Adventures/|title=KINECT DISNEYLAND ADVENTURES|website=Behind the Voice Actors|publisher=Inyxception Enterprises, Inc|access-date=May 9, 2016|archive-date=May 21, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160521213032/http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/video-games/Kinect-Disneyland-Adventures/|url-status=live}} asking players to collect items various items, including songs performed by birds.{{Cite web|url=http://www.torontothumbs.com/2011/11/26/review-kinect-disneyland-adventures/|title=Kinect Disneyland Adventures|last=Figueiredo|first=Jorge|date=November 26, 2011|website=Toronto Thumbs|publisher=Toronto Thumbs|access-date=May 9, 2015|archive-date=July 20, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140720041813/http://www.torontothumbs.com/2011/11/26/review-kinect-disneyland-adventures/|url-status=live}}

Performers dressed as Aurora make "fairly regular" appearances throughout several popular locations at the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, specifically Walt Disney World's Epcot France Pavilion,{{Cite web|url=http://www.kennythepirate.com/2014/08/14/how-to-meet-every-princess-in-walt-disney-world-with-no-stress/|title=HOW TO MEET EVERY PRINCESS IN WALT DISNEY WORLD WITH NO STRESS|website=Kenny the Pirate|date=August 14, 2014|access-date=May 9, 2016|archive-date=May 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160504060451/http://www.kennythepirate.com/2014/08/14/how-to-meet-every-princess-in-walt-disney-world-with-no-stress|url-status=live}} Cinderella's Royal Table, Disney Dreams Come True Parade, and Princess Fairytale Hall in the Magic Kingdom,{{Cite web|url=http://www.everythingmouse.com/where-to-find-sleeping-beauty-in-disney-world|title=Where to Find Sleeping Beauty in Disney World|date=December 2, 2011|website=EverythingMouse|publisher=EverythingMouse Guide To Disney|access-date=May 9, 2016|archive-date=June 2, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160602025845/http://www.everythingmouse.com/where-to-find-sleeping-beauty-in-disney-world|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.insidethemagic.net/2016/07/video-princess-tiana-and-aurora-return-to-princess-fairytale-hall-at-magic-kingdom/|title=VIDEO: Princess Tiana and Aurora return to Princess Fairytale Hall at Magic Kingdom|last=Anderson|first=Corrine|date=July 1, 2016|website=Inside the Magic|access-date=July 17, 2016|archive-date=July 5, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160705195636/http://www.insidethemagic.net/2016/07/video-princess-tiana-and-aurora-return-to-princess-fairytale-hall-at-magic-kingdom/|url-status=live}} Fantasyland's Princess Meet 'n' Greet at Disneyland California, Fantasyland's Princess Pavilion and Auberge de Cendrillon at Disneyland Paris, Fantasyland and World Bazaar at Tokyo Disneyland, and the Wishing Well at Hong Kong Disneyland.{{Cite web|url=http://www.charactercentral.net/C13_DisneyCharacters_PrincesPrincesses_PrincessAurora.aspx|title=Princess Aurora|website=Disney Characters Central|publisher=CharacterCentral.net|access-date=May 8, 2016|archive-date=May 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160520042900/http://www.charactercentral.net/C13_DisneyCharacters_PrincesPrincesses_PrincessAurora.aspx|url-status=live}}

Aurora appears as a playable character in the video game Disney Magic Kingdoms.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78jZncXT57Y&ab_channel=DisneyMagicKingdoms|title=Update 1: Sleeping Beauty {{!}} Trailer|publisher=YouTube|date=May 6, 2016|access-date=October 18, 2022|archive-date=November 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211123134944/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78jZncXT57Y&ab_channel=DisneyMagicKingdoms|url-status=live}}

Aurora appears in the fourth book of Serena Valentino's Villains series. In the book she has been cursed by Maleficent to remain in slumber and is trapped in the realm of mirrors with the Odd Sisters, who constantly torment her during the course of the book. It is revealed during the course of the novel that Aurora is actually the daughter of Maleficent, who was created by the Odd Sisters from the remaining best parts of Maleficent. However rather than a feeling of love for her, Maleficent only feels a powerful urge to protect her from developing powers, which will manifest on her sixteenth birthday similar to Maleficent, hence the Sleeping Curse. After Maleficent dies, Circe is able to bind Aurora's powers and wake her from her slumber.

In the second book of A Twisted Tale, written by Liz Braswell, the question is asked What if the Sleeping Beauty never woke up? Aurora is trapped in a dream world of Maleficent's design, and when Phillip tries to awaken her with a kiss, he becomes trapped in the dream world as well. Aurora eventually becomes a warrior in her own right and rises up against Maleficent to break herself out of the Dream World.

