Sleeping Beauty (Two-Disc Platinum Edition)

I vividly remember the release of Sleeping Beauty. I was old enough to go see it myself - just barely. There I was sitting way up front eating my popcorn and all of a sudden this spectacular dragon materialized right before my eyes. Popcorn forgotten, I was hooked. Cartoons never looked the same to me, and I spent the rest of my life inhaling fantasy and science fiction on a quest for the same thrill.

Animation has changed quite a bit in the ensuing years, but even today Sleeping Beauty is a towering achievement. Now I'm more sensitive to the tricks of the art and can see the masterful use of perspective that made the scenes leap out at you. When I first picked up this DVD I half expected to be disappointed, to find it really wasn't so glorious in retrospect. This is hardly the case - this film is just as vibrant and alive as it was in 1959.

The added dimension now is that I can see how Disney's work was a formative influence on animation even today. Artist/Directors like Miyazaki owe much to this film and its predecessor Snow White. And they freely admit it. As a production, Sleeping Beauty created a sense of legitimacy for animation that proved that high quality animation was something well beyond the Saturday morning funnies.

Disney took a great risk when creating this film, pouring a tremendous amount of resources in making it something as perfect as was possible for his time. While the studio reaped the financial benefits, the audience was the real winner, as a whole genre exploded before our eyes. Even now, with anime rapidly becoming a force to be reckoned with, this film stands out for story, art, and music.

The additional features, especially those that retell the making of the film, are excellent as well. All captures in fine detail on this DVD. This is a must see for anyone who still loves a fairy tale.

This movie is one of the great classics of animation, especially for Disney. The DVD version is significantly improved compared to the previous VHS tape. The picture and sound were both greatly enhanced for this release. Furthermore, both widescreen and full screen versions are available in this package.

As with Disney's other classics, some liberties were taken with the original story of Sleeping Beauty. Disney took the classic story and made it unique and special. In some ways the story is less violent and dark than the original fairy tale. In other ways, such as the portrayal of Maleficent, the movie is dark and forbidding. While the movie is generally a children's movie, Maleficent's dragon and her general demeanor can be somewhat frightening for some in the pre-school and younger set.

Aurora was the first love for many a young boy, and was also the model for the aspirations of millions of girls. The romantic love story of Princess Aurora and Prince Phillip enchanted would-be princesses everywhere, and in some cases became the measure by which future spouses were measured (and many of us struggled to meet the ideal).

Of course, the romantic story and the evil of Maleficent were balanced by the comedy of the animal characters and the three bumbling, good-hearted fairy godmothers. While their goodness may appear a bit too vanilla and sweet for some, it is perfect for those longing for the innocence of their youth.

While the movie is the most important part of the DVD, this two CD set contains a phenomenal number of extras. I found the audio commentary by various key individuals to be absolutely fascinating. I planned to listen to portions of the commentary in preparation for my review, and instead found myself listening to the entire thing because it was so incredibly fascinating. Mary Costa (Princess Aurora) and others provide their perspective on the creation of the movie, as well as personal memories of Walt Disney and his influence on the film. The audio commentary by itself is worth replacing your VHS tape, particularly for aficionados of Disney movies.

In addition to the audio commentary are numerous, emphasize numerous, other bonus features. Some I felt were less than worthwhile, others, such as the shorts "Grand Canyon" and "The Peter Tchaikovsky Story," were excellent bonuses. The number of bonuses on this two disc set was so large that there is a navigational overview included in the DVD that categorizes 38 features found on the second disc.

With the movie and the wealth of bonuses, this movie is a must-buy for those who have yet to have "Sleeping Beauty." For those who have the VHS, the bonus material is nearly worth the cost of the DVD. Certainly those who are collectors of Disney memorabilia and historians of Disney will find the DVD to be a concise compendium of some of the best information available regarding this film. I highly recommend this DVD!

1959: Disney's presence had already been established. "Snow White" was the first animated film ever to grace the big screen and Disney had dazzled audiences with the 1940 "Fantasia". But in 1959, "Sleeping Beauty" won the hearts of fairy tale lovers, romance lovers and the young at heart. Disney was back in the saddle. The animation to the Sleeping Beauty was taken from the greeting card designs and artwork of a 50's artist. Set in the medieval 14th century, at times resembling the beautiful tapestries and cathedrals of the day, Sleeping Beauty is embellished with cool hues of purple, blue, green and black. A magic romanticism fills the air from start to finish. The score to the film was taken from the ballet music of the Tchaikovsky ballet by the same name. "The Sleeping Beauty" ballet is in fact Tchaikovsky's greastet musical masterpiece, and Disney merely sliced up some of the melodies to fit certain moods and scenes in the film. He also put lyrics to the enchanting "Sleeping Beauty Waltz"- in the song "Once Upon A Dream" in which the Prince and the would-be Sleeping Beauty meet for the first time, waltz and fall in love.

