They don't make 'em like this any more
This has always been my favourite Disney film, and I am so glad it's been given the loving restoration it deserves.

The fantastic detail and 1950s graphic take of gothic and medieval styles is positively breathtaking. For Walt Disney it was ground breaking (and almost bankrupting) to create something so meticulously detailed and stylistically consistent right down to the backgrounds, and the result is beautiful and atmospheric. The extras are all interesting, detailing the conceptual side of things, and added a whole new perspective on what was always my favourite childhood film (even though I was terrified of Maleficent and convinced she was under my bed).

Amazing as the new computer technology is, it just doesn't for me have the artistic soul and wonder of this kind of traditional animation (no offence to those talented folk who work long and hard creating it, it's just not my bag). Now we strive for 3D realism, in movies like this it was for a blending of styles/genres and a stylistic vision that I feel lost in the computer age. I doubt we'll see animation like this again, and for me that's a crying shame.

And on the character side of things... Flora, Fauna and Merriweather still crack me up, twenty years later.

Pink! Blue! Pink! Blue! PINK!
My daughter, like many others, is obsessed with Disney Princess and has watched this a few times now.

I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the transfer. The picture quality is superb - and the animation is the smoothest I've seen in a hand-drawn feature. It's probably wrong of me to assume that an animated film released 50 years ago wouldn't have the same level of animation quality as a modern film, and this has certainly quashed my preconceptions.

The story is simple, and the humour is basic - but there's a real charm to this early Disney film. Maybe it's the flawless animation, or the jaunty songs - but you soon see past the cheesy Prince Charming and enjoy this for the fairy tale that it is.


Sleeping Beauty
This region 2 UK 50th anniversary 2 disc edition has I'm sad to say, an authoring fault. It is not properly flagged as anamorphic 16x9, it appears the initial batch as I have had two copies now, are non anamorphic, resulting in the main feature playing with black bars on all four sides of the screen, rather than the usual widescreen bars top and bottom.

And before anyone asks, I have my dvd player and screen set up correctly.



Simply a remarkable and truely inspirational Disney film
very few animations can meet this standard of film making.
this was Walt Disneys' final fairy tale before his tragic death (r.i.p Walt...you are a true inspiration).
Sleeping Beauty had a complex style of animated style never ever before done to make it look extremely realistic.
and it all definately paid off to a great level...it is Disney (yet again) at its very best.
very few can beat it.
it blends its horror, fantasy, action and comedy together extremely well which earns it a high place on my list of ultimate films by Disney only beaten by The Little Mermaid and The Lion King.
a quality film that introduced us to the ultimate Disney villain ever created...Malefecent.
for me the fairy godmothers just steal it every time.
masterpiece is an understatement...well it beats Snow White and Pinocchio(not being controversial).
a well deserved re-release...i've been waiting and now i can watch it in high-definition...i can't wait till it gets to my doorstep:).
sheer movie magic.

After 50 years, even more dazzling and more delightful animation

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!

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