The Walt Disney Company currently has a trademark with the US Patent and Trademark Office, filed March 13, 2007, for the name "Princess Aurora" that covers production and distribution of motion picture films; production of television programs; production of sound and video recordings.{{cite web|title=US Patent and Trademark Office – Princess Aurora trademark status|url=http://tarr.uspto.gov/tarr?regser=serial&entry=77130191&action=Request+Status|access-date=July 8, 2013|archive-date=June 30, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120630044435/http://tarr.uspto.gov/tarr?regser=serial&entry=77130191&action=Request+Status|url-status=live}} This has caused some controversy because "Princess Aurora" is the name of the lead character in The Sleeping Beauty ballet, from where Disney acquired the name and some of the music for its animated film, and which is performed live on stage and sometimes television and often sold later as a recorded performance on video.{{cite news|last1=Finke|first1=Nikki|title=An Attempt To Stop The Disney Machine|url=https://deadline.com/2009/05/an-attempt-to-stop-the-disney-machine-9137/|access-date=25 April 2016|work=Deadline Hollywood|date=1 May 2009|archive-date=October 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201006114105/https://deadline.com/2009/05/an-attempt-to-stop-the-disney-machine-9137/|url-status=live}} The trademark was granted on January 17, 2012.

Initial critical response towards Aurora was generally unfavorable,{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NjumCwAAQBAJ&q=aurora+feminist+disney&pg=PT47|title=Mashups for Teens: From Sleeping Beauty to Beyonce|last=Wilson|first=Melissa G|publisher=Networlding|year=2015|isbn=9780997351835|location=United States|via=Google Books}}{{Cite web|url=http://mic.com/articles/73093/how-disney-princesses-went-from-passive-damsels-to-active-heroes#.bOYVEGEnz|title=How Disney Princesses Went From Passive Damsels to Active Heroes|date=November 12, 2013|access-date=January 22, 2016|website=Mic|last=Hugel|first=Melissa|archive-date=March 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301200437/https://www.mic.com/articles/73093/how-disney-princesses-went-from-passive-damsels-to-active-heroes#.bOYVEGEnz|url-status=live}} with film critics complaining about Aurora's passivity and overall similarity to Snow White. During the 1950s, Disney received "harsh criticism" for depicting both Cinderella and Aurora as "naïve and malleable" characters, and failing to acknowledge the ways in which women's roles in society had evolved since Snow White's debut in 1937. Critics agree that Aurora represents "the classic damsel in distress" by being depicted as a beautiful young woman who is rescued by a stranger. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times felt that the character was too similar to Snow White, writing, "The princess looks so much like Snow White they could be a couple of Miss Rheingolds separated by three or four years."{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C0DE1DB1338EF3BBC4052DFB4668382649EDE&partner=Rotten%2520Tomatoes|title=Sleeping Beauty (1959) – Screen: 'Sleeping Beauty'|last=Crowther|first=Bosley|date=February 18, 1959|website=The New York Times|access-date=January 22, 2016|archive-date=July 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728134614/http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C0DE1DB1338EF3BBC4052DFB4668382649EDE&partner=Rotten%2520Tomatoes|url-status=live}} Time Out dismissed Aurora as a "delicate" and "vapid" character.{{Cite web|url=https://www.timeout.com/london/film/sleeping-beauty-1959|title=Sleeping Beauty|website=Time Out|access-date=January 22, 2016|archive-date=July 4, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180704124554/https://www.timeout.com/london/film/sleeping-beauty-1959|url-status=live}} Bustle's Mary Grace Garis wrote that the character "suffers from having very little definable personality and ... serious Damsel-in-Distress syndrome". Sonia Saraiya of Jezebel echoed this sentiment, criticizing Aurora for lacking "interesting qualities"; Saraiya also ranked Aurora Disney's least feminist princess.{{Cite web|url=http://jezebel.com/5925424/a-feminist-guide-to-disney-princesses/|title=A Feminist Guide to Disney Princesses|last=Saraiya|first=Sonia|date=December 7, 2012|website=Jezebel|access-date=January 22, 2016|archive-date=January 19, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150119043558/http://jezebel.com/5925424/a-feminist-guide-to-disney-princesses/|url-status=live}} Similarly, Bustle also ranked Aurora the least feminist Disney Princess, with author Chelsea Mize expounding, "Aurora literally sleeps for like three quarters of the movie ... Aurora just straight-up has no agency, and really isn't doing much in the way of feminine progress."{{Cite web|url=http://www.bustle.com/articles/101274-a-feminist-ranking-of-all-the-disney-princesses-because-not-every-princess-was-down-for-waiting|title=A Feminist Ranking Of All The Disney Princesses, Because Not Every Princess Was Down For Waiting For Anyone To Rescue Her|date=July 31, 2015|access-date=February 9, 2016|website=Bustle|last=Mize|first=Chelsea|archive-date=February 24, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160224063215/http://www.bustle.com/articles/101274-a-feminist-ranking-of-all-the-disney-princesses-because-not-every-princess-was-down-for-waiting|url-status=live}} Dismissing the character as "barely more than a cipher", Leigh Butler of Tor.com panned Aurora as "a Barbie doll knockoff who does nothing the whole film but sing wistfully about Finding Her Man, before becoming the ultimate passive Damsel in Distress". However, Butler went on to defend the character somewhat, writing, "Aurora’s cipher-ness in Sleeping Beauty would be infuriating if she were the only female character in it, but the presence of the Fairies and Maleficent allow her to be what she is without it being a subconscious statement on what all women are."{{Cite web|url=http://www.tor.com/2014/11/06/how-sleeping-beauty-is-accidentally-the-most-feminist-animated-movie-disney-ever-made-and-how-maleficent-proves-it/|title=How Sleeping Beauty is Accidentally the Most Feminist Animated Movie Disney Ever Made|last=Butler|first=Leigh|date=November 6, 2014|website=Tor.com|access-date=February 10, 2016|archive-date=February 16, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160216085707/http://www.tor.com/2014/11/06/how-sleeping-beauty-is-accidentally-the-most-feminist-animated-movie-disney-ever-made-and-how-maleficent-proves-it/|url-status=live}} Similarly, Refinery29 ranked Aurora the fourth most feminist Disney Princess because "Her aunts have essentially raised her in a place where women run the game."{{Cite web|url=http://www.refinery29.com/feminist-disney-princesses#slide-9|title=A Definitive Ranking Of Disney Princesses As Feminist Role Models|last=Golembewski|first=Vanessa|date=September 11, 2014|website=Refinery29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160216050106/http://www.refinery29.com/feminist-disney-princesses|archive-date=February 16, 2016|access-date=February 10, 2016}}

{{quote box|quote=Sleeping Beauty herself is barely more than a cipher. Princess Aurora has virtually no character at all in the film other than to be an ideal—and, I might add, an ideal only achieved with the magical fairy tale equivalent of surgical enhancement ... Aurora in the film is not a person, per se; she is the prize that the other characters fight over. She is an object, really, and that is not feminist at all.|source=—Tor.com's Leigh Butler on Aurora's lack of character and feminism.|width=30%|}}

Aurora was Disney's last princess created before Walt Disney's death in 1966. When Sleeping Beauty was first released in 1959, the film performed poorly at the box office while failing to impress critics. In response, the studio decided to avoid adapting fairy tales into feature-length animated films for several years; Aurora would remain Disney's last princess until The Little Mermaid's Ariel debuted in 1989, 30 years later. Mic's Melissa Hugel believes that the negative reception instigated by Aurora's passive role as a woman in Sleeping Beauty also contributed to this hiatus, earning the character a reputation as one of Disney's worst princesses.{{Cite web|url=http://nerdology.org/2014/04/the-truth-about-feminism-and-disney-princesses/|title=The Truth About Feminism and Disney Princesses|last=Cunningham|first=Lisa Kaye|date=April 2, 2014|website=nerdology.org|access-date=February 10, 2016|archive-date=February 16, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160216033238/http://nerdology.org/2014/04/the-truth-about-feminism-and-disney-princesses/|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.zimbio.com/Beyond+the+Tube/articles/hCZ51dmUGq5/Disney+Princess+Worst|title=Which Disney Princess Is the Worst?|last=Slattery|first=Jill|date=October 9, 2015|website=Zimbio|access-date=February 10, 2016|archive-date=February 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227104132/http://www.zimbio.com/Beyond+the+Tube/articles/hCZ51dmUGq5/Disney+Princess+Worst|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2009/12/11/best_aamp_worst_disney_princesses|title=Best & Worst Disney Princesses|last=Zanello|first=Michaela|website=Starpulse.