True in many respects to the old fairy tale, which some claim originated in Germany, others in France, where it is known as "La Belle Au Bois Dormant"- the tale is brought back to life through classic Disney charm. Princess Aurora (named after the Roman goddess of the dawn) is born to King Stephen and his Queen (The March from the Tchaikovsky ballet plays) and all the inhabitants of the land come to her Christening in the great hall of the castle. Aurora's three fairy godmothers Flora, Fauna and Merryweather (later Disney animators said they based them on three actual little old ladies) bestow the baby princess with the gifts of song and grace. But the Gothic enchantress Maleficent, the rotten apple in the bunch, was not invited and naturally, she is outraged. She wears a purple-black robe, has Devil horns on her head and her constant companion on her shoulder is a black raven. "Sometimes I don't think she's very happy" Fauna says of her. Caught up in a nasty mood, the evil sorceress casts an evil spell on Aurora. She will prick her finger on a spinning wheel an die on her sixteenth birthday. To avoid this catostrophe, King Stephen orders all the spinning wheels burned. Merriweather, the fairy in blue, brings hope- only the kiss of a brave and noble prince will lift the curse of the death-like sleep.

That prince is Phillip, who was already engaged to wed Aurora as a boy, (in an obvious statement about political unions in European monarchies). The three fairies do their best to prevent the terrible fate on Aurora, so they hide with her in their cottage in the deep forest and change her name to Briar Rose, raising her as their own child. But.. luck would have it, she meets Prince Phillip as he is hunting, they waltz and fall in love and she is brought back to the castle where she was born. There, Maleficent makes her prick her finger on the spinning wheel in a hypnotic trance. The spell is cat Poor Aurora...

But you know the rest, don't you ? Fairy tale loves always have a happy ending. The Tchaikovsky music, the artistic animation, and the engaging story will delight audiences as far into the future as 2059. In 1959, children and young girls might have been captivated (they said that Aurora was based on either Leslie Caron or Audrey Hepburn) but in the future, the tale will still win hearts. Young girls will once again be gripped. Virtue will be rewarded. After all, "true love conquers all."

In 1959, the New York Times called Sleeping Beauty "a crisply stylized fairyland where the colors are rich [and] the sounds are luscious." In his book The Disney Films, critic Leonard Maltin writes that Sleeping Beauty is "a very good film, but more so for older audiences than for young children." The Gospel According to Disney says the movie illustrates "an eternal promise of resurrection," while From Walt to Woodstock claims it is a "therapeutic experience" that celebrates "a male-female relationship based on true equality."

As for me, I'd say that regardless of what you read into it, Sleeping Beauty is a must-own. A true Disney classic, the movie has such stunning visuals and such a strong villain that it makes up for its one major flaw: the lack of a good lead character.

The art, for example, is astounding. Full of bright 1950s color, each background is a graphic collage of rectangles and straight lines that is filled to the edges with meticulously sharp detail. On each tree you see every leaf; on each shrub you see every thorn. It's a look that set the stage for other Disney movies to come, such as Pocahontas, Mulan and Hercules.

As a whole, the characters are terrific. Kids will love the fairies. On-screen longer than anyone else, Flora, Fauna and Merryweather fly like bumblebees, ooze oodles of personality and are truly funny. They lose their temper and make many mistakes, especially in their attempts to bake a birthday cake and sew a dress.

The villain is perhaps the scariest in any Disney film. "The mistress of all evil," devil-horned, green-skinned Maleficent is a sarcastic, high-class horror show all by herself. She curses baby Aurora to death, imprisons a prince so that he can't save the grown girl, and eventually turns herself into a towering dragon that breathes green fire.

The movie's only weakness is the princess herself. Aurora -- dare I say it? -- is quite a snooze. Unlike the leads in Cinderella or Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, this 16-year-old is a plain, passive Barbie doll who sings like an opera star. Unlike Cinderella or Snow White, she has no history of being mistreated. She's likable enough, but tough to relate to.

Still, that's the opinion of an adult, not a child. I give Sleeping Beauty five stars because of the art, because young kids -- especially girls -- will love it, because parents will also be entertained, and because its wholesome message that love conquers hate has rarely been presented better. A product of its time, the film is not perfect but still tough to beat. If you have kids and are building a collection of DVDs for them, this should be on your list.

