Rating: 
Summary: The Forgotten Disney Classic...
Review: Sad to say, but "Sleeping Beauty" is quite possibly the single most overlooked animated work of Walt Disney. While hard to believe, the 1959 film is rarely seen in it's proper perspective in the Disney universe.Despite the film's strong following, it became the "Dark Disney" in later years. The dragon was seemingly too scary for the littler kids (Maleficent even uses the "H" word!), and the relative lack of funny animals in "Sleeping Beauty" was another drawback for the average Disney veiwer. As a result the film has never seemed to gain the notoriety and lasting love the other Disney's have always enjoyed. This lack of prominence makes this one of the biggest treats in the Disney vault, because it's almost a rediscovered classic from Disney's heyday. All that being said, I have to admit that I've personally never seen the movie before I bought the DVD the other day! Oh, I've seen a few clips of the dragon and whatnot over the years, but never before have I had a chance to actually screen the complete film. This was a bit of good fortune, because now I got to screen the film in a pristine widescreen presentation. Lucky me! The "Dark Disney" is brilliant, of course, and one wishes the studio had made a few more sojourns into the darker realm of fairy tales. Because we have been conditioned to expect kid-friendly funny animals from Disney, it's so easy to forget that Walt often wanted to push the envelope of education and art, and enlighten the audience while entertaining. With "Sleeping Beauty", he did it in spades. I liked the way the Disney staff was able to extend the classic tale and at the same time retain most of the familiar elements we all know by heart (the forest of thorns, for example). Beyond that, the stylized artwork is all at once both nostalgic and timeless. The art has definite leanings toward more commercial/graphic work (a previous reviewer was spot-on mentioning 1950's greeting cards design). Best of all, despite the computer process used to clean up dust and correct color, there is no computer fakery in the animation itself, the crutch upon which the entertainment industry now depends for support in all things. Computer geeks should look to this film and see what REAL animators were once capable of! What struck me most about the film (besides the stunning artwork), was just how much the film owed to "Fantasia" in both imagery and classical musical scoring. The images of the dancing minions in Maleficent's lair will certainly call to mind "A Night on Bald Mountain", and the music is in keeping with Walt's love of the classical musical sound. "Once Upon a Dream" is easily in the top five of all Disney songs, and the classical score brings to mind the famous Tchaikovsky ballet based on the fairy tale. The fairy godmothers are lots of fun, as are the kings, and the Prince's horse. To be honest, Prince William is not the most heroic Prince ever. Let's face it; the three fairy godmothers do most of the work, while the Prince takes the credit. Regardless, he does lend a bit more Princely derring-do to the Prince role than Snow White's Prince did. Maleficent is truly scary, too! The imagery of the witch is at times provocative as well as frightening. Lots of extras on Disc 2, including an excellent "The Making Of" documentary, and two featurettes of great note; "Four Artists Paint One Tree" shows four of Disney's premire animators in an excellent demonstration of artistic interpretations and individual styles, and a long featurette about Tchaikovsky called "The Peter Tchaikovsky Story". This secon feature is not exactly historically accurate, but it is interesting. The uncredited Paul Frees, "The Man of a Thousand Voices," narrates. We also have "Grand Canyon," the 1959 Academy Award winner for short subject. The widescreen film follows the music of "The Grand Canyon Suite" (a la "Fantasia"), showing us a depiction of life in the Grand Canyon. Beautiful photography spoiled only by the brief appearance of cuddly cougar kittens and bunny rabbits. You'll also find a surprising feature, a "Widescreen-to-Full screen Comparison." The feature has a simple introduction, and then shows the two formats side-by-side during the "Once Upon a Dream" sequence. Although simplistic, this offers the viewer the opportunity to have the two formats clearly and concisely explained and demonstrated. While it seems like an afterthought as far as features go, it's a nice inclusion that once and for all spells out the difference between Widescreen (letterbox), and Full Screen (pan and scan). For the first Widescreen animated feature film, "Sleeping Beauty," I think you'll agree that Widescreen is the only way to go! There are also some kid-friendly games on Disc 2, and a horrid modernized version of "Once Upon a Dream" in a music video (AVOID!). This is one DVD set that no true fan of animation should be without. Anime fans should also take note, for modern anime has nothing on this rare cinematic acheivement from 1959.
