This was reposted due to an unwanted and frankly annoying troll spamming my last article
Over the years, I've noticed that people really HATE Aurora in Keys To The Kingdom from Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams. I've honestly never understood the hate she received, mainly because no one ever freaking EXPLAINS it! I've always asked and they just say "SHE SUCKS," or "SHE'S A GIRLY STEREOTYPE," or "SHE HAS A POP VOICE," and all that but they don't EXPLAIN! The reason this version of Aurora is so hated is even less explained than the plot holes in Frozen. First of all, Enchanted Tales gets WAY TOO MUCH hate. I mean, we're not it's target audience, it's meant for little girls. I mean, it hammers is it's lesson like something like Sofia The First (which is actually a pretty good show for little kids to watch), so you can assume that this is for little girls. I'm never one to say that a Disney movie is meant for little kids but this one is. So it's really unfair for everyone to judge it so harshly because it's not meant for you. It's meant to teach little girls good life lessons about not giving up or taking the easy way out because you should always rely on good hard work. I think it's cute and it's not doing anything awful or teaching bad life lessons. Hell, I'd much rather little girls watch this than something like Frozen, which shows boys as basically complete losers. This movie just shows women as hard working and responsible instead of making run of men or past Disney films.
Now, to Aurora herself. In the original, while a very one-dimensional character with a personality that wasn't very well-developed, she did have a personality. Unfortunately, it was very interested, she had no layers, and no real depth to her. However, she was overall a harmless character and there was nothing really bad about her, mainly due to not having much development. But I will give her credit that she was dutiful and gave up her happiness for her kingdom, although that was done in a flawed way. Not because I thought she was spineless but more that I felt they didn't go into the pressures of becoming a princess, learning her parents were alive, knowing her whole life was a lie, and she has a new life that will cause her to leave the life she knew. It just seemed like she was only sad about Phillip but I don't go into that because I've already criticized Aurora enough in the past. However, she was a lot more layered in Enchanted Tales because she's more developed and has a three-dimensional personality, not the most complex or interesting one, but still one all the same. I will be going over her personality traits and why I like her so much. I'm going to try not to hate on the original Aurora and just talk about this one.
She's fun, playful, and has a sense of humor
We see that she does have a sense of humor because she does poke fun of King Hubert's forgetfulness, has a crooked little smile when it's revealed that there were giant chickens, and even says that she "chickened out" in the end of her story when she talked about taking the easy way out. I think that also shows her as fun and playful because she does like to have fun with people and acts playful with them by messing with them. She's not pointing out Hubert's forgetfulness to her friends to be mean, just to tease him. Plus, she does like to mess around a little bit by playing with the wand to get all dressed up, which I find to be really fun because it shows her playful side. She doesn't have to be like Ariel or Merida to playful and fun or be like Megara or Rapunzel to have a sense of humor. She's got a great sense of humor and even comments on how Sampson will have two whole days with Phillip and that he'll just have to wait two minutes, so she can have some time with him. She's very charming and when Duke is over-the-top freaking out over something, she just smirks at him the same way Ariel does with Flounder. She's incredibly charming and enchanting with her playful personality without having to go all out like Ariel does.
She's kind, sweet, and caring
When a little girl gives her crown made out of flowers, she accepts it and thanks the little girl with a hug. She's also very concerned whenever Duke is trying to get some papers for Aurora to sign and gets hurt. She tells him to be more careful and that she doesn't want him to get hurt. When Duke falls in the mote, she shows immediate concern for him. She also shows immediate concern when she finds out that Hubert had forgotten his speech and quickly dropped her work to find someone to deliver the speech to Hubert, so he wouldn't be humiliated in front of everyone at the Royal Counsel. She also shows immediate sympathy towards the farmer that told her how his cows were stolen, his pigs died, and a wolf ate all his chickens. She cares about people and treats them with true kindness. Even when she's stressed out, she doesn't stop when Duke offers to let her stop because she cares more about her people than she does of her own needs.
She's elegant and graceful
While this isn't a huge factor of her personality, more with her body movement. But I guess it does mean she's confident and comfortable in her own skin that she doesn't get awkward, shy, or clumsy. But she seems to hold herself in great poise and grace. She's very classy, has a certain amount of dignity to her, gentle, and dances gracefully. Not a major thing about her, just something I thought I'd point out because of how her fans love this about her, though I couldn't care less if she's elegant or graceful.