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819065815/http://www.starpulse.com/best-worst-disney-princesses-1847919494.html|archive-date=August 19, 2016|access-date=February 10, 2016}}{{Cite web|url=http://nerdology.org/2015/05/truly-feminist-disney-princesses/|title=Truly Feminist Disney Princesses|date=May 22, 2015|access-date=February 12, 2016|website=nerdology.org|publisher=nerdology.org|last=Cunningham|first=Lisa Kaye|archive-date=February 16, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160216064047/http://nerdology.org/2015/05/truly-feminist-disney-princesses/|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=http://diply.com/virginradiolebanon/article/disney-princesses-worst-role-models|title=8 Disney Princesses Who Are Actually The Worst Role Models|last=Zimmer|first=Mason J|website=Diply|access-date=February 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160302041614/http://diply.com/virginradiolebanon/article/disney-princesses-worst-role-models|archive-date=March 2, 2016}} Meanwhile, David Nusair of About.com attributes the film's failure with "the familiarity of its storyline, as the film boasts many of the elements contained within both of its predecessors – including the revelation that Princess Aurora can only be awakened from her deep slumber by a kiss from her one true love" similar to Snow White. Hollywood.com ranked Sleeping Beauty Disney's worst princess film because its main character remains asleep for the majority of it.{{Cite web|url=http://www.hollywood.com/movies/ranking-disney-princess-movies-57161216/#/ms-267/4|title=The Ranking of The Best Disney Princess Movies|website=Hollywood.com|access-date=February 8, 2016|archive-date=February 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160204115816/http://www.hollywood.com/movies/ranking-disney-princess-movies-57161216/#/ms-267/4|url-status=live}} At one point, the name "Aurora" became a popular baby name, with parents often naming their daughters after the character. Still, "Aurora has become an oft-forgotten princess" who is not as prominently featured in Disney merchandise and her popularity pales in comparison to that of Cinderella, Ariel, and Snow White.{{Cite web|url=https://www.youngwriterssociety.com/work.php?id=109576|title=The Evolution of Disney Princesses|date=March 16, 2014|website=Young Writers Society|access-date=March 20, 2016|archive-date=December 8, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208045836/https://www.youngwriterssociety.com/work.php?id=109576|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last=Diaz|first=Jesus|date=Nov 3, 2014|title=Does skin and hair color affect Disney princesses' merchandise sales?|url=https://gizmodo.com/does-skin-and-hair-color-affect-disney-princesses-merch-1654047761|url-status=live|website=Gizmodo|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812133757/https://gizmodo.com/does-skin-and-hair-color-affect-disney-princesses-merch-1654047761 |archive-date=August 12, 2020 }} While creating the Disney Princess franchise, Disney Consumer Products decided that Aurora should be marketed wearing the pink version of her dress in order to further distinguish her from Cinderella, who also wears blue.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2015-disney-princess-hasbro/|title=The $500 Million Battle Over Disney's Princesses|date=December 17, 2015|access-date=February 13, 2016|website=Bloomberg Businessweek|last=Suddath|first=Claire|archive-date=February 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170208181738/https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2015-disney-princess-hasbro/|url-status=live}} BuzzFeed readers voted Aurora their sixth favorite Disney Princess, who garnered 7% of the 9,554 votes.{{Cite web|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/leonoraepstein/here-are-the-most-popular-disney-princesses#.jjEXEJzaY|title=Here Are The Most Popular Disney Princesses|last=Epstein|first=Leonora|date=November 18, 2014|website=BuzzFeed|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304085528/http://www.buzzfeed.com/leonoraepstein/here-are-the-most-popular-disney-princesses|archive-date=March 4, 2016|access-date=February 10, 2016}} Time reported that Aurora was the seventh best-selling Disney Princess on eBay in 2014, having sold $215,856 in merchandise that year.{{Cite magazine|url=https://time.com/81078/the-most-popular-disney-princess-frozen/|title=And the Most Popular Disney Princess Is…|last=Dockterman|first=Eliana|date=April 29, 2014|magazine=Time|access-date=February 10, 2016|archive-date=March 1, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160301011001/http://time.com/81078/the-most-popular-disney-princess-frozen/|url-status=live}} However, Seventeen argues that Aurora is one of Disney's most famous princess[es]".

