La Belle au bois dormant

"Sleeping Beauty" is definitely a classic among the Disney animated features. It bears the distinction of being the first to be shot in 70mm widescreen format. The score borrows much from Tchaikovsky's classic ballet based on the Brothers Grimm tale. The art is beautiful, being inspired by medieval art. And the characters are delightful, particularly the three Good Fairies, Flora, Fauna and Merryweather. Malificient makes for a wonderful villainess, with awesome magical powers. Even those who would not call this Disney's best animated feature should agree that it harkens back to the famed studio's golden age. It's a classic that all ages can treasure!

I grew up in the Disney era where "Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast," "Aladdin" and "The Lion King" reigned supreme among me and my elementary school pals (and to this day, if you ask one of my peers what their favorite Disney movie is, it's probably one of those or one of the Disney-Pixar creations).

But one Disney film has always remained my utter favorite and that is, indeed, "Sleeping Beauty."

Like most children, I grew up watching Disney movies -- everything from animated films like "Snow White" to "Lady and the Tramp," the semi-animated like "Mary Poppins" and "Bedknobs and Broomsticks," and the non-animated such as "The Parent Trap" and "Old Yeller." But "Sleeping Beauty" remains my favorite animated movie and you'd better believe at seventeen years of age, I'm still watching it. I cannot believe how the animation has been knocked in some reviews -- it's beautiful! They captured the medieval period so well and even the people look like, well, people. The score is beautiful and the songs "I Wonder" and "Once Upon a Dream" are sung wonderfully by Mary Costa. What a voice! Aurora is by far one of the prettiest Disney princesses (one thing that initially drew me to the movie as a child), following the formula with those trademark doe-eyes that Disney bestows upon all of their princesses and heroines. Prince Phillip actually does more than just show up to sing a song and say one line, a welcome change that answers the age old question, "What does she see in him anyway?" The three fairies are delightful (I always wanted to be Fauna!) and funny. And of course, there's the quintessential villain -- Maleficent. She scared me when I was younger and when I view the film now, no wonder. (For the longest time, I was also scared of Eleanor Audley period, but she's truly a marvelous actress.) And when Phillip kills her -- yeah, you'd better believe that's some scary business.

The story is beautiful and funny, the animation is divine, the music ethereal, and the voice talents extraordinary. This is a personal favorite and it comes highly recommended!

...which is that it may have been designed more for an adult audience than a children's. At any rate it was way ahead of its time in 1959. "Sleeping Beauty" was one of the movies I watched as a child, and its grandness overwhelmed me even at the age of ten. I couldn't be happier to see it finally in the DVD format. But watch closely; you'll notice many subtle, sophisticated things which other viewers have touched on in earlier reviews. The animation is almost surreal-- so incredibly lifelike that it abandons its cute, 'Disneyesque' pretensions from previous fairy tales. There are no talking mice, dogs or cats anywhere to be seen. Here the animals are silent, as animals are supposed to be. (I love the sequence with the forest animals as they are awakened by the singing of the barefoot princess and join up with her, like multiple chaperons, in harmonious whistles.) Even the fairy godmothers- who may initially appear as sugary stereotypes- spend so much time bickering (well, two of them do anyway) that you get to identify them as thoroughly fleshed out personalities. The adaptation of the original Perrault fairy tale is also impressive. An ingenious move was to have the prince and princess meet in the forest *first* and fall in love- unaware that they are already engaged to be married. Someone mentioned the chilling sequence which shows the princess, cloaked in an eerie green pallor, actually being lured to the fateful spinning wheel. So dark, so frightening- when was the last time you saw something like this in a Disney fairy tale? And then immediately afterwords is a cleansing sequence of unmatched beauty showing the fairies sailing through the sky like fireflies, magically dusting the rest of the castle to sleep. It is, of course, only matched by the film's finale which shows storm clouds, lightning, a forest of thorns, and a flame-spewing dragon-- all seamlessly bringing the story to a 75-minute conclusion. It stands, in my opinion, as Disney's masterpiece.

Classic Disney fairy tale adaptation about a princess named Aurora who is cursed by an evil witch named Maleficent. Lovely in every way with memorable characters and scenes that have stood the test of time. The animation is beautiful and stylish with rich, vibrant colors. The voice actors all do wonderful work. If I had a complaint, it would be that the narrator is rather bland. Someone with a stronger voice would have been better. But it's a minor thing in a film that is so wonderful from start to finish. The Tchaikovsky music is amazing and the song "Once Upon a Dream" is a real gem. I'm no film historian but it seems like, in many ways, this movie represents the end of an era for animated Disney films that began with Snow White in 1937. There would certainly be some great movies to come, even some classics, but they wouldn't have quite the same grand feeling and charming old-fashioned qualities of the films from this era.

This Disney cartoon feature has the familiar-princess-in-distress theme of a lovely girl, kind fairies, a handsome prince, forbidding castles and an evil witch. A perceived slight by a king and queen enrages a sorceress who casts an evil spell on the child that will take effect on her sixteenth birthday. Only her prince charming's kiss can save the girl from an unhappy fate and the frightening Maleficent stops at nothing to locate the princess in order to bring her prophecy to fruition. There are several pitched battles between the prince and the fairies against the forces of evil that accelerates into an exciting combat at the finish. The picture is bathed in beautiful color and the music of Tchaikowsky's ballet serves as a wonderful musical accompaniment.