Rating: 
Summary: A Feast For The Senses
Review: Disneys' " Sleeping Beauty" was one of the first movies I ever saw in the theater and it remains one my personal favorite. This stunning DVD showcases the films strengths- its visual beauty, the gorgeous music and the splendor of its design. The story is a bit weak but the battle with the dragon alone is worth the price of this DVD- but there is so much interesting extras that both young and old will find this a must have for the collection.
Rating:
Summary: A Charming Fairytale Come True
Review: This is my favorite movie of all time! Introduced to it at the young age of six, I'm almost positive I've seen this movie a thousand times, give or take a few. I really think all of my letters to Disney is the reason we can enjoy it in the comfort of our home today! Take a small child with a creative imagination, a love for things remotely noble, add this movie, and you'll be watching it everyday of your life. And that's just with the VHS. This DVD is so comprehensive, so minutely detailed, so restored. It features games, the widescreen and fullframe versions and lots of other exciting things that will quench even the most avid lover's of the film thirst and appetite. Believe me I know. A truly remarkable story and the one true Disney Masterpiece, Sleeping Beauty is sure to become a favorite in anyone's household. This DVD is "a charming fairytale come true."
Rating:
Summary: No sleeping during this beauty!
Review: The THX, digitally enhanced version of Disney's Sleeping Beauty is here. Brilliant colors & sound! Maleficent steals the show with her wicked powers. Soundtrack from Tchaivosky's ballet "Sleeping Beauty"
Rating:
Summary: YOU MUST GET THIS MOVIE!
Review: This film is absolutely without a doubt one of Disney's best. I remember seeing Sleeping Beauty in theaters when it was re-released in some theaters back in 1995. Since then I had been looking for a VHS copy of the movie. Well I got a DVD player and was REALLY happy when I found out that Sleeping Beauty was coming out on DVD. The restoration process is beautiful. This movie is a classic. Seeing this movie again has brought back memories of my childhood when I would watch this movie several times a day.
Rating: 
Summary: An artistic triumph, a dramatic dud.
Review: There is one truly great scene in "Sleeping Beauty" -- a scene, in fact, unique in all of Disney feature animation. Maleficent taunts the chained Prince Philip with the fear of growing old and ugly, while the sleeping Aurora remains young and beautiful, by showing him what will occur when she sets him free -- a hundred years from now. He sees himself as a decrepit old man with long white hair and beard, astride a horse destined for the glue factory. "A wondrous future lies before you. You -- the destined hero of a charming fairy tale come true. Behold -- King Stephan's castle. And in yonder topmost tower, dreaming of her true love, the Princess Aurora... She is indeed most wondrous fair -- gold of sunshine in her hair -- lips that shame the red, red rose -- in ageless sleep she finds repose. The years roll by -- but a hundred years, to a steadfast heart, are but a day. And now, the gates of the dungeon part, and our prince is free to go his way. Off he rides, on his noble stead, a valiant figure, straight and tall, to wake his love, with love's first kiss, and prove that [extreme sarcasm] true love conquers all." [mean-spirited laughter] Now, I happen to _like_ bearded geezers, and (for me) Philip (who, when upset or angry, looks a lot like Harrison Ford) is far more attractive in his old age. But Maleficent "shoves in the knife" by suggesting to Philip that, though he will not have changed inwardly, Aurora will nevertheless find him a repulsive old man. So much for "love." This sequence grabs the romantic notions of physical attraction, love at first sight, and "happily ever after" by their figurative necks and rubs their faces in pig manure. It's marvelously cruel, even ugly, adding a nasty moment to a film that would benefit from a darker tone. As generally disappointing a movie as "Sleeping Beauty" is, there _are_ some good things about it. Eleanor Audley's Maleficent is superb. Her malice is subtle -- she rants and raves only when driven to extremes. Audley brings a world-weariness to Maleficent only hinted at in the script, but which immensely deepens the character. Disney animated features have always had terrific character acting, but Audley's performance is primus inter pares. It's no wonder that Maleficent has never lost her place as