Media publications often tend to place Aurora towards the end of their Disney Princess rankings. Seventeen ranked Aurora last on their "Definitive Ranking Of Disney Princesses" list.{{Cite web|url=http://www.seventeen.com/celebrity/movies-tv/reviews/a23435/disney-princess-rankings/|title=The Definitive Ranking Of Disney Princesses, From Distressed Damsels To Most Kickass|last=Rossa|first=Jelani Addams|date=May 7, 2014|website=Seventeen|access-date=February 8, 2016|archive-date=February 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160219155948/http://www.seventeen.com/celebrity/movies-tv/reviews/a23435/disney-princess-rankings/|url-status=live}} Similarly, BuzzFeed also ranked Aurora last.{{Cite web|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/iramadison/a-definitive-ranking-of-disney-princesses#.soyqA4mZa|title=A Definitive Ranking Of Disney Princesses|last=Madison|first=Ira|date=October 27, 2014|website=BuzzFeed|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304044656/http://www.buzzfeed.com/iramadison/a-definitive-ranking-of-disney-princesses|archive-date=March 4, 2016|access-date=February 8, 2016}} Moviepilot placed Aurora last on the website's "All of the Disney Princess Ranked from Worst to Best" ranking, with author Kristin Lai dismissing the character as "a snooze."{{Cite web|url=http://moviepilot.com/posts/2881228|title=All of the Disney Princess Ranked from Worst to Best|last=Lai|first=Kristin|date=April 23, 2015|website=Moviepilot|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160227060926/http://moviepilot.com/posts/2881228|archive-date=February 27, 2016|access-date=February 10, 2016}} Meanwhile, MTV ranked Aurora 12th on the website's "Ultimate Ranking Of The Best Disney Princesses Of All Time".{{Cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/2224545/best-disney-princesses-ranked/|title=The Ultimate Ranking Of The Best Disney Princesses Of All Time|last=Vino|first=Lauren|date=August 28, 2015|website=MTV|access-date=February 8, 2016|archive-date=February 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160203214951/http://www.mtv.com/news/2224545/best-disney-princesses-ranked/|url-status=dead}} Similarly, E! also ranked Aurora 12th, with author John Boone elaborating, "She's not a bad princess, per se. She might actually be the prettiest of all the princesses ... But she's asleep half the movie! Pretty...but so, so boring."{{Cite web|url=http://www.eonline.com/news/541066/all-of-the-disney-princesses-ranked|title=All of the Disney Princesses, Ranked|last=Boone|first=John|date=May 12, 2014|website=E!|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160115223416/http://www.eonline.com/news/541066/all-of-the-disney-princesses-ranked|archive-date=January 15, 2016|access-date=February 9, 2016}} Zimbio ranked Aurora the second worst Disney Princess, while BuzzFeed ranked the character one of Disney's least intelligent princesses, with author Leonora Epstein dismissing Aurora as the "equivalent to the child who puts his finger in a socket when expressly told not to."{{Cite web|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/leonoraepstein/disney-princesses-ranked-by-intelligence#.wpr01qPxd|title=16 Disney Princesses Ranked By Intelligence|last=Epstein|first=Leonora|date=November 20, 2013|website=BuzzFeed|access-date=February 12, 2016|archive-date=May 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501193627/https://www.buzzfeed.com/leonoraepstein/disney-princesses-ranked-by-intelligence#.wpr01qPxd|url-status=live}} However, the character has garnered recognition for her beauty and fashion, with Stylist extolling Aurora's "blowout" as "the ultimate hairstyle when it comes to being a princess" while ranking it among Disney's "Best beauty looks",{{Cite web|url=http://www.stylist.co.uk/beauty/best-beauty-looks-in-disney#gallery-7|title=Best beauty looks in Disney|website=Stylist|access-date=February 12, 2016|archive-date=February 16, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160216051658/http://www.stylist.co.uk/beauty/best-beauty-looks-in-disney#gallery-7|url-status=dead}} and Bustle dubbing her "the hottest Disney Princess". Entertainment Weekly ranked Aurora's hair the second best of all the Disney Princesses, with author Annie Barrett describing it as "aspirational".{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.ew.com/gallery/disney-princesses-ranking-their-hairdos-and-donts/572681_2-princess-aurora-sleeping-beauty|title=Disney Princesses: Ranking Their Hairdos -- and Don'ts!|last=Barrett|first=Annie|date=March 27, 2014|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=February 12, 2016|archive-date=June 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612162641/http://www.ew.com/gallery/disney-princesses-ranking-their-hairdos-and-donts/572681_2-princess-aurora-sleeping-beauty/|url-status=dead}} Oh My Disney ranked the pink and blue versions of Aurora's dress 15th and 16th on their countdown of every Disney Princess outfit, voicing their preference for the character in blue.{{Cite web|url=http://blogs.disney.com/oh-my-disney/2014/12/22/every-disney-princess-outfit-ranked/|title=Every Disney Princess Outfit, Ranked|last=Brandon|first=Emily|date=2015|website=Oh My Disney|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160219213457/http://blogs.disney.com/oh-my-disney/2014/12/22/every-disney-princess-outfit-ranked/#15|archive-date=February 19, 2016|access-date=February 13, 2016|url-status=bot: unknown}} Marie Claire ranked Aurora's outfits among "The 20 Greatest Movie Dresses of All Time", writing, "Of all the Disney princesses, Sleeping Beauty's Aurora had a fashionable edge" potentially worthy of being imitated by singers Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj.{{Cite web|url=http://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity/g1398/greatest-movie-dresses-ever/?slide=15|title=The 20 Greatest Movie Dresses of All Time – Aurora, Sleeping Beauty|last=Henderson|first=Jessica|website=Marie Claire|access-date=February 12, 2016|archive-date=March 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303164930/http://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity/g1398/greatest-movie-dresses-ever/?slide=15|url-status=live}} Aurora was ranked first on Moviepilot's "Which Outfit is Fairest of Them All? 13 Disney Divas Ranked" list. Author Mikayla Sloan enthused that "The lines of Aurora's dress are flawless and her shoulders are set off beautifully" while "Her hair is effortlessly wavy and her accessories accentuate her features perfectly."{{Cite web|url=http://moviepilot.com/posts/3608259|title=Which Outfit is Fairest of Them All? 13 Disney Divas Ranked|date=October 27, 2015|access-date=February 12, 2016|website=Moviepilot|last=Sloan|first=Mikayla|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160216033207/http://moviepilot.com/posts/3608259|archive-date=February 16, 2016}} According to Bustle, the character is the third most stylish Disney Princess,{{Cite web|url=http://www.bustle.com/articles/23966-the-most-stylish-disney-princesses-a-definitive-ranking|title=The Most Stylish Disney Princesses: A Definitive Ranking|date=May 10, 2014|access-date=February 12, 2016|website=Bustle|last=McGrath|first=Kara|archive-date=January 19, 2015|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150119221541/http://www.bustle.com/articles/23966-the-most-stylish-disney-princesses-a-definitive-ranking|url-status=live}} while E! believes that Aurora owns the sixth greatest Disney Princess wardrobe, voicing their preference for the character in pink.{{Cite web|url=http://www.eonline.com/news/561182/all-of-the-disney-princesses-wardrobes-ranked|title=All of the Disney Princesses' Wardrobes, Ranked|last=Popp|first=Emily|date=July 18, 2014|website=E!|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160330220925/http://www.eonline.com/news/561182/all-of-the-disney-princesses-wardrobes-ranked|archive-date=March 30, 2016|access-date=February 12, 2016}} BuzzFeed ranked Aurora's ballgown 11th on their "Definitive Ranking Of 72 Disney Princess Outfits".{{Cite web|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/leonoraepstein/eff-yeah-disney-princess-clothes#.nnlXYkEAR|title=A Definitive Ranking Of 72 Disney Princess Outfits|last=Epstein|first=Leonora|date=June 13, 2014|website=BuzzFeed|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306153218/http://www.buzzfeed.com/leonoraepstein/eff-yeah-disney-princess-clothes|archive-date=March 6, 2016|access-date=February 12, 2016}} According to Seventeen, the character underwent the fifth greatest Disney Princess makeover.{{Cite web|url=http://www.seventeen.com/fashion/style-advice/tips/a24096/disney-princess-makeovers-ranked/|title=The Definitive Ranking Of The Best Disney Princess Makeovers|last=Petreycik|first=Caitlin|date=July 23, 2014|website=Seventeen|access-date=February 12, 2016|archive-date=February 16, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160216034659/http://www.seventeen.com/fashion/style-advice/tips/a24096/disney-princess-makeovers-ranked/|url-status=live}} On Cosmopolitan's list of "the 14 Hottest Disney Princesses", Aurora was ranked 12th, with author Frank Kobola dismissing the character as "a snoozefest" and comparing her to "that girl in college who was always taking naps".{{Cite web|url=http://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/news/a37080/some-guy-ranks-the-13-hottest-disney-princesses/|title=Some Guy Ranks the 14 Hottest Disney Princesses|last=Kabola|first=Frank|date=February 26, 2015|website=Cosmopolitan|access-date=February 10, 2016|archive-date=February 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160215212241/http://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/news/a37080/some-guy-ranks-the-13-hottest-disney-princesses/|url-status=live}}

Costa has garnered widespread acclaim for her performance as Aurora. BuzzFeed ranked Aurora ninth on the website's ranking of Disney Princess singing voices, with author Kelcie Willis awarding it "Extra props for bringing operatic vocals to Disney."{{Cite web|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/kelciewillis/a-definitive-ranking-of-disney-princesses-singing-voices#.fgDDxMkWd|title=Disney Princesses' Singing Voices Ranked Worst To Best|last=Willis|first=Kelcie|date=August 11, 2015|website=BuzzFeed|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325040302/http://www.buzzfeed.com/kelciewillis/a-definitive-ranking-of-disney-princesses-singing-voices|archive-date=March 25, 2016|access-date=February 9, 2016}} Variety complimented Costa's "rich and expressive" performance, praising the singer for providing Aurora with both "substance and strength".{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/1958/film/reviews/sleeping-beauty-3-1200419326/|title=Review: 'Sleeping Beauty'|date=December 31, 1958|website=Variety|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125140321/http://variety.com/1958/film/reviews/sleeping-beauty-3-1200419326/|archive-date=January 25, 2016|access-date=December 4, 2012}} John Clark of SFGate credited Costa's vocals with "manag[ing] to make an enchanting impression in just a few onscreen minutes without being pushy or saccharine." Meanwhile, Artistdirect's Rick Florino wrote that the singer "brought a pure and honest vibrancy to the film." Additionally, Sleeping Beauty served as Costa's first singing job, prior to which she had had little professional singing experience.