Snow White and Cinderella both had at least two memorable songs. This movie has only one. But boy, do they make the most of it.
A subdued version of Tchaikovsky’s Garden Waltz from the original ballet plays as Aurora playfully dances with the owl. "I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream," she sings. "I know you, the gleam in your eyes is so familiar a gleam. Yet I know it’s true, that visions are seldom all they seem. But if I know you, I know what you’ll do. You’ll love me at once, the way you did once upon a dream!"
I think the music itself is a big part of what makes this work. It’s a calm, flowing melody that carries the lyrics along and gets you caught up in the moment. Speaking of which, it helps that the lyrics are more meaningful and personal than just “love is awesome” this time around, and Mary Costa’s performance wrings a lot of emotion out of them. As a whole, “Once Upon A Dream” has a punch that “One Song” and “So This Is Love” didn’t have.
Philip and his horse seem to like it, too. They both grin as they watch Aurora from some bushes. When she gets closer, Philip pulls the owl out of the way, takes his place and starts singing and dancing along with her. She seems momentarily confused at how her owl friend can suddenly sing before she realizes that he’s not the one holding her.
"I’m awfully sorry," Philip says as she tries to pull away. "I didn’t mean to frighten you."
"Oh, it wasn’t that. It’s just that you’re a…a…"
"A stranger?" Don’t be redonkulous! They’ve met before, remember? She said so herself; once upon a dream! Philip starts singing again as Aurora plays hard-to-get. That lasts for about ten seconds, though, and they go waltzing off along the river as the chorus chimes in for their part. Aurora and Philip walk back to the cliff overlooking the kingdom and stand against a tree, the former resting her head on the latter’s shoulder.
"Who are you?" Philip asks. "What’s your name?"
"Hmmm? Oh, my name." Cindy and Charming have a slight edge over these two in that they at least appeared to have an introduction of sorts before getting right to it.
Aurora suddenly remembers the Stranger Rule, can’t bring herself to continue the courtship any further and starts to run off after a quick goodbye. “But when will I see you again?” Philip cries.
"Oh, never! Never!"
"Never?"
These few seconds of melodrama die a quick death as Aurora revises her answer to that evening, “at the cottage in the glen.” After collecting her shawl and basket, she leaves him.
Back at said cottage in the glen, the party preparations are going about as well as you’d expect. Fauna’s cake is melting before her eyes as she tries to put the frosting and candles on it. Flora remarks that her creation is rather unusual. “Yes,” she answers. “Of course, it’ll be much stiffer when it’s baked!”
No such excuse is available for the dress, which is misshapen and hideous. Or “improved,” in Flora’s mind. “But perhaps if I added a few more ruffles? What do you think?”
Merryweather’s finally had enough of this lunacy. “I think we ought to think of Rose, and what she’ll think of this mess!” she says as she rips the dress apart and goes upstairs. She’s getting the wands, whether the others like it or not.
Flora relents, but only after all the windows and cracks in the cottage are shut to keep anyone from seeing. “Clean the room, dear, and I’ll make the dress,” she tells Merryweather as she takes a wand. “Well, hurry!”
And so begins what is, without a doubt, my favorite part of the movie so far. The fairies enchant various household objects to do the chores, which results in some really great animation as they fly around. The mop and broom are walking, the dress pieces mold themselves into shape while the needle and thread sew them together and the cake seems to bake itself as the batter pours from the bowl into a formation that hovers in mid-air. The music is reminiscent of what The Sorcerer’s Apprentice would have been like had Mickey known what he was doing. There’s some great comedy bits, such as when Fauna gathers the cake ingredients around to have them read the recipe from the cookbook. And of course, there’s…wait a minute! That dress! It’s PIIIINK!
"Make it blue!" Merryweather says, waving her wand and zapping the dress to change its color.
"Merryweather!" Flora says when she sees this. Waving her own wand, she changes it back “Make it pink!”
"Blue." Zap.
"Pink!" Zap.
"Blue!" Zap.
They go back and forth, hitting first the dress and then each others’ outfits until the dress ends up as a splattering of both colors. The blasts of magic go flying around the room, into the fireplace and outside through the chimney as the music turns ominous. Maleficent’s raven is flying over the forest, sees the lights and flies down for a closer look. When he peers down the chimney, he gets hit with both varieties but turns neither color. He does, however, decide to stick around and sees Aurora coming up the path.
The fairies, hearing her singing, start to frantically undo all the spells and hide the wands. Merryweather wins the dress battle and stops the last mop just as Aurora comes through the door.
