Sleeping Beauty, Background Painting of the Interior of Briar Rose's Cottage, 1959

This background painting shows the interior of the cottage where the Princess Aurora, being concealed by the three Good Fairies under the name Briar Rose, lived from the time she was cursed by Maleficent until her 16th birthday. The background was used for a scene that took place on the evening of the day when Rose had met Prince Philip in the nearby forest and had made a date to see him that night. Upon her return home after meeting her true love, Rose is informed by the Fairies that she is, in fact, the Princess Aurora and that she must return to her parents. After the departure of Aurora and the Fairies, Prince Philip unwittingly shows up for his date. After knocking on the door and being told to come in by Maleficent, who is waiting inside, Philip enters the dark cottage, only to be bound and gagged by Maleficent's goons [the displaced curtain and hanging curtain rod seen in the background are evidence of that struggle, which had just taken place]. The main narrative, of course, involves Maleficent with her candle, illuminating the cottage, as she walks up to see Philip face to face. In fact, it is the very moment when they meet and the beginning of the confrontation between good and evil which occurs throughout the remainder of the movie.

The full technarama size cels of Maleficent and Philip match the background by Eyvind Earle and were photographed as shown here in the making of Sleeping Beauty. Matching cels and backgrounds, such as this, are rather rare, since cels were not stored together with backgrounds at the Walt Disney Studio.