Sleeping Beauty

Release Date. 29 July 1959
Certification. U
Running Time. 1 hour 15 mins
Director. Clyde Geronimi
Cast. Barbara Jo Allen, Eleanor Audley, Mary Costa, Verna Felton, Barbara Luddy, Bill Shirley.
Rating. 55%

Review.

I would argue that the public's perception of a Walt Disney film is the studio’s twentieth feature-length animation, 1959’s Sleeping Beauty; a 'tale as old as time' where the beautiful princess, Aurora ultimately finds true love. Over the years, this association has undoubtedly been reinforced by the prime location of the now iconic Sleeping Beauty's Castle at the centre of the original Disneyland, California opened in 1955.

For many, the 1950s will have been Walt Disney Studios golden decade; Cinderella (1950), Alice In Wonderland (1951), Peter Pan (1953), Lady And The Tramp (1955) and Sleeping Beauty (1959). For others, it may have been the 1990s, with the release of films such as Beauty And The Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), The Lion King (1994), Mulan (1998) and Tarzan (1999).

Sleeping Beauty is competent enough, although the simplistic storyline has not aged well. Although George Burns' score was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture, the willowy, warbling operatic score from the Disney Studio Chorus is often intrusive, and the standout track, Once Upon A Dream is terribly outdated.

However, Sleeping Beauty is visually stunning. Even by today's standards. The Concept Artist, Eyvind Earle was responsible for the unique look of the film. His brief from Walt Disney Studios was to create a new style. Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs had become the benchmark and the studio wanted to push the boundaries of what was possible. The film's resulting animation style is based on the work of the Dutch and Italian masters, from the Medieval, Gothic and Pre-Renaissance art periods. Every single frame looks like a painting and restoration prints preserved the intricate detail, and presented lush colours as bright as when originally crafted.

The now familiar ‘Disney Princess’ marketