Sleeping Beauty [Signature Collection]

Mary Costa Director: Clyde Geronimi, Wolfgang Reitherman, Les Clark, Eric Larson

Overview

Disney's Sleeping Beauty was the most expensive and complex animated feature to be undertaken by the studio under the direction of Walt Disney. Though the animation and production is quite lavish, the script is simple, following the tale of a beautiful princess who, as an infant, is cursed by a spell from an evil fairy named Maleficent. The spell Maleficent cast dictates that the princess will fall into a permanent sleep upon her sixteenth birthday and she will not be able to awake unless a brave, handsome prince kisses her. Sleeping Beauty cost Disney nearly six million dollars, which was an enormous price tag for the late '50s. The extravagant, multi-layered action that takes place on the screen is evidence of the budget, but what received the most attention was the music. The main theme is adapted from the Tchaikovsky's ballet Sleeping Beauty, and the score by George Bruns received an Academy Award nomination. Despite the exquisite details of the production, Sleeping Beauty was not a hit upon its original release and several critics have complained that the film's lead characters are too similar to those in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

Product Details

Release Date:	01/14/2020
UPC:	0786936865783
Original Release:	1959
Rating:	G
Source:	Walt Disney Video
Region Code:	1
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:15:00
Sales rank:	3,746

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Billy Bletcher	Maleficent's Goon
Hans Conried	Lord Duke
Clarence Nash	Horse
Purv Pullen	Bluebird
Mary Costa	Princess Aurora
Bill Shirley	Prince Phillip
Eleanor Audley	Maleficent
Verna Felton	Flora
Barbara Luddy	Merryweather
Barbara Jo Allen	Fauna
Taylor Holmes	King Stefan
Bill Thompson	King Hubert
Pinto Colvig	Maleficent's goon
Dal McKennon	Owl
Marvin Miller	Narrator

Technical Credits

Ralph Wright

Clyde Geronimi	Director
Wolfgang Reitherman	Director
Walt Disney	Producer
Les Clark	Director
Eric Larson	Director
Ralph Wright	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

The lavish, expensive Sleeping Beauty was something of a throwback for the Walt Disney Company, which had been churning out popular, if slight, live-action films throughout the 1950s. The musical's painstakingly rich animation and the timeless fairy-tale material place it in the same league as other, earlier beloved Disney titles such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937), Pinocchio (1940), or Cinderella (1950). The animation is the most notable aspect of the film: it combines the lush colors of a 1930s Disney film with a distorted, almost expressionistic look. The overall effect is interesting and impressive, if somewhat mannered. The original widescreen format and George Bruns' elegant, Oscar-nominated score -- based on Tchaikovsky's original Sleeping Beauty Ballet -- also contribute to the film's sensuousness.