After all, what happened to Aurora’s mother?

‘Maléficent’ is the live-action adaptation of the fairy tale that also became animation: ‘Sleeping Beauty’. The story presents a new point of view on the story of the villain of the story, who here is the great protagonist, but in addition, it brings the answer to one of the questions that permeate the narrative: what happened to Aurora’s mother?

In the animation, the mother of the princess is Leah, while in the film that brings the characters in flesh and blood she is named after Leila, the daughter of King Henry who is offered as a bride to whoever manages to defeat him. maleficent and take his imposing wings to the palace, where he would reign together with the brave warrior who was capable of such an act.

With that, Stefan, the peasant who worked in the castle, sees in the challenge an opportunity to ascend to royalty, betraying the trust of Maleficent, his childhood friend, by stealing her wings. Soon, he gets what he wanted: becoming king and marrying Princess Leila.

Shortly after the wedding with Stefan, Leila gives birth to Aurora, who lives with her mother only until her christening, since during the ceremony, she is cursed, starting to live with the fairies in the forest and no longer with her family.

From then on, the future of the princess’s mother is also defined, even if it is not shown on the big screen. This is because, years later, Leila becomes ill, dying alone in her bed because Stefan was not with her in her final moments, since he was blinded by revenge, seeking Maleficent’s destruction, as revealed by the Screenrant portal.

Leila’s fate is confirmed when Aurora returns to the castle after her 16th birthday. Upon seeing her, King Stefan says with emotion that the princess looks like her mother, making it clear that the woman no longer shares life with him in royalty.

Why didn’t Disney make Leila part of the story?

Although she appears for a short time, Leila is one of the few mothers who has a strong presence in Disney princess movies. The absence of these figures in the plots is for a good reason, as revealed by the executive producer of the film Maleficent, Don Hahnin an interview with Glamor magazine.

One of the reasons is very practical, because the movies are 80 or 90 minutes long, and Disney movies are about growing up and maturing. It has to do with that day in your life when you have to take responsibility. Simba ran away from home, but had to go back. In short, it’s much faster for the characters to grow when the parents are not in the plot. Bambi’s mother is dead, so he needs to mature. Bela only has her father, but he gets lost, so she has to take responsibility. It’s a technique that helps summarize the story,” she commented.