"Aunt Flora, Fauna, Merryweather!" she says as she opens the door and only shuts the lower half, allowing the raven to watch through the upper half. "Where is everybody?" She then sees the dress and cake on the table, at which point the fairies appear and greet her. "Oh, you darlings!" Aurora exclaims. "This is the happiest day of my life! Everything’s so wonderful! Just wait until you meet him!"
"Him?" they ask. "You’ve met some stranger?"
"Oh, he’s not a stranger. We’ve met before."
"You have? Where?”
"Once upon a dream!" Aurora then grabs Fauna and starts to waltz around the room with her while reprising the song. The fairies figure out that she’s in love and lament at how terrible it is. "Why?" Aurora asks. "After all, I am sixteen."
"It isn’t that, dear. You’re already betrothed," the fairies tell her without bothering to even sit her down first.
"Betrothed?"
"Since the day you were born. To Prince Philip, dear."
"But that’s impossible! How could I marry a prince? I’d have to be — "
"A princess. And you are, dear! Princess Aurora. Tonight we’re taking you back to your father, King Stefan." At this, the raven grins evilly and flies off with the juicy tidbit he’s happened upon.
"But I can’t!" Aurora says. "He’s coming here tonight. I promised to meet him!"
"I’m sorry, child," Flora says, "but you must never see that young man again."
Aurora reacts the way you’d expect a teenage girl to react; she runs upstairs to cry on her bed. The fairies watch her sadly. “And we thought she’d be so happy,” says Merryweather.
…Merry, you’re supposed to be the smart one. Even without the whole love angle, did you honestly expect the reveal that this girl’s entire life is a lie to go over perfectly with her? You didn’t even bother to break it to her gently. This should not be surprising behavior.
Later that day, the sun is starting to set over the castle. Stefan is looking out a window and sighing. “No sign of her yet, Hubert.”
Hubert is in the great hall stuffing his face. “Oh now, come on, wake up! Battle’s over, girl’s as good as here!” His friend is still anxious, so he has a servant bring out Plan B in a nifty little wine bottle. “Tonight, we toast the future with something I’ve been saving for sixteen years,” he says as he fills two glasses. “To the future!”
"Right, Hubert, to the future!"
They both launch into a jaunty ditty about how wonderful everything’s going to be, how their children are finally getting hitched and something called “skumps.” I don’t know what those are, but judging from the reactions of the servant when he samples a glass, this is some pretty strong wine. Anything that comes out of these people’s mouths is most likely irrelevant.
After the first verse, Hubert insists on toasting the soon-to-be newlyweds’ new home. “Place to raise their little brood, eh?” This throws Stefan off a bit, but he goes along with it. Until Hubert brings out the blueprints, at least. “Nothing elaborate, of course. Forty bedrooms, dining hall…honeymoon cottage, really!”
"You mean you’re building it already?"
"Built, man! Finished. The lovebirds can move in tomorrow." So what if they aren’t even married yet? Let’s have the wedding tonight!
At this point, Stefan puts his foot down. “Now hold on, Hubert. I haven’t even seen my daughter yet, and you’re taking her away from me?”
"Getting my Philip, aren’t you? Want to see our grandchildren, don’t we? There’s no time to lose! Getting on in years. To the wedding!"
"Well, it may come as quite a shock…"
"SHOCK? My Philip a shock? What’s wrong with my Philip?" Things turn ugly very fast; Hubert isn’t too sure that Philip will even like Aurora, and he doesn’t think his grandchildren will want Stefan for a grandfather, either.
"Why, you unreasonable, pompous, blustering old windbag!"
Hubert grabs a fish (not a swordfish, unfortunately) and brandishes it. “En garde, sir!”
"I warn you, Hubert, this means war!" Stefan declares, grabbing a plate to use as a shield. They start to strike at each other, only to break down laughing after a few seconds. Oh, who are they kidding? The children are bound to fall in love, and Stefan’s going to have the royal woodcarvers start working on the cradle tomorrow. King-sized, of course!
At that moment, the arrival of Philip is announced. Hubert runs down to the courtyard, where Philip is just getting off his horse. “Hurry, boy, hurry and change into something suitable. Can’t meet your future bride looking like that!”
"I have met her, father."
"You have? Where?"
"Once upon a dream!" And with that, Philip starts waltzing his father around while singing. Why don’t more people talk about this bit when they’re going over the funny stuff in this movie?
Hubert reacts just as you’d expect him to. “Stop it! Stop that! Why, Phillip, put me down! Now, what’s with all this dream nonsense?”
Sorry, Hubert. Your answer’s gonna have to wait until Part 4.
