Funny / Sleeping Beauty

The Disney film

Fairies try to do normal everyday tasks without magic. It goes about as well as you would expect.

• Young Prince Phillip's skeptical expression when introduced to the newborn Princess Aurora, who he's supposed to marry one day.
• Maleficent's assessment of the guests at Princess Aurora's welcoming:
  Maleficent: Well, quite a glittering assemblage, King Stefan. Royalty, nobility, the gentry, and... [turns to the Good Fairies and chuckles] How quaint! Even the rabble.
• Every time Merryweather tries to get a piece of Maleficent, only for Flora to pull her back.
• King Stefan tells his soldiers to "Seize that creature!" — that creature being the uber-powerful Mistress of All Evil. Maleficent's not indulging in some random, cliché Evil Laugh after she says, "Stand back, you fools!" — she's laughing because she must be thinking, "You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!"
• The good fairies stirring their tea with their magic wands. Okay, fine, there's Mundane Utility, but some of the most powerful objects in the world being used in such a manner is just funny.
  • Not to mention that, if you look closely, Merryweather is conjuring up Mickey Mouse cookies for herself.
• This exchange between the fairies:
  Merryweather: I'd like to turn her [Maleficent] into a fat ol' hop toad.
  Fauna: Now, dear, that isn't a very nice thing to say.
  Flora: Besides, we can't. You know our magic doesn't work that way.
  Fauna: It can only do good, dear, to bring joy and happiness.
  Merryweather: Well, that would make me happy.
• The fact that Maleficent, widely considered Big Bad to the entire damn Disney Animated Canon, apparently likes to send frosts that ruin Flora's flowers when the mood strikes her.
• What may be the most self-aware line in a Disney movie made during Walt's lifetime when the fairies discuss Maleficent's seeming to know everything:
  Fauna: Oh, but she doesn't, dear. Maleficent doesn't know anything about love, or kindness, or the joy of helping others. You know, sometimes I don't think she's really very happy.
• Apparently, in the search for Aurora, Maleficent's goons hunted for a baby for 16 years. Even Maleficent seemed to find it funny... at first.
  "CRADLE?!?!?!" Did you hear that, my pet? All these years, they've been looking for a baby.
  • Maleficent's prompt Unstoppable Rage. Really, can you blame her?
    Maleficent: FOOLS! IDIOTS! IMBECILES! [blasts her minions with lightning bolts as they fled, blasts them some more, then heaves an exasperated sigh while sitting upon her throne] Oh, they're hopeless. A disgrace to the forces of evil.
• Fauna's ditziness is always good for a laugh.
  Fauna: [reading recipe for a cake] "Two eggs, fold in gently." ...fold? [shrugs, then folds in two eggs, shells and all]
  • Her shocked expression when she hears the crunch really sells it. She knows something's wrong, but she can't quite put a finger on what.
• And later...
  Fauna: Yeast, one tsp. [pronounces as "tisp"] Tsp?
  • Made even more hilarious with a Spanish Malaproper in the Latin Spanish dub version. She reads "Una cucarachita", "One little cockroach", to which Merryweather replies "Una Cucharadita", "One little teaspoon".
• The fairies attempt to make a dress, with Merryweather as the "dummy". It's all in Flora's deadpan delivery:
  Merryweather: It looks awful.
  Flora: That's because it's on you, dear.
  • By the time Flora finishes the dress, it looks as short and plump as Merryweather is instead of tall and thin, the sleeves have become too skinny for Merryweather to stick her arms into, and color-clashing pins and ribbons remain visible against the pink fabric. Merryweather looks utterly miserable while modeling it.
  • The first danger sign was Flora cutting a huge hole in the fabric for the feet to go through.
• Two words: "No carrots!"
  • In his first introduction as an adult, Prince Phillip hears Aurora's singing voice and saying it's beautiful, his horse shakes his head like he's saying "don't start that". When Phillip wonders what the singing voice was, the horse rolls his eyes as if thinking "how should I know?".
  • Another great horse moment: when Phillip arrives at the cottage expecting to meet with Briar Rose, he looks back at his horse, who winks and nods as if to say "You got this, bro."
• After they stole Phillip's hat, cloak, and boots and put them on the owl, the squirrel then pushes him off the branch and lands on the rabbits with the boots, making it look like the owl has legs◊. Also, the fact that the animals struggle to keep up with Aurora as they dance, especially the rabbits in the boots.
• Before Phillip and 'Briar Rose' meet, she's playfully dancing with an owl wearing the prince's coat. Phillip makes his move by unceremoniously yanking the owl offscreen.
  • Followed by Aurora's face when she realizes it's not the owl she's dancing with. To top it off is the owl's very sheepish "Don't look at me!" shrug and who-ing, as if he's giving an embarrassed chuckle.
• After Prince Phillip and Princess Aurora/Briar Rose have met and done their little dance/duet, the way Prince Phillip then asked "Who are you?", and in such a casual manner, is hilarious. Her reaction is even better. She sounds so surprised.
• Phillip asks Aurora when he can see her again. Her answers escalate rather quickly.
  Aurora: Oh, never. Never!
  Phillip: Never?!
  Aurora: Well, maybe someday.
  Phillip: When? Tomorrow?
  Aurora: Oh no. This evening.
  Phillip: Where?
  Aurora: At the cottage, in the glen.
• The image above is during the following exchange between Flora and Fauna:
  Fauna: [propping up a sagging 15-layer cake with a broom handle] Well, what do you think of it?
  Flora: Well, it's...it's a very unusual cake, isn't it?
  Fauna: Yes... [the cake frosting begins to flow down the broomstick, taking the lit candles with it, and Fauna scrambles to put them back on top] Of course, it'll be much stiffer after it's baked!
• The blue-pink color fight between Flora and Merryweather, particularly when Maleficent's pet raven looks in the chimney to investigate the commotion and then gets shot in the face and the rear.
  • Plus the end when they strike Aurora's dress with their spells at the same time and turn it into a Picasso.
    Flora: [to Merryweather] Now look what you've done!