Sometimes doubts herself but still tries
She wonders if she has what it takes to run the kingdom by herself and is afraid of making mistakes. That's something I wanted them to focus more on when she was brought to the castle in the original. I love how even when she doubts herself she still doesn't give up and continues to keep trying. I think it's very unique to have one of the three classic Disney Princesses actually doubt herself and afraid that she'll make mistakes. We don't really get that with her original self or Snow White and Cinderella, at least that I know of. I find that it makes her more human to be afraid of making mistakes and not be so perfect like she was in the original. I mean, she seems confident most of the time but it shows that even confident people have their insecurities, which I really admire about this version of Aurora. But what I really admire about her is that despite her fears she doesn't give up and continues at what she's doing. I love having a character that appears to have it all together like Aurora does but also be scared about messing up like any human being would but also be a role model by overcoming her fears and continuing to try. She doesn't let fear overcome her like Elsa or just be confident in what she does and overcome any conflict easily like Anna. She's a healthy mixture that I just love.
Wanting to break the fairy-tale princess stereotype
Many people say that she's a stereotype of a girly girl but I don't see it. I actually think the original Aurora is a stereotype of the fairy-tale princess but I won't get into that. She says she wants to show everyone what a princess can be. Princesses are often looked at as beautiful young women that sing, dance, marry a prince, and live happily ever after. This is basically how annoying feminists view the Disney Princesses and she wants to break the stereotype. She doesn't try to breaking by saying how you can't marry someone you just met like Elsa did. She wanted to break the stereotype by showing how a princess can be really smart, responsible, dutiful, and can actually run the kingdom with a kind and fair hand. I really admire her and Disney for trying to show the real side of being a princess while also not insulting past Disney films. Today I actually watched an episode of Sofia The First and there was a princess who looked like a nerdy girl that you'd think would be a real bookworm that likes the indoors but she's not. She had spent her whole life traveling the world and having adventures with her parents, so she had never been to a real classroom. She actually didn't like the idea of being in a classroom all day instead of out adventuring. Same thing with Elle Woods from Legally Blonde, she's a girly girl thats into pink, clothes, her looks, and all the typical girly stuff. However, she's not just some bimbo, she's highly intelligent, got into law school through on her own, graduated as valedictorian with several job offers, and won a murder trial during her first year in law school. Yes, Aurora in this movie is shown to love the color pink but so what? That doesn't make a character bad and it makes her more unique in this day in age full of tomboys. She maybe girly but that doesn't make her a brainless bimbo. Aurora has shown in this movie that she's very smart and responsible.
She's responsible and dutiful
I love how she's very smart in knowing she shouldn't sign something before reading it, even if it'll take a very long time. I mean, it takes up all of her day but she knows she has to be responsible by reading the papers before signing them. I mean, one of them could cause problems for her people and it would be all her fault for not reading it. She cares about her kingdom and doesn't want anything to happen to her people. She listens to their problems and never complains. She does have her own needs but she doesn't let it overcome her love for her people. They made her dutiful in the original but in this movie they expanded upon that trait. This shows what a strong woman she is, not in the fighting sense but in the emotional sense, which is just as good, if not better.
She likes to do thinks herself but knows when she needs up
You can see when the Fairies are offering to help Aurora that she really prefers to do things on her own, which I really relate to. She knows that she might not always have the help of others and she needs to be able to handle things on her own, especially as the future queen of both Stefan and Hubert's kingdoms. However, she does acknowledge when she needs help and will ask for it. I think this is a good lesson to teach anyone. Learn to be independent and able to do things on your own but when it gets to the point where she needs help, she'll ask for it.
She's hardworking and determined
I admire how determined and hardworking she is because no matter how hard something is, she sticks with it. Well, for the most part. She does try to take the easy way out but she realizes that even if she did it once that it was wrong. She goes through that entire stack of papers to sign that takes her until late at night to finish. That's INSANE and I could never do all of that, so I admire her for that. She's incredibly hardworking and never gives up. Even when she's trying to take the easy way out, she does her hardest to get it right, until ultimately she decides not to use magic but it only caused trouble. Like they say in Once Upon A Time, "All magic, comes at a price." She's a great role model that works incredible hard no matter what.
