Sleeping Beauty (Special Edition) 1959 Buena Vista Home Entertainment   Buy It Now

By 1959, Disney Studios had already established themselves as a leading source of quality entertainment the likes of which were not to be found elsewhere.  From the moment of the first feature length animated film, Snow White (1937), through the following years and animated classics, such as Dumbo (1941), Bambi (1942), Cinderella (1950), Alice In Wonderland (1951), Peter Pan (1953), Lady And The Tramp (1955), and so many other timeless releases, Disney had exemplified the very meaning of family entertainment.  Even with the amount of competition coming from studios such as MPA, Disney was obviously still the leader in technical quality and devotion to a finished work.  

But even when you are releasing a superior product, the public will eventually become jaded if they are not challenged.  Such was the case for the Disney Studio in the mid 1950s.  Disney needed to make a fresh move; release an animated feature that set new standards and broke new grounds...all this while retaining the Disney magic that even the most jaded audiences would be expecting.

The scale must be larger than any previous feature, the scope broader, the animation must break boundaries, the songs must carry a soul of their own and the story itself (although based on a famous fairytale) must make a bold new statement.  All of these things and more came to pass with the release of Disney's 16th animated feature, Sleeping Beauty.  Upon its release on January 29th, 1959, the film became an instant favorite and rekindled many peoples passions for Disney magic and ignited so many flames in new audiences.  It is rare for ANY film to be remembered over forty years after its release, let alone adored; yet how many films can boast an unbroken stream of adoration that resulted in over $22 million just in rental dollars!  But all of this success comes only after a great deal of hard work...and the studio had never worked harder.

Sleeping Beauty was not a movie that was created overnight.  The production, all said and done, lasted nearly SIX years.  Six years of painstaking study and creativity that produced an entirely new breed of Disney film.  Every detail was slaved over and minutely planned.  The first major hurdle was the fact that Sleeping Beauty was to be filmed and released in 70mm, making it the first animated feature ever produced in widescreen format.  And while undertaking this obstacle was a big issue, it was only one of many.

The background art and visual design was patterned after the art of medieval  Russia, evident in tapestries and paintings that were lasciviously studied and emulated.  The movements of each character was patterned after the filmed acting of human participants, and later hand animated to produce a striking realism in the action.  The characters were each finely honed and based on real life models; whether it was Sleeping Beauty herself drawing influence from Audrey Hepburn, or the three nurturing fairies who were the result of studying elder ladies while they shopped for groceries.  The music was based on the astounding compositions of Tchaikovsky's ballet of the same name, and the vocal talent cast was memorable and deadly accurate.  Mary Costa (Sleeping Beauty) would voice act only this one time, yet her voice and the songs of this film were destined to live forever, and Eleanor Audley (Maleficent) was so perfectly EVIL, that she would go on to voice Madame Leota, the disembodied fortune teller in Disneyland's Haunted Mansion attraction.

And speaking of evil, never before had the subject been broached so blatantly, and so direct as in this film.  When Maleficent utters the phrase, "Now shall you deal with ME, o Prince -- and all the powers of HELL!", audience members must have wondered what they got themselves into!  And when she later transforms into the immense, fire-breathing, black dragon, I would bet that many a jaw dropped.  So often before had a Disney hero/heroine been faced with being kidnapped, ushered into an unfortunate life, or any number of bad situations.  But never before had the villain simply stepped forward and said "she shall prick her finger, on the spindle of a spinning wheel - AND DIE!"; all because she had not been invited to a festive event?  But it was exactly this darkness that attracted audiences in droves; never before had they seen such a life and death struggle and been so encapsulated by an animated tale.  And don't think that it is any coincidence how often Maleficent will pop up as any fan's favorite villain.

So it seems that the labor was worth it.  Even though the film ended up costing Walt and his crew nearly $6 million dollars (unfathomable in 1959), and almost bankrupting the studio in the process, the results speak for themselves.  After all, what was to be called Snow White's Castle in the theme park bearing the Disney name, was renamed Sleeping Beauty's Castle in honor of the forthcoming feature; and the title is now bestowed to the castle in Disneyland Paris as well.

A film with this much clout deserves a little special treatment, and of course, Disney has put a great deal of work into this DVD release (although maybe not six years worth!).  What we have here is the definitive version of the film, complete with a brand new, state-of-the-art digital makeover to the films picture and audio.  There are enough extras on this release to fill up a disc of their own, ranging from games for your kids to a beautiful expose on the making of this animated classic.  Take an in depth look at the music and vocal talent, paying special attention to the soothing sounds of Mary Costa, check out an updated dance version of "Once Upon A Dream" from the Disney built girl-group No Secrets, or take a personality test that will determine which of the Disney princesses/heroines you are most like.  Me?  I was Cinderella...but I prefer the personality test that I took at Disney's California Adventure theme park which determined I was most like Shere Khan; the tiger from Jungle Book.

But all extras aside, it is the retouched state of the film that makes this a DVD worth owning.  I suppose, actually, that the word "retouched" doesn't begin to describe the amount of work that went into the process.  Each and every frame of the movie was enhanced digitally, to achieve a final product that far surpasses even the original 70mm theatrical prints.  You can now sit in the comfort of your living room and watch one of the greatest Disney movies of all time, and it will look better to you than it did to the original audiences in 1959!!

Sleeping Beauty radiates beauty, whether it take the form of the slender characters, the lush, yet muted, colors of the scenery, or the flashing fire and magical power of Maleficent's awe-inspiring fury.  But no matter how attractive the film has ever looked, this DVD release makes it even more pleasing.  Do yourself a favor and retire that old clamshell VHS copy you have watched a hundred times, and its pan-and-scan format.  Grab yourself a copy of Sleeping Beauty and witness the magic of this feature as it must have looked straight out of the artists' pens and brushes.  It is good to remember the feeling that a studio ran under Walt himself could muster...no matter the time or cost involved.

-aaron-