What Inspired the Three Good Fairies
“I started studying old ladies. I spent hours in the grocery store, usually at the dog food counter. You see lots of them at the dog food counter. I didn’t mind spending the time. I like old ladies.” - Frank Thomas
Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston were two of the animators who helped develop the three good fairies (Marc Davis and Don DaGradi also worked on the fairies). They called them the “most exasperating and elusive characters” because they weren’t exactly comic relief, and they had no weaknesses/foibles fo exploit because they always had to be “good.”
In some versions of Sleeping Beauty (before Disney’s), there were as many as 13 fairies, but, not wanting to develop so many characters, Disney opted for only three for their story. The idea of the fairies controlling/manipulate the elements is one that fell by the wayside as the story developed, but the names stuck around even if their specific talents didn’t. Early concept art of Merryweather even had a little parasol umbrella for inclement weather ☔️
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