{{Cite web|url=https://d23.com/walt-disney-legend/mary-costa/|title=Mary Costa|website=D23.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109180500/https://d23.com/walt-disney-legend/mary-costa/|archive-date=January 9, 2016|access-date=January 20, 2016}} The role has since had a profound impact on Costa's career, allowing her to successfully transition from animated to operatic roles. Costa credits Walt Disney and Sleeping Beauty with instilling a work ethic in her, which she maintained throughout her entire career. Costa has achieved great success as an opera singer; The New York Times hailed her as "one of the most beautiful women to grace the operatic stage", while Paul MacInnes of The Guardian referred to her as "One of America's finest sopranos".{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/audio/2008/nov/04/animation|title=Mary Costa: 'And then Eleanor Roosevelt said to me - let's have a hot dog first'|last=MacInnes|first=Paul|date=November 4, 2008|website=The Guardian|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160126214127/http://www.theguardian.com/film/audio/2008/nov/04/animation|archive-date=January 26, 2016|access-date=January 20, 2016}} First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy personally requested that Costa perform at the memorial service of her late husband, United States President John F. Kennedy. Despite her success elsewhere, Costa continues to hold voicing Aurora in high regard as her greatest accomplishment because the role "keeps [her] close to young people." Costa was officially recognized as a Disney Legend in 1999, and continues to make promotional appearances for Disney.{{Cite web|url=http://mentalfloss.com/article/53135/faces-behind-disneys-11-princesses|title=The Faces Behind Disney's 11 Princesses|date=October 22, 2013|access-date=February 9, 2016|website=Mental Floss|publisher=Mental Floss, Inc|last=Conradt|first=Stacy|archive-date=February 16, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160216072008/http://mentalfloss.com/article/53135/faces-behind-disneys-11-princesses|url-status=live}} In 1997, Costa hosted a theatrical screening of Sleeping Beauty in her hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee to commemorate the film's home video release.{{Cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1wkEAAAAMBAJ&q=mary+costa+sleeping+beauty&pg=RA1-PA85|title=Vids Bring Harmony To Music Retail|last=Paige|first=Earl|date=October 4, 1997|magazine=Billboard|access-date=February 23, 2016}} In 1989, Costa sued Disney for royalties owed since the film's 1986 home video release, claiming that her contract with the studio prevented them from producing "phonograph recordings or transcriptions for sale to the public" without her permission, although Disney claimed that the video tapes are simply versions of the film.{{Cite web|url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1989-05-12/news/8901240738_1_disney-characters-snow-white-character-videotape|title=Disney Hit By Awakened Beauty's Suit|last=Greenbaum|first=Kurt|date=May 12, 1989|website=Sun-Sentinel|access-date=April 19, 2016|archive-date=May 31, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160531205606/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1989-05-12/news/8901240738_1_disney-characters-snow-white-character-videotape|url-status=dead}} The case was settled out-of-court in favor of Costa for an undisclosed sum,{{Cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=dO0eAAAAIBAJ&pg=4878%2C12050|title=Disney lawsuit settled|date=June 1, 1991|work=Times-News|access-date=April 16, 2016|archive-date=April 22, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230422022125/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=dO0eAAAAIBAJ&pg=4878,12050|url-status=live}} provided she relinquish all future rights.{{cite news|title=The voice behind Disney's fairy-tale princess speaks up: Lunch with Mary Costa|last1=Wong|first1=Jan|date=October 2, 1997|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|location=Toronto|page=C1}} Costa continued responding to all fan letters for nearly 60 years after the film's original release, until she found that she had become too elderly to continue responding at the age of 86 in 2016; she continues to meet fans and sign autographs at conventions. In 2020, following her 90th birthday, Costa then asked people to stop sending her any fan-mail in general, but she once again thanked them for their continued love and support over the years.{{Cite web|url=https://insidethemagic.net/2020/08/sleeping-beauty-actress-letter-lp1/|title=Sleeping Beauty Actress Asks Fans to Finally Let Her Rest|website=Inside the Magic|date=August 13, 2020|access-date=August 21, 2020|archive-date=November 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125172936/https://insidethemagic.net/2020/08/sleeping-beauty-actress-letter-lp1/|url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=https://www.cartoonbrew.com/disney/the-90-year-old-voice-of-sleeping-beauty-asks-disney-fans-to-stop-contacting-her-195324.html |title=The 90-Year-Old Voice Of Sleeping Beauty Asks Disney Fans To Stop Contacting Her |website=Cartoon Brew |first=Amid |last=Amidi |date=August 12, 2020 |access-date=March 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814021320/https://www.cartoonbrew.com/disney/the-90-year-old-voice-of-sleeping-beauty-asks-disney-fans-to-stop-contacting-her-195324.html |archive-date=August 14, 2020 |url-status=live}}

