Prince Phillip of Disney's Sleeping Beauty tells his side of the story and gives all-new meaning to ‘Once Upon a Dream’ in author Linsey Miller’s second novel in the Disney Prince Young Adult Series, Prince of Thorns & Nightmares.
The Disney Prince Young Adult Series kicked off last year with the release of the premiere novel, Prince of Song & Sea, which told a version of Prince Eric’s story from Disney’s The Little Mermaid. It is unknown to me at the time of writing this review just how many novels are lined up for the Series, but based on Prince of Thorns & Nightmares (I have not yet had the good fortune to read the Prince of Song & Sea), I can only hope there are many more to come.
What is Prince of Thorns & Nightmares about?
Prince Phillip has known from a young age that his destiny has already been decided for him by his father, King Hubert. His job is to smile and wave for the crowd and ride off into the sunset with his predetermined fiancé, Princess Aurora, once her curse is lifted on her sixteenth birthday.
But just days before Aurora’s birthday party, Phillip experiences a strange burst of magic, and three fairies tell him that he is part of a prophecy set to defeat Maleficent, the Mistress of All Evil. Suddenly Phillip feels as if he has a choice—maybe magic can be the freedom he has been looking for.
Although, having magic and working with fairies to retrieve powerful ancient artifacts would be much more enjoyable if he didn’t have to deal with her every night, a girl named Briar Rose who appears in his dreams on the other side of a mystical thorn maze. Phillip doesn’t know how he can be so annoyed by a person he can’t even see but having to hear the mysterious maiden’s laughs and jabs at him every time he goes to sleep is seemingly worse than any nightmare. But Phillip is starting to realize that Briar Rose isn’t so different from him, and maybe they can change both of their fates one dream at a time.
Miller excels at conveying heavy, realistic expectations entwined with fairytale foundations
At the outset I was not sure what to expect of this novel but I really loved it. As I was reading, it quickly became my favorite Sleeping Beauty adaptation story. This is considerably high praise as Sleeping Beauty is my favorite Disney film and I am skeptical of any tweaking, edits or suggestions to an otherwise perfect time capsule of a film (despite, of course, being open to new ideas and artistic license). So, why is Prince of Thorns & Nightmares the best Sleeping Beauty adaptation story to date? Let me count the ways…
First, it is refreshing to hear Phillip’s version (or at least, Miller’s version of Phillip’s version) of events. Prince Phillip is the first Disney Prince who is named in-film and arguably, the first who expresses wit, humor and personality compared to his prince predecessors and fellow classic counterparts, Prince Florian (of Disney’s Snow White) and Prince Charming (of Disney’s Cinderella). Yet, we still do not really know that much about Phillip from the film. Did fans of Sleeping Beauty ever wonder what he got up to during the sixteen years following Aurora’s birth? Or what his views were of his betrothal to Princess Aurora (beyond the suggestive passing expression in which young Phillip screws up his face uncertainly while standing beside Aurora’s cradle in the first scene of the film)? Wonder no more, because Miller does a clever, creative and downright excellent job of giving us (a) an origin story, (b) an original adventure-filled tale with lots of magic, meaningful characters and character relationships, and important themes, and (c) a blissful melding of both (a) and (b) with Disney’s Sleeping Beauty.
From the very beginning, Phillip struggles with self-doubt, resentment at his lot in life, anxiety, the crushing weight of expectations, fear, and ultimately just not feeling good enough. While most of us cannot relate to the royal burdens he bears, we certainly can relate to a lot of those emotions generally, and it gives the reader a more intimate relationship with Phillip in which to experience the journey with him. These emotions and Phillip’s internal monologue are thoughtfully communicated and developed throughout and are intriguingly intertwined with both Miller’s story and the Sleeping Beauty story. Certain characters take advantage of Phillip’s vulnerable nature while he tries to overcome his inner demons and this makes for a stellar character-driven plot alongside a daring adventure tale.
Second, Prince of Thorns & Nightmares thoughtfully hauls Sleeping Beauty from the 14th century (or at least, from the 1950s) into today. Miller addresses controversial bases of the Disney fairytale by incorporating a modern twist to the story while still maintaining the classic charm and fairytale feel of Sleeping Beauty. Without giving anything away, Miller carefully and cleverly addresses the ‘kiss consent’ issue raised by various critics which condemns Prince Phillip kissing the sleeping Princess Aurora without her consent. As mentioned above, it also explores in considerable depth Phillip’s feelings towards his royal duties and obligations. Now, reading this, some of you might be concerned that it may be too modern and perhaps over the top for a fairytale story. However, Miller does such a good job of weaving her story and the film with classic and modern themes that you will be too engrossed in the events therein to be worried about any agenda. It is just a considerate, exciting and all-round great story on its own and as an addendum to Sleeping Beauty.
Third, the themes of friendship and love are meaningfully and realistically developed. A particularly special friendship is portrayed between Phillip and Briar Rose which makes the ‘Once Upon a Dream’ scene from the film even more magical; giving it greater, deeper context. Plus, while readers might aspire for their own fairytale romance, the true love aspect of this story evidences that relationships are not always “happily ever after” but they can be – if you give yourself grace and allow yourself to be worthy of the love you deserve. This comes with hard work, learning from your mistakes, staying the course and not giving up. It’s not just a boy-meets-girl, love-at-first-sight trope nor does it embellish a vague and unattainable notion of true love. Phillip especially is raw, real and very human which makes Prince of Thorns & Nightmares and the relationships therein relatable on a more profound and pertinent level.
Speaking of friendship, Miller’s original characters should win supporting character awards for their critical roles. Joanna, the three fairies (and these are three all-new fairies, not Flora, Fauna and Merryweather), and even Phillip and Briar Rose (since they are cast in a new light and thus given a ‘newness’) shine as part of both the Prince of Thorns & Nightmares story and the Sleeping Beauty story. They have their own thoughts, feelings, personalities and motivations that make them interesting in their own right and not just as two-dimensional placeholders in a Phillip-Briar Rose love story. This is not a given result for new additions alongside beloved Disney characters but Miller executes it with ease.
The fabric of Prince of Thorns & Nightmares is as rich as the tapestries that likely adorn King Stefan’s castle and as steadfast as Eyvind Earle’s artistic contributions to Sleeping Beauty. Phillip’s story exceeded my expectations on every level and succeeded in making me fall in love with my favorite Disney classic in new ways and all over again.
Prince of Thorns & Nightmares will be released on October 3, 2023.