Disney's "Sleeping Beauty" is one of the most macabre and dark pictures ever. The tale of good versus evil is magically brought to life through an astonishing visual display of elite and sinister animation, combined with our heroes and villians, and a well-rendered musical score that is taken from the very music of Tchaikovsky. There is no doubt about it: this is a meticulous and excellently crafted motion picture which remains one of Disney's most ambitious and intriguing.

The story remains the same: the princess Aurora is born into King Stephen's royal court, the pride and joy of all the kingdom, where celebrations and gifts are bestowed upon the small child. Tragedy strikes when the lone misfit of the kingdom, the evil and crafty Malificent, rains on their parade to place a curse on the child: "Before the sun sets on her 16th birthday, she shall prick her finger on a spindle of a spinning wheel, and die!" The kingdom is in peril with this news, and so the three fairies, Flora, Fauna and Merriweather conceal the child deep within the forest in a hidden cottage, raising the child under the assumption that she is of no royal relation.

But what Disney movie would be complete without the obligatory second act of villainous treachery and heroes saving the day? This movie follows that same pattern, but in such an intense way that outweighs some of the live-action suspense we get from mainstream films. Malificent's curse comes true, and so it is up to Prince Phillip, whose love interest in the young princess drives him on his journey to seek out and rescue the maiden while defeating the creepy witch.

Everything in this movie screams the word "medieval," from the animation of the elaborate castles to the creation of the forests and acts of mysticism and nature which accompany them. Attention to detail is great, focusing on such things as woven tapestries decorating the walls and ceilings of the castles, while the clothing worn by the characters dances between the elite society and the middle-class quite nicely. Other important settings in the movie, such as Malificent's castle, are given a gloomy, ominous look, dark and stormy, full of rotting and decay.

This is also a classic evil-against-good story as well, attributing its successful execution to thr dazzling displays of magical powers as well as swarthy swordfights. Prince Phillip's treck through the forest of thorns still brings a certain amount of heightened suspense to an audience, while Malificent's character brings unease and restlessness to viewers. She is the embodiment of true evil, which is easy to see, while Prince Phillip is everything we want in a hero: dashing, morally just, and committed to his one true love.

Comical relief is provided stupendously within the efforts of the three fairies, whose arguments amongst one another are hilarious and laugh-out-loud funny. Flora takes on the serious role, the one with the level head who makes sure that everything goes according to her plan. Fauna is douty and bird-brained, yet sweet-natured and high-spirited. Merriweather is the rebel, and her machinations in rebellion of Flora's perfect plans bring some funny moments, especially in a battle of the wills at the small cottage as they prepare for Aurora's birthday.

The musical score plays throughout almost the entire film, unlike certain Disney films which have breaks in the score. The musical numbers sung by Aurora and Prince Phillip sell us on their love for one another, while the dark and brooding music of Malificent's power and evil fit the scenes perfectly. There are times when the music is frightening, and times when it brings cheer and delight to us.

"Sleeping Beauty" remains one of my favorite movies, maintaining all the classical elements of the original work while giving it a wondrous and invigorating look. The visual style is comething to be admired and adored, while the story and the characters are crafted with heart and wit. This is Disney's darkest yet most complex piece, perhaps ever.

Disney took a while, but they have finally embraced the DVD format. As with everything else, when they do it, they do it right and big!

When Disney first stuck their foot in the DVD waters they did it slowly, offering movies without major extras and at a price well above their competition. With a stable of classics in their coffers I wrote some scathing reviews and comments on various web sites. Disney finally got it through their heads that DVD has broken through to become the standard format for the new millenium.

Several other Disney Disks have gotten this deluxe treatment. Their collaborations with Pixar; Toy Story One and Two, A Bugs Life, Monsters Inc were among the first. Tarzan, Atlantis, Beauty and the Beast as well as Dumbo and a variety of lesser films have editions chock full of extras as well. It was fitting that Snow White was released as a Double Disk set last year and they have followed that up with one of my faves, Sleeping Beauty.

The film has been remastered all around. Crisp new sound and picture wrapped up with a bevy of extras that will make any cinemafile drool. Along with the standard documentaries and commentaries this edition has something I wish had been packaged with every disk released to date; A widescreen to pan and scan comparison. Finally I can show my friends and family why widescreen is preferable to 'full screen'. (You reading this Blockbuster video??)