She's a daydreamer
This is an aspect of her character in the original movie that is carried on in this movie. After her song, she's imagining everyone back from their trip and Aurora is acting like everything for her has gone well. I think that's pretty daydreamy. Plus when she looks up at the brightest star in the sky, like Phillip told her to do before she went to sleep, and pretended like she was actually talking to him through it. Almost like she could actually see his face. While I certainly would say her daydreaminess isn't up to the level of Ariel or Cinderella, she still is a daydreamer.
She's mischievous
The way she does poke fun at King Hubert does show this side of her. Basically the same things as the fun and playful side of her. However, when she's playing with the wand to give herself a beautiful ball gown, dazzling earrings and necklace, and a jeweled tiara is pretty mischievous. She knows that the wand isn't a toy but she does it anyway, which shows she has a slight trouble-making side to her. I mean she's not mischievous like Ariel is because Aurora does know her limits. Although, that doesn't mean she won't still be mischievous because even when she turns her dress back into her nightgown and is about to to go sleep, she turns her nightgown pink just for the fun of it. This was a side of her we got for only one scene in Sleeping Beauty but that was it, I wanted more of that and I'm glad we got it because she's very interesting here.
She's patient, fair, diplomatic, and reasonable
When she has to deal with the peasants complaints and the first party that came in was fighting like crazy, she managed to stay patient with them but she wasn't a pushover. She would tell them both to calm down. She's patient and kind but she has her limits, although she won't be rude about it like some of the more feisty heroines. At the end of the day, she'll listen to all of the complaints and give them the fair consideration and time that they deserve. Whenever two people are having a disagreement, she'll be reasonable, fair, and very diplomatic about it to make sure the solution she thinks of benefits both parties.
She's selfless
You can see that hearing all of the complaints from so many people, even one dumb one about changing the royal colors or something. But she still sticks with it, despite the stress of the job. First of all, I love how they're showing the less glamorous side of being a princess. That it's not all about being pretty, getting a prince, and living happily ever after. It shows the responsibilities and how you have to put others needs above yours, which they show with Aurora here. We see that she can be stressed out and isn't perfect. However, all she has to do is just look at the faces of her people that need her help and she instantly has the confidence to continue. She's incredibly selfless and is really serious about her responsibilities as a princess and the future queen.
She's compassionate
You can tell that she really cares about her people, which I have GUSHED over a lot in this article. It's especially shown during the scene where she's talking to a farmer that lost his stalk. She shows instant sympathy towards him and even pulls out a handkerchief to wipe away a tear. She knows that his life stalk are his way of living and he could starve without them. She's always so kind and caring towards her people with their problems, no matter how big or small. She truly cares about her family, friends, and everyone in her kingdom. Usually with peasants going to the royals with their complaints it played for laughs, like Yzma with that one peasant, a scene from The Emperor's New School where Kuzco says it was the worst part of being Emperor, or when Anastasia Tremaine/The Red Queen was hearing complaints and told them that their problems bore her (this was in the second episode where she was still being portrayed as a villainess). It's refreshing to see peasants going to royals with their complaints and the royals are actually taking them seriously and trying to do their best to help.
She makes mistakes, learns from them, and fixes them
I always love when a character makes mistakes, learns from them, and fixes them. She knows she made a mistake by taking the easy way, learns that she should never take the easy way out, and actually fixes it. It's nice to know that she actually is like a real human who can give into temptation. Magic is a powerful thing and power is very seductive. However, she learns knowing you accomplished something through hard work is also very seductive. I know I would fall victim to the seduction of magic and bending anything I want to my will, but she's able to overcome it be realizing that using it was wrong. She's a great role model that grows, not amazingly well, but still.
Overall, she's a great, layered, and three-dimensional character in this movie with A LOT of depth to her. This is what I think she should've been like in the original in my honest opinion. There was nothing wrong with her in the original, other than being one dimensional and not having a well-developed personality, and was very harmless of a character. This version of Aurora and her movie are also harmless and don't deserve such HUGE amounts of hate, especially when they don't EXPLAIN the hatred for Aurora in this movie. Lastly, as for the pop voice, it's still a good voice, no Mary Costa and they should've gotten a more opera voice for her but she doesn't sing for most of her screentime, so it doesn't bother me that much. When it comes to speaking voices, she does sound the same as her original self, or at least good enough. So I figured that instead of just getting into a pointless argument where I get mad because people won't explain the problem with this version of Aurora, I just decided to talk about why I love her.