everyone's favorite Disney villainess. The animation is also superb. Human characters move naturally and fluidly, with believable weight -- the scene in which Philip and Aurora dance by the lake is remarkable. Philip's horse (note that "Philip" comes from Greek words meaning "horse lover") moves much like a real horse, with little caricature. Note also how fabrics (especially the fairies' and Maleficent's costumes) swirl and bounce with the proper inertia. Eyvind Earle's magnificent production design needs no more praise than has already been lavished on it. It's pretty much the only reason "Sleeping Beauty" is of any lasting interest. The frame-by-frame digital restoration was produced in the mid-'90s for a VHS and laserdisk release. It looks nothing short of incredible on DVD. I saw "Sleeping Beauty" during its initial run, and the DVD simply blows away the theatrical presentation. It'll knock your eyes out. My only complaint is that saturated colors - fabrics, a bird's plumage -- are simply too vivid for the otherwise subdued color palette. The supplemental material is lavish, including two complete Disneyland shows, one a G-rated biography of Tchaikovsky, and the other about how four Disney artists "interpret" a tree. The artwork gallery is, however, disappointingly skimpy. The commentary (running and otherwise) is terrific. It actually acknowledges and discusses the film's shortcomings, a first for Disney home video. The funniest moment occurs when the ever-optimistic Mary Costa opines that Disney and Tchaikovsky would have enjoyed working together. Richard Schickel is the only Disney biographer to accuse Uncle Walt of being homophobic, but I really doubt Walter and Peter would have found much of a basis for a relationship (even professional), if only because Tchaikovsky was a moody and profoundly unhappy person. I'm sorry I can't give "Sleeping Beauty" more than a three-star ("average") rating. The incredible artwork and outstanding animation cannot hide the fact there is no compelling story. It is for good reason that Aurora has long been known as "the plastic princess."
Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful Classic
Review: Sleeping Beauty stands as Disney's most visually stunning creation-filmed in 70mm and with designs by Eyvind Earle that combined modern design with the gothic stylings of the 14th Century. Paired with a score adapted from Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty ballet and excellent vocal perfomances, the film is fondly remembered by many. The film itself draws more from the Brothers Grimm version of the tale as the Perrault version that inspired Tchaikovsky, but the score is perfectly appropriate. Maleficent, perhaps the greatest of the Disney villains, has crashed the party celebrating the birth of Princess Aurora, and curses the child to die on her 16th birthday, when she will prick her finger on a spinning wheel. The curse is partially negated by one of the three fairies who had come to bless the princess, and Aurora will instead fall into a deathless slumber, only to be awoken by true love's first kiss. The fairies decide to raise Aurora in secrecy until her 16th birthday, but Maleficent finds her the day before her 16th birthday, and manages to set the curse in motion, leaving Aurora's betrothed, Prince Philip, to awaken her. The DVD is presented in widescreen and fullscreen formats, although watching the film in anything less than widescreen is a travesty. The film has been spectacularly restored, from the same process that was used to excellently restore Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The special features are expansive, and are, quite frankly, akin to the Platinum Editions that Snow White and Beauty and the Beast have received the past two years (and that The Lion King is geting next month). Therefore, this 2-disc set is simply not to be missed.
Rating:
Summary: Spectular restoration; illogical story
Review: Once again Disney, aka the Evil Empire, shows why they cannot be beat when it comes to dvds. They do it right each time. Sleeping Beauty leaps off the screen with vivid color and sharp lines. Kiss your VHS version goodbye. And having a choice between the widescreen and fullscreen versions is great. The purist in me goes for widescreen whilst my wife and daughter choose full.
That said, this is Disney's lamest Princess movie. Aurora is a cipher, there and yet not there, no personality at all. Flora, Fauna and Merryweather are the true leads of this story. More should've been done with Maleficent; wasted potential here.