  What's funnier is Flora sounds like she thinks Aurora's dress is permanently ruined by this, even though she changes it back to a single solid color with no trouble just seconds later.

• As the fairies go hide in preparation for surprising Aurora, Flora points out one sign of magic they still need to hide:
  Flora: Good gracious! Who left the mop running?
  Merryweather: [pointing her wand at the mop] Stop, mop!
  • Note that the cleanup music suddenly starts again after Flora notices the mop still cleaning, then ceases after Merryweather makes the mop fall back to the ground.
• King Stefan and King Hubert having a drink. And then starting to have a brief argument (complete with Hubert using a fish as a weapon), which quickly dies and is replaced with laughter. During the scene, the minstrel sneaks a drink for himself a few times and ends up drunk. By the end, he's passed out under the table, with his head stuck in the lute. Try to keep a straight face as he snores in that thing!
  • After Hubert and Stefan's "fight" with the fish, Hubert sheathes it in his belt like a sword!
  • Before that, their first attempt at a toast with crossed arms. Hubert drinks so deeply that Stefan can barely get a sip out of his.
  • The minstrel turns into a Brick Joke later when he regains consciousness after sleeping off the wine just as the fairies are putting the castle to sleep. Merryweather sees him waking up and sends him right back under.
• Phillip's exchange with his father:
  Phillip: Now, Father, you're living in the past. This is the fourteenth century!
  • That whole scene, where the king is completely losing it while Phillip teases him, waltzes with him, and just acts giddily happy all throughout.
  Phillip: Goodbye, Father.
  Hubert: Goodbye, Father! Marry the girl you... No no stop!"
• When King Hubert sees Phillip and Aurora together at the end and gets so utterly confused, as Phillip told him earlier that he was marrying a peasant girl. He eventually just goes with it.
  Hubert: But Phillip, what does this mean?
• Flora and Merryweather again fighting over the color of the dress while Phillip and Aurora dance.
  Fauna: I just love happy endings.
  Flora: I do too... [gasps in horror] Blue! [waves her wand] Pink!
  Merryweather: [is happily enjoying the dance, then sees the dress is changed to pink and points her wand] Blue!
  • Even funnier, is how did Flora not notice the color change before? Besides the fact that they were busy saving the kingdom...
  • Aurora's dress continues alternating pink and blue even after the camera "pulls back" to the still picture of her and Phillip at the back of the live-action storybook.
• The German dub of the movie. Instead of a straightforward translation, the scriptwriter opted for emphasizing the "three bickering old ladies" aspect of the three fairies, partly through the choice of words, partly by adding additional lines spoken from the off. For example, at one point Flora talks about Maleficent as if she is a woman of questionable reputation ("Ich kenn doch diese Sorte von Frau!"), and when Merryweather has to gather all her power for her gift, Fauna remarks from the off "Kräftig genug bist du ja." (Loosely translated: "After all, you are built sturdy enough for it."). Those little touches make the fairies just more hilarious.
• The Unshaved Mouse's review of the film puts forth the theory that the whole curse was caused because Maleficent wanted revenge for being sold a dodgy spinning wheel.
  • He also has Queen Grimhilde show up to comment on Maleficent also having a bird as a sidekick.
    The Queen: My, aren't we original?
    Maleficent: I'm sure I don't know what you mean.
    The Queen: May I ask what do you think you're doing with my crow?
    Maleficent: Making it work, darling.
  • When mentioning the Riddle for the Ages as to what Merryweather's original gift for Aurora was, he suggests Adamantium Claws.

---