Elle Fanning's performances as Aurora in Maleficent and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil were generally well-received. J.C. Maçek III of PopMatters said Fanning was an "inspired choice" for the character.{{cite web|work=PopMatters|url=https://www.popmatters.com/review/187567-maleficent/|first=J.C.|last=Maçek III|title=In 'Maleficent', Angelina Jolie Channels Shakespeare's Richard III|date=November 4, 2014|access-date=April 17, 2020|archive-date=June 30, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150630125818/https://www.popmatters.com/review/187567-maleficent/|url-status=live}} Her acting was also praised by Michael Philips of the Chicago Tribune.{{cite news|last1=Phillips|first1=Michael|title=Review: 'Maleficent' ★★ 1/2|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/movies/ct-maleficent-review-20140530,0,5658116.column|access-date=April 17, 2017|work=Chicago Tribune|date=May 29, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140718221156/http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/movies/ct-maleficent-review-20140530,0,5658116.column|archive-date=July 18, 2014}} Sheri Linden of The Hollywood Reporter said that Fanning brought a "diamond-in-the-rough aspect to Aurora’s loveliness", and added that "she’s no conventional Disney Princess but a child of nature with a strong sense of justice and an innate toughness."{{cite news|last1=Linden|first1=Sheri|title='Maleficent': Film Review|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/maleficent-film-review-706491|access-date=February 5, 2018|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=May 28, 2014|archive-date=May 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501193627/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/maleficent-film-review-706491|url-status=live}} Richard Roeper of Chicago Sun-Times praised Fanning's performance in the sequel for having, "quite a bit of spunk and fight in her."{{cite news|last1=Roeper|first1=Richard|title='Maleficent: Mistress of Evil': Angelina Jolie wears the horns again in a gorgeous, ambitious thrill ride|url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/2019/10/16/20915159/maleficent-mistress-evil-review-angelina-jolie-disney-michelle-pfeiffer-elle-fanning|access-date=January 26, 2020|work=Chicago Sun-Times|date=October 16, 2019|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308060609/https://chicago.suntimes.com/2019/10/16/20915159/maleficent-mistress-evil-review-angelina-jolie-disney-michelle-pfeiffer-elle-fanning|url-status=live}} Empire's Helen O'Hara was pleased that in Mistress of Evil, "Fanning manages to occasionally find something useful for Aurora to do: no mean feat in a character essentially designed to be a simpering blank."{{cite news|last1=O'Hara|first1=Helen|title='Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil Review|url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/maleficent-mistress-of-evil/|access-date=January 26, 2020|work=Empire|date=October 15, 2019|archive-date=May 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501195129/https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/maleficent-mistress-of-evil/|url-status=live}} Rosie Knight of IGN found Fanning's portrayal in the second movie to be "charming as ever".{{cite news|last1=Knight|first1=Rosie|title=Maleficent: Mistress of Evil Review|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/10/15/maleficent-mistress-of-evil-review|access-date=January 26, 2020|work=IGN|date=October 15, 2019|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308042914/https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/10/15/maleficent-mistress-of-evil-review|url-status=live}} Fanning's performance in the first film earned her a nomination for Best Performance by a Younger Actor at the 41st Saturn Awards as well as nominations for the "Choice Movie Actress: Action" at the 2014 Teen Choice Awards and "Favorite Movie Actress" at the 2015 Kids' Choice Awards.{{cite web|url=http://www.saturnawards.org/|title=Saturn Awards: List of 2015 nominations|date=March 3, 2015|access-date=March 3, 2015|archive-date=June 7, 2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020607030607/http://www.saturnawards.org/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/18/teen-choice-awards-nominees-2014_n_5507753.html|title=Teen Choice Awards Nominees For 2014 Announced|date=June 18, 2014|work=The Huffington Post|access-date=April 17, 2017|archive-date=March 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303180559/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/18/teen-choice-awards-nominees-2014_n_5507753.html|url-status=live}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.ew.com/article/2015/02/20/kids-choice-awards-release-nominations-meryl-streep-earns-her-very-first|title=Meryl Streep gets her first Kids' Choice Awards nomination: See the full list|date=February 20, 2015|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=April 17, 2017|archive-date=February 21, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221094744/http://www.ew.com/article/2015/02/20/kids-choice-awards-release-nominations-meryl-streep-earns-her-very-first|url-status=live}}

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