KidLit Forum

Similarities
- King and Queen want a child.
- There's a celebration for the birth of the princess.
- Evidently, the curse ends up being a deep sleep in both because one fairy decides to save the princess from death.
- All spinning wheels are ordered to be burnt

Differences
DISNEY VERSION

-the princess' name is Aurora
-there is a marriage arrangement between Aurora and Prince Phillip
-There are 3 good fairies (Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather) who give gifts to the princess
-Maleficent was not invited , so she places a curse on Aurora- on her 16th birthday she would prick her finger on a spindle wheel and die
-Merryweather is the fairy who manages to change the curse -she will fall into a deep sleep, and be awoken by true love's kiss.
-Aurora is hidden into a forest by the three fairies and they ghange her name into Briar Rose. The fairies never tell her about her origins and about her curse. She finds out about it
-The princess meets the Prince in the forest
-She decides to go back to the castle but she follows a ball of light. It leads her to a spindle where she pricks her finger, and falls into a deep sleep
-The prince is captured by Maleficent and kept prisoner. He is saved by the fairies
-Maleficent turns herself into a dragon, and surrounds the kingdom with thorns
-Prince kills dragon, and wakes Princess with a kiss.

BROTHERS GRIMM VERSION

-the princess' name is Briar Rose
-there is not a marriage arrangement
-There are thirteen wise women in the kingdom. All were supposed to be invited to the party, but only twelve were invited
-The thirteenth wise woman puts a spell on Briar Rose- she will die at the age of 15 by pricking her finger on a spindle of a spinning wheel.
-The 12th wise woman still needed to give a gift to the Princess so she managed to lessen the curse -she would not die but sleep for one hundred years.
-Briar Rose is never hidden into the forest, she grows up with her family, the king and the queen
-The prince meets the princess after 100 years
-On her 15th year she pricks her finger.
-The Prince comes across the castle and its inhabitants
-The prince and the thirteenth wise woman never meet or fight. Briar Rose is not awaken by a kiss, the 100-year curse comes to an end


There is an interesting comparison between three versions of this fairy tale: Charles Perrault, Brtohers Grimms, Walt Disney. You can find it at http://www.latrobe.edu.au/childlit/Scho ... rison.html