Getting off the soapbox now...

I pre-ordered mine. Make sure you don't let this one slip away for another generation.

"Sleeping Beauty" has always been something of an anomaly in the Disney canon. There isn't another movie like it, animated or otherwise, and its tendency to go overlooked renders the distinction all the more tragic. With all due respect to "Pinocchio," "Bambi, "Fantasia," "Cinderella" and "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," they're just not "Sleeping Beauty."

Walt Disney made his sixteenth animated feature (and there is no more appropriate number for this particular fairy tale) at a volatile stage in his studio career, and the final product reflects many experimental but surprisingly harmonious influences. The entrancing score was taken from an original ballet by Tchaikovsky, and the animation, clearly derived from medieval imagery, has both an astonishing purity and a curious quaintness. It doesn't leap off the screen the same way "Snow White" does, and the human characters, many of whom are intentionally comic as opposed to heroic figures, don't have nearly as much fullness or dimension.

"Sleeping Beauty," based on a story by Charles Perrault, transforms that vice into a virtue. What to make, after all, of a fairy tale whose heroine spends most of the movie out of commission? Well, if you're Walt Disney, you relegate the near-perfunctory love story to the backburner while the Good Fairies and Maleficent calmly steal the picture. A risky solution, but in this case, the best one. Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather, who were inspired by real-life old ladies at the supermarket (Merryweather, in particular, is so cute you wish you could keep her on your bookshelf), have an intoxicating fussiness, and their conversation sparkles with the sort of pleasant banter you can enjoy as a child and enjoy even more as an adult. As for Maleficent (magnificently voiced by Eileen Audley), running neck-and-neck with "The Little Mermaid's" Ursula for the title of all-time greatest Disney villain, she's a wickedly charismatic presence, as chillingly beautiful as she is demonic.

Scene for scene, "Sleeping Beauty" has more imaginative visual curlicues and hidden-gem sequences than nearly any other Disney movie. To watch the film a second, third or fiftieth time is to be in a state of constant anticipation of the next glorious set-piece, whether it's the harrowing extended climax -- a truly thrilling clash between good and evil, and a considerably more violent spectacle than we're accustomed to in movies like this -- or a moment as simple and luminous as the Fairies disappearing into a jewelry case.

The animators have employed a higher degree of stylization and more surreal touches than usual (watch the early scenes in which the Fairies bestow their individual gifts upon the princess), complemented in full by Tchaikovsky's marvelous music. I can't remember when I've seen such an impressive confluence of sound and image, such a seamless match-up between the nuances of melody and rhythm and the accompanying shifts in color and movement. The score is unapologetically devoid of Broadway-style numbers and tongue-in-cheek lyrics (there is one musical sequence featuring the requisite "cute" rabbits, robins, squirrel and owl, none of whom, thankfully, burst into song), lending the film a timeless classicism that today's animation, steeped in pop-culture references and misguided attempts at Gen-Y appeal, can only dream of.

I watched "Sleeping Beauty" recently for the first time in nearly a decade, and the experience was like reuniting with a very old, very eccentric friend. I could analyze it to death (I probably already have), but fairy tales, especially Disney fairy tales, aren't made to withstand academic scrutiny. They're made to be remembered, not as a homogeneous mishmash of stale happy endings, but as individual vintages, each with its own vivid flavors and memories. "Sleeping Beauty" -- to quote a lesser classic, the fairest of them all -- is a film to savor and cherish.

Walt Disney's animated classic "Sleeping Beauty" will once again be waltzing onto dvd this Ocotber 7, 2008! Like many other Disney dvd collectors, I was unable to get the previous release, due to the short release time that it spent on the store shelf! Needless to say, I'll be pre-ordering and getting a copy of this updated release- which will no doubt be on standard dvd, HD dvd, and BluRay dvd! I will also be ready to add "Pinocchio" (1940)-release date: March 2009, "Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs"(1938)- release date: October 2009, "Fantasia" (1940) release date: November 2009, and "Beauty & The Beast" (1991) release date: October 2010, to my Disney dvd collection! As we all know "release dates" are ALWAYS subject to change at the whim of a Disney executive!

Disney fans who haven't already got, or would just like to have an extra copy- should grab their copies of "Cinderella" (1950) and "Aladdin" (1992), as well as their sequels- for they're on their way back to the vault!

Release dates on Disney titles were obtained from HermanStreet.com

Having been a fan of previous Disney efforts on Platinum DVD, I was looking forward to their first "classic animated film" release in HD on Blu Ray... then I found out their first outing would be Sleeping Beauty. For me, of the "classics" in Disney's line up, Sleeping Beauty is the weakest effort put forth on the story side.