Now for the lack of logic.
First if "before the sunsets on her 16th birthday she shall prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die," could not the fairies have waited til the day AFTER to bring Aurora home? But then, no sleeping, I guess.
Second, Maleficent's goons have been searching for 16 years for Aurora, but as a baby. Now, wouldn't Maleficent, in those 16 years, at least ask once how things are going, instead of waiting all that time and then asking? This is a problem of poor business management. A good villainess would have appointed a head henchman and have him report to her on a daily or weekly basis.
Third, the 3 fairies have no clue how to bake a cake or make a dress for Aurora's 16th birthday. Well, who was cooking for all those years? And didn't they even attempt to bake a birthday cake the prior 15 times? And who made Aurora's outfit in which she goes gathering berries and meets Prince Philip? Sears?
Fourth, why doesn't Prince Philip speak anymore after telling King Hubert he's going to marry Aurora? Listen carefully; he does not speak for the rest of the movie after this point... come to think of it, neither does Aurora!
Fifth, when Philip races to the castle with the fairies in tow he has to hack away at all the brambles to get through. Why doesn't Flora or Fauna or Merryweather just make them disappear? If they can turn spears into flowers, brambles disappearing should be cake (which they don't know how to bake. Maybe that's the problem...).
Call me nit-picky but these things just leap out at me... why did I buy the dvd then? Because it was for my wife's birthday and this is her favorite movie in the whole world. Also, "Aurora" is our daughter's middle name... and I love my wife and daughter very much!
Rating:
Summary: Children's classic with eye candy for the adults
Review: It took Disney's animators six years to create "Sleeping Beauty" and the effort really shows in this magnificent rendering of the German fairy tale "Dornroeschen" or "The Little Briar Rose." The fairy tale is variously transcribed from European folktales by Perrault and The Bros. Grimm. (My favorite part in the Grimm rendering is how the arrival of the long-desired child is announced to the Queen-- she gets the news from a talking crab that jumps out of her bathwater. Now, what kind of crab would that be?) Disney recreates the old tale with new characters--giving the good and evil fairies much more of a role--in fact, they steal the show. The good fairies are Flora, Fauna and Merrywether, three chubby, bell-shaped sprites, who were inspired by housewives the artists observed in grocery stores. And Maleficent, the stylish, Goth baddy who is tall, slim and has a bit of a smoker's rasp in her deliciously evil voice (played by Eleanor Audley.) The fairies, good or evil, have so much to do, in fact, that Princess Aurora only gets to sing a bit (by an exceptional operatic soprano Mary Costa) and Prince Philip is equally reticent. The Prince gets a shocker early on in the tale--he has somehow been betrothed to Aurora since early childhood, but this interesting fact wasn't communicated to him until just before the wedding is to go off.) He is understandably miffed, gee, a guy should have SOME say in the matter, even if he doesn't get to pop the question, and after a set-to with Mom and Dad, he never says another word. The real star here is the production, with the stylish Scandinavian Sixties art by Ervind Earle. Earle looked to folk art, Medieval art and tapestries for inspiration and mixed it with a fine modern sensibility to make a stunning set. The animation owes a lot to Fantasia, which is especially noticible in the automated mops (Night on Bald Mountain) and Maleficent's domain. The artists wanted to avoid a repeat of "Snow White" and they certainly achieved a completely different look and feel. And taking the best of "Fantasia" was a good idea--as "Fantasia" itself was way ahead of its time and underappreciated until much later than its release in the Forties. As to quality of the DVD, there was a glitch just as Philip is delivering the wakeup kiss to Aurora, the film jumps as if a few frames were cut. A glitch on this particular DVD? Strange that this happens at a critical moment. The extras are well worth looking at, especially the interview with Earle and getting a look at the exquisite detail of the background artwork, giving any parent or grandparent a reason to enjoy the film for their own reasons while it runs for the umpteenth time on the DVD player.
Rating:
Summary: A Restored Disney Classic with Bonuses
Review: 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!
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