Theatrical Release Date:1959 Release Date:October 7, 2008 Availability:Usually ships within 1 - 2 business days Shipping:International shipping available Condition:Brand new Factory Sealed DVDs ***100% GUARANTEED!!!***
From Amazon.com Disney's 1959 animated effort was the studio's most ambitious to date, a widescreen spectacle boasting a gorgeous waltz-filled score adapting Tchaikovsky. In the 14th century, the malevolent Maleficent (not dissimilar to the wicked Queen in Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) taunts a king that his infant Aurora will fatally prick her finger on a spinning wheel before sundown on her 16th birthday. This, of course, would deny her a happily-ever-after with her true love. Things almost but not quite turn out that way, thanks to the assistance of some bubbly, bumbling fairies named Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather. It's not really all that much about the title character--how interesting can someone in the middle of a long nap be, anyway? Instead, those fairies carry the day, as well as, of course, good Prince Phillip, whose battle with the malevolent Maleficent in the guise of a dragon has been co-opted by any number of animated films since. See it in its original glory here. And Malificent's castle, filled with warthogs and demonic imps in a macabre dance celebrating their evil ways, manages a certain creepy grandeur. --David Kronke
Additional Features Most of the beauty of Disney's Sleeping Beauty DVD comes from the dazzling restored picture that looks as sharp and vivid as films produced decades later. You can watch it in its 70mm widescreen anamorphic glory or in pan-and-scan format, but if you think you'll prefer the latter, a widescreen-to-fullscreen comparison of the "Once Upon a Dream" scene will show you how much you're missing. There's a bevy of historical material: a commentary track that includes art director Eyvind Earle, Mary Costa (the voice of Aurora), and supervising animator Ollie Johnston; a 1997 16-minute documentary that covers various aspects of production, especially the film's distinctive animation style; shorter featurettes that expand upon the documentary; art galleries; and three vintage short films related to Sleeping Beauty--"4 Artists Paint 1 Tree," in which the animators demonstrate their craft, the biopic "The Peter Tchaikovsky Story," and "Grand Canyon," the CinemaScope depiction of Ferde Grofé's famous suite. Kid fare includes the usual trivia game, art projects, a sing-along, a No Secrets music video, and a mistake-proof coloring game. --David Horiuchi
Disney BD Live not available in Canada!November 11, 2008 GregV(Toronto Canada) For those BD Live fans a quick note that Disney in all its infinite wisdom has not made it available to Canada. So far just available in the USA and this is right from the horses mouth.I feel a bit ripped off.
Even more dazzling and more delightful 50 years laterOctober 14, 2008 Robert Morris(Dallas, Texas) This is a new release of a Disney classic that first appeared in 1959. As is my custom, I much prefer to watch an animated feature film with several of my younger grandchildren (ages 3-7) and did so again with Sleeping Beauty on its 50th anniversary. Once again, they were engrossed in the story line whereas I was somewhat more interested in how the quality of animation measures up (after 59 years) when compared and contrasted with recent films such as Toy Story and Toy Story 2, the three Shreks, Ratatouille, Cars, and Wall-E. It measures up remarkably well. Just as there is a certain charm in black-and-white classic films from the 1930's and 40's (e.g. Casablanca, The Little Shop Around the Corner, and It Happened One Night), the same is true of older Disney features (e.g. Dumbo, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and Pinocchio) despite relatively less sophisticated animation.
There were also generational differences when my companions and I examined the special features that include "Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough (a fully immersive virtual tour), an all-new "Enchanted Dance Game," the "Dragon Encounter Audio Sensory Experience," and an all-new "Making of Sleeping beauty." Predictably, my grandchildren much preferred the supplementary games whereas I was (as always) intrigued by the "behind the screen" material such as a discussion of the film by John Lasseter of Pixar, the film critic Leonard Maltin, and the Disney animator Andreas Deja. The production values in this new edition are superb, especially in the Blu-ray version. The running time of 75 minutes seems just about right. Whatever the ages of those who see this film and one or more of its numerous special features, they will find much to enjoy and appreciate.
The story line is strikingly similar to the one in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. A daughter named Aurora is born to royal parents and then cursed to die by her 16th birthday by an evil fairy, Malificent. To protect her, three good fairies take her away, re-name her Briar Rose, and raise her themselves. A handsome prince meets her by chance, they fall in love, and agree to meet again soon. However, on the night of her 16th birthday, as she prepares to return to her parents and be crowned a princess, the evil fairy locates her and then.... Fortunately, everything eventually works out for Aurora as it also does for Snow White, Belle, and other Disney heroines.