Despite my general apathy towards Sleeping Beauty, I bit the bullet and decided to purchase it on Blu Ray to see just what it is that Disney has in itself for these HD releases. In terms of the release, I couldn't be happier.

First, let us take a look at the story. We all know the story, most likely, by now. Sleeping Beauty, or Princess Aurora, is born, is granted gifts of physical beauty and beautiful voice, but is also then cursed with dying on her 16th birthday thanks to Maleficent. The final gift is one of, instead of death, one of eternal sleep until the princess is awakened by her true love.

Here the story takes a nose dive as you are instantly transported to the 16th year of the girl's life, where the movie just seems to fly by and is extremely light on story telling.

Next, comes the video. For this release (and the DVD edition), Sleeping Beauty has been digitally restored and as such, there is no dust, dirt, scratch or any other type of film error to be seen on this release. The colors are bold and vibrant and jump off the screen; as designed. It is presented in 1080p, using the AVC codec. For the first time ever on a home release, we are presented with the film as originally intended, in the full 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Previous efforts have all put forth 4:3 letter boxed editions. Disney has done an amazing job in the video department for this title, and if you want an animated movie to show off the power of your HD system, this is certainly a contender. If you really concentrate, however, there are some issues in certain scenes. In one forest shot, for instance, Aurora/Briar Rose, is seen from a distance and is quite blury. I will assume this is a source issue given it seems to be an anomaly over all, but it is still a bit disconcerting given the clarity given to the rest of the film.

As I've said of numerous movies on Blu Ray before, this is the best the movie has likely ever looked, especially on a home theatre.

As for the sound, Disney has also restored and remastered the audio (also on the regular DVD). On the Blu Ray the audio is presented in two formats; first is the newly remixed DTS HD Master Audio (English) format and also the original 4 channel "stereophonic" (English) soundtrack is also provided in it's restored glory. There are no pops, no hiss and absolutely no issues to be heard in either mix. Again, to fall back on a familiar description, this film has never sounded better. One complaint some may have is the lack of other audio options; the only soundtracks available are in English, while on the DVD several other options, such as French and Spanish (both included on the DVD but not here) and also a lack of subtitle options in other languages as well. A bit puzzling given the DVD has these options available, as do other Disney Blu Ray releases.

When it comes to extras, as with Disney's previous Platinum DVD releases, this Blu Ray comes with a second disc chocked full of extras. The first disc includes the Grand Canyon short that accompanied the theatrical release (in HD), a commentary, a trivia game, music video and Dragon Encounter, a show case for 7.1 audio. Also included with the film is a BD-Live capable disc where you can chat with others watching the film (assuming they are on your "friends" list) and some other on-line features. I didn't delve too deeply into the BD-Live options given my lack of enthusiasm for them, however I can see where someone might enjoy it; I don't.

Then you have the second disc which is all bonus material. There are several games (geared towards children mostly), several featurettes (one as long as 43 minutes) on the creation of Sleeping Beauty and restoring the audio, a longer story board only alternate opening sequence, deleted songs and a few more featurettes ported from the previous DVD release of Sleeping Beauty. The last bits, those ported from the original DVD release, are the ONLY ones in standard definition.

If you enjoy extras to accompany your DVDs and Blu Ray discs, this one should surely please you.

One other extra, that is supposedly only available for a limited time, is the first DVD from the Platinum DVD release (you get the film and bonus features available on disc 1 of the set). So if you don't have a Blu Ray player/PS3 but know one is in your future, you can purchase the Blu Ray now and still enjoy the film while waiting for your Blu Ray player.

In the end, the movie, while lackluster in my opinion, is presented in as perfect a method as possible today. If you are a fan of the film, you will be astounded by the clarity of this release and likely couldn't be happier. If you are like me in that the movie itself doesn't do much for you, this release won't likely do anything to change that opinion.

To be very honest, I debated on whether or not to purchase this edition of Sleeping Beauty because I have the 2003 version. I was skeptical because I was afraid that the bonus features on this new edition would excluded the Grand Canyon featurette and the Story of Peter Tchaikovsky until lo and behold, it was included. I have yet to have seen all of the bonus features of the DVD but the film looks and sounds greater than the 2003 version I noticed more detail and the sound was outstanding. The Disneyland Walk-Through feature was just breathtaking as this was the version I never saw.

I strongly recommend this for any Disney fan!