Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather

Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather a Trio of Fairies who originated from Sleeping Beauty.

History

Sleeping Beauty

Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather first appear as the invited guests of King Stefan at Aurora's christening. Each fairy intends to give a gift to Princess Aurora. Flora grants her the gift of beauty, while Fauna grants her the gift of song. But before Merryweather can give her gift, Maleficent appears. Insulted by her lack of invitation, Maleficent curses the infant to die, from pricking her finger on a spinning wheel spindle before the sun sets on the princess' 16th birthday. As Maleficent leaves, the fairies realize that Merryweather still hasn't given her gift. The little fairy got inspired by Maleficent's invasion to give a special gift. Although Merryweather can't undo the curse, as Maleficent's magic is far too powerful, she's able to weaken it by making Aurora fall asleep until awakened by True Love's Kiss.

Feeling that the princess is still in danger, they decide to raise Aurora themselves. An agreement with Aurora's parents is reached: the fairies will raise Aurora for 16 years until the curse is no longer a threat, and then return her to the palace. They change the princess's name to Briar Rose and hide her in a cottage in the woods. The fairies then decide to hide as mortals, as their magic will raise attention, and disguise themselves as Briar Rose's aunts.

16 years later, the fairies prepare a party for Briar Rose on her birthday. After failing in their attempts to bake a cake (Fauna has never cooked before) and sew a dress normally (with Flora, using Merryweather as the mannequin), they decide to use magic after closing off (almost) every crack except the chimney. Flora uses it to sew the dress, Fauna uses it to bake the cake (and later decorate it), and Merryweather uses it to clean up the room until she is distracted by seeing the dress being pink.

After she starts an argument over the color of the dress by turning it blue, they try changing the dress and each other's clothes to the opposite colors, and the magic blasts fly up the chimney and attracts the attention of Maleficent's raven, Diablo. The argument ends when both rays hit the dress at exactly the same time, making it a mixture of pink and blue and Flora was outraged at Merryweather for messing the dress up. As Briar Rose is returning from berry picking, Flora quickly turns it to pure pink and hides. Then Merryweather turns it to blue. After Flora points out that the mop is still running, Merryweather uses her magic to make it stop. Briar Rose, who has returned home from berry picking, is surprised. When she tells her "aunts" about the man she met in the woods, they forbid her from seeing him again. The fairies also reveal her true identity as Princess Aurora, as well as the fact that she's already betrothed in an arranged marriage.

The fairies take Aurora back to the castle and take her to a room. They use their magic to create a tiara for Aurora, to help her realize her true royal identity. However, they soon decide to leave her alone for a time as Aurora is still heartbroken of never again seeing the young man she has fallen in love with.

The fairies begin to talk about the boy, with Merryweather expressing her opinion that it's unfair for Aurora to be forced into an arranged marriage. When Fauna suggests they reveal the news to King Stefan, they hear a faint sound from the room and realize that it's Maleficent enchanting Aurora. They frantically try to stop the princess, who keeps following Maleficent (as a will-o-the-wisp) up the tower. They warn her not to touch anything, but Maleficent orders Aurora to touch the spindle to trigger the curse. The fairies arrive too late as they run into Maleficent, who briefly mocks them of their efforts of stopping her. She then reveals the now sleeping princess, who has pricked her finger, before she disappears.

The fairies feel guilty for what has happened, but Flora insists that they put everyone in the castle to sleep until Aurora awakens. However, when putting King Hubert to sleep, Flora learns that the man Aurora met in the woods was actually her fiancé, Prince Phillip. Phillip has previously intended to go to the cottage to meet Aurora, so the fairies race back to the cottage. Upon arrival, they are shocked to discover that Phillip's hat is left behind on the floor. Deducing that the prince has been captured by Maleficent, the fairies decide to go to Maleficent's domain, the Forbidden Mountain, to rescue him.

The fairies sneak into the Forbidden Mountain and witness a group of Maleficent's Goons celebrating the prince's capture by partying around the bonfire. The fairies follow Maleficent, who has been watching the celebration, to the dungeon, where Phillip is chained to the walls. They wait until Maleficent leaves the dungeon to go sleep in her tower, then they free Phillip and melt the dungeon lock. They arm him with the magical Sword of Truth and Shield of Virtue, both believed to be weapons of righteousness that will triumph over evil. As Phillip and the fairies exit the dungeon, they are confronted by Maleficent's pet raven, Diablo, who calls the Goons.

The Goons drop giant rocks, shoot arrows and pour hot oil, but Flora uses her magic to turn them into bubbles, flowers and a rainbow, respectively. After escaping the Forbidden Mountain, the fairies aid Phillip by protecting him from various obstacles as they make their way to Stefan's castle. Eventually, Phillip is forced into fighting Maleficent in dragon form. The fairies assist Phillip in retreating, but he is cornered at the cliff and loses his shield. Under Flora's direction, the fairies empower his sword, allowing Phillip to throw it straight into the dragon's chest, finally killing the evil enchantress.

With Maleficent gone for good, Phillip and the fairies enter Stefan's castle and go up to the tower where Aurora is in her enchanted sleep. The fairies watch as Phillip gives Aurora Love's First Kiss that awakens her from that sleep. Lastly, the three fairies go to the throne room, where they watch happily as Phillip and Aurora descend the stairs, reunite with their respective parents, and share a dance. But then, Flora notices that Aurora's dress is blue, and uses her magic to turn it pink. This upsets Merryweather, who turns the dress blue, leading to another argument. The argument continues, with the dress keep alternating colors (pink and blue) as the storybook is closed.

Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams

The three fairies reappear in the first Sleeping Beauty story since the original. Since the death of Maleficent, the fairies have become almost desperate to help Aurora out with anything. While King Stefan, King Hubert, Prince Phillip and Queen Leah are away; Aurora is left in charge. Hubert accidentally forgets his speech at Stefan's castle so the fairies finally help Aurora by going to return it.

While Flora and Fauna leave, Merryweather stays for a few moments to give Aurora her wand in case things become too difficult. After giving Hubert his speech, Flora and Fauna learn the secret Merryweather has been hiding about the wand. While they were gone, the wand's power began to get out of hand but eventually due to Aurora's calm attitude; things were settled down. The fairies returned along with the kings, queen, and Phillip. Merryweather regains her wand and they all gather for a banquet put together by Aurora without the use of magic.

Sofia the First

Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather appear in the Disney Junior series as the supporting sidekick characters to the titular character Sofia. They are the magical tutors of the young princess and teaches her the ways of the royal highness she will one day become. It is shown in several episodes that Flora and Merryweather have yet to settle the blue-pink debate.

Their largest role in the series to date is in the episode "Make Way for Miss Nettle" where the fairies' former apprentice, Miss Nettle visits the academy to (supposedly) teach an after school gardening class to Sofia and friends. However, Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather soon discover Nettle's actually after their spell book, in an attempt to become more powerful than the three fairies combine, betraying them. Fortunately, due to the efforts of Sofia and friends, the fairies are rescued and peace is restored.

Voices

Flora

• Verna Felton (Original Film)
• Tress MacNeille
• Barbara Dirickson (2005–present)

Fauna

• Barbara Jo Allen (Original Film)
• Russi Taylor (2000–present)

Merryweather

• Barbara Luddy (Original Film)
• Tress MacNeille (2000–present)