I highly recommend this 50th anniversary celebration of one of Disney's most delightful animated films. Under-appreciated when first released, I think it will now receive the praise it so clearly deserves. Bravo!
Reconsidering Walt Disney's "Sleeping Beauty" as a restored classicOctober 7, 2008 Lawrance M. Bernabo(The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) I have been trying to remember the first time I saw Walt Disney's "Sleeping Beauty," and I cannot remember if I ever saw it in a theater, caught it on television some time, or never sat down to watch it until it came out on videotape. What I did remember is not being particularly impressed by the movie. Certainly I did not consider it to be a classic Disney animated film like "Bambi" or "Cinderella," which is a way of saying that it was not on my "must have" list of Disney movies. Then I watched this 50th Anniversary Platinum Edition of "Sleeping Beauty" and all I can say is that however I saw this film for the first time it was NOT in this expanded version that has restored the original Super Technirama 70 dimensions of the film. I would have remembered a film that had art this gorgeous, even when it is this stylized and even when the music is classical high brow stuff. In the final analysis, "Sleeping Beauty" is clearly like no other Disney animated film, and that is a good thing.
Disc 1 includes "Grand Canyon," a contemporaneous Disney feature (1958) that combines photography of the national park with Ferde Grofe's "Grand Canyon Suite," and it would be the classical music that is the common denominator to the main feature. Disc 2 has Games & Activities over in the Cottage, while the Castle is devoted to the Backstage Disney special features. The games are pretty much geared for younger children (e.g., see "mop" and click on the item the word represents), so most of the goodies on the second disc are for the adults. There is a new documentary on "The Making of 'Sleeping Beauty,'" which combines archival footage with contemporary interviews. The "Never-Before-Seen Alternate Opening" and "Deleted Songs" are not animated but storyboard drawings accompanying the original, more traditional Disney-like, songs that were written for the film before Walt decided to go primarily with a score based on Tchaikovsky's ballet version of the fairy tale.
If you have picked up any of these platinum editions, then you should be well versed in the sort of extras you can expect here in terms of storyboards, artwork, live-action reference footing, music video by some teenage singer, etc. The other one that stands out here is the fully immersive virtual tour of the Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough, a Disneyland attraction that actually existed before the part opened and years before the movie was released.
Besides reminding us again that Walt Disney was a true visionary, the special features highlight the pivotal role of Eyvind Earle, the film's production designer. It was Earle who was given an amazing amount of freedom by Walt to design the settings and to paint most of the film's elaborate background paintings (which usually took a week to do, rather than a single day like in most animated films). The interviews with surviving members of the studio make it clear that Earle did not play well with others, but he was fully committed to creating a unique animated film and now that we can see the expanded version, there is no denying that is exactly what they accomplished. Consequently, I am confident I can remember in the future that "Sleeping Beauty" is a beautifully stylized animated film that is a unique jewel in the Disney crown.
A Disney MasterpieceNovember 24, 2007 Frances L. Arsenault(Nanaimo, BC, Canada) This film is another Disney Masterpiece,I really enjoyed it. I've always love fairy tales; even as an adult (I am 21 years old) I still love them, and "Sleeping Beauty" is one of my favorite fairy tales from Charles Perrault, along with "Cinderella" and "Puss n' Boots."
I'd love the scenery,it's like stepping through a magic tapestry and going back in time to the Middle Ages; I'd also love the color-styling of Eyvind Earle, and THIS film was the reason Eyvind Earle became one of my favorite artists.This film has an excellant soundtrack with additional music from Peter Tchaikovsky's "Sleeping Beauty" ballet, and if there's one I love in a movie is a very,VERY good soundtrack.
This film has a Top-notch voice acting like :
Mary Costa ... Princess Aurora/Briar Rose Bill Shirley ... Prince Phillip Eleanor Audley ... Maleficent Barbara Luddy ... Merryweather (The Blue Fairy) and Bill Thompson ... King Hubert (Philip' Dad)
So watching this movie is definitly worth watching; so I give Sleeping Beauty two BIG thumbs up!
Unforgettable, timeless classicJuly 13, 2004 enya1978(NY, USA) 3 out of 3 found this review helpful
One of my favorite movies (animated or nonanimated). THere is a quality and rich story that seems lacking in so many of todays movies (Disney movies included). The music just lifts you up and carries you into the Princess's world, and the ending leaves you with a pleasant sigh without being totally predictable. If you liked the Little Mermaid or Beauty and the Beast, you'll love this.
