Sleeping Beauty (1959)

• Year: 1959
• Released: 29 Jan 1959
• Country: United States
• Adwords: Nominated for 1 Oscar. 4 wins & 6 nominations total
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053285/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/Sleeping_Beauty
• Metacritics: https://www.metacritic.com/movie/sleeping-beauty
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: English
• MPA Rating: G
• Genre: Animation, Adventure, Family
• Runtime: 75 min
• Writer: Erdman Penner, Charles Perrault, Joe Rinaldi
• Director: Les Clark, Clyde Geronimi, Eric Larson
• Cast: Mary Costa, Bill Shirley, Eleanor Audley
• Keywords: musical, magic, castle, princess, fairy tale,

	7.2/10
	85/100

Sleeping Beauty Storyline

When a new princess is born to King Stefan and his queen, the entire kingdom rejoices. At a ceremony, three good fairies – Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather – bestow gifts of magic on the child. But an evil sorceress named Maleficent shows up, and because of a rude remark by Merryweather, she places a curse on the princess – that she will die before sunset on her 16th birthday after pricking her finger on a spinning wheel’s spindle. Thankfully, Merryweather turns things around by casting a spell that will allow the princess – named Aurora – to fall into a deep sleep, and awaken to a kiss from her true love. The fairies take Aurora to a cottage in the woods to keep her away from the eyes of Maleficent, and raise her as their own child, named Briar Rose. On her 16th birthday, Aurora meets Prince Phillip, the son of a king whose own kingdom will soon merge with King Stefan’s – and falls in love. Maleficent’s horrible prophecy is fulfilled when she tricks Aurora into pricking her finger on the spinning wheel’s spindle and falling asleep, then capturing Prince Phillip. Realizing that the Prince is in trouble, the three good fairies head to Maleficent’s castle at the Forbidden Mountain. But the Prince soon finds himself up against Maleficent’s army of brutes, and the power of Maleficent’s evil spells – which include a thorn forest and a fight against Maleficent when she turns herself into a dragon.

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Sleeping Beauty Movie Reviews

Just not all that fun compared to most other similar Disney films

I appreciated one reviewer who said that they thought this film was perhaps targeted more to adults. As a child, I really didn’t like this film and thought maybe it was just me, but over the years I’ve learned that others grew up feeling the same way. The prettier and more detailed Disney animation of the 30s and 40s here gives way to a much simpler and more garishly colored art style that screams ‘MODERN’–but lacks charm. As for the film’s plot and characters, aside from Maleficent, the rest are an incredibly dull and cheerless group. Princess whatsherface is dull and like too many Disney princesses, is way too passive–waiting for a hero-type to rescue her. All in all, I don’t hate this film but there isn’t much to make me like it, either. I have no idea why this film has achieved classic status other than it is old.

My personal favourite of the early Disneys

Everything about this film is beautiful. The characters, the music and the animation.

The animation was lovely. It looks flat to some people, but to me it looks absolutely beautiful, and has a gorgeous stylistic look. The best scenes were actually the darker scenes, especially the climax, which is one of Disney’s best. But I have to say the forest is one of the most beautifully animated forests in a Disney film. Sleeping Beauty mayn’t have the strongest story development in a Disney movie, but neither the ballet or the fairytale have the best story development either, no matter how beautiful the film really is.

The characters were unforgettable. Whilst Aurora was the weakest character, she was made into a beautiful woman with lots of grace, class and charm, who dreamed of falling in love, and Mary Costa’s vocals were sublime. Phillip is also well done, but these two characters don’t say much in comparison, I noticed, except Phillip has some great lines. The forest scene with the animals was charming, and you have to laugh at the three fairies when they tried to make the dress. The fairies added a huge amount to this film, as did Meleficent, who terrified me when I was younger. There was a long time when I was so scared of her and the part when she entices Aurora to the spinning wheel, that I refused to see the film for about two years.

The music by Tchaikovsky was outstanding. He is a fantastic composer, one of my all time favourites. The music to the climax has been imitated by many Disneys but never as well. I recommend you see the ballet, which bears little resemblance to the film itself, but the music is a knockout, like Beethoven’s Choral Symphony.

In conclusion, an ambitious(being the most expensive Disney project) but beautiful film, that has captivated me since I was little, and I am 16 now. 10/10. Bethany Cox

Animation from Disney’s golden age

SLEEPING BEAUTY is a Walt Disney animation that harks back to the golden age of the studio, before it became a populist sell-out for the masses. I’m no fan of these twee animations in general, but even I can admit that this is a well-made and well-animated production, questionable morals aside. Certainly the 1950s concerns of the day – presenting beauty as the main thing to be wished for by a girl – are dated, sexist, and old-fashioned, but this is also what makes the film an interesting time capsule.

The film features one too many cute animals for my liking, and the handsome prince is a dolt. I found the protagonist rather smug and irritating. But the fairy godmothers are endearing creations and the use of the Tchaikovsky soundtrack is very good, although I would have preferred to listen to the straight music without the addition of the needless sung lines. Still, the character of Maleficent is one of the most striking in all Disney, and SLEEPING BEAUTY is a harmless enough piece of entertainment for the masses.