Riding Out of the Dawn

I suppose I was destined to be a Disney fan. I couldn't really avoid it even if I had wanted to. My parents put a poster of Mickey Mouse up in the nursery before I was even born. They took me to Disneyland for the first time when I was two. Later on that year they took me to Mickey's 50th birthday party. So I basically grew up figuring that Mickey was a member of my family.

It's worth noting here that my parents are not big movie goers, yet they took me and my siblings to just about every Disney movie released in theaters. I still remember seeing The Fox and the Hound and Mickey's Christmas Carol among others. Yet for some reason, one film stood out in particular in my mind, 1959's Sleeping Beauty. Of the many Disney films I saw and loved, something about Sleeping Beauty embedded itself in my mind. As I've grown older the film has come to be deeply personal to me and very special. I suppose it begins with the music. No, hearing Tchaikovksys' score did not inspire me to become a musician. In fact, I have very little, if any, musical talent.

However, seeing the film in the 1980s exposed me to Russian classical music. In 1995, I would be called to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Moscow, Russia. While serving in Moscow, I had the opportunity to even visit the only home in which Tchaikovsky lived that is still standing. I was familiar with his music in part because of Sleeping Beauty. In short, long before I would live amongst the wonderful people of Russia for a season, God was preparing me to live among them by giving me an appreciation for and love of their culture.

My faith provides another reason why the film means so much to me. I love the depiction of the triumph of good over evil in the story. In a world so full of pain and suffering I believe we need to be reminded that good will triumph over evil. While fairy tales may to some degree simplify that triumph, it does happen in the real world. These stories resonate so strongly with us because I believe that we want to see the triumph of good over evil. In a sense, fictional stories depicting the heroic efforts of valiant men and women to defeat evil give us hope that we can find strength to overcome the evil we must face in our own lives.

I know the story is fictional, but the heroes of Sleeping Beauty are very real to me. Princess Aurora represents our hopes and dreams. Prince Phillip represents our better natures as we strive to fight for those we love, especially in the face of overwhelming odds. In that climactic battle, Phillip never gives up even when it looks grim. The 3 Good Fairies represent those "guardian angels" who love us and watch over us, even giving us hope and strength in the times we need it most. I love the idea of Philllip fighting for Aurora armed with weapons of righteousness, a sword of truth and a shield of virtue, for that is how we will defeat the enemy of our souls.

After Aurora has pricked her finger on the spindle of the spinning wheel and lays asleep, a lullaby is sung by the choir while the 3 good fairies put the people in the castle to sleep. One line in there stands out to me as it represents the kind of man I want to be.

Sleeping Beauty fair,
Gold of sunshine in your hair,
Lips that shame the red, red rose
Dreaming of true love in slumber repose
One day he will come
Riding out of the dawn
And you'll awaken to true love's kiss. . .

That's the kind of man I want to be. Armed with weapons of righteousness and worthy to come riding out of the dawn, find, and even in a sense, rescue my princess. I believe firmly in the responsbility of men to provide for, protect, and defend their families. In life we must do battle with spiritual dragons who want to destroy our peace. But with God's help and strength, we can help in the triumph of good over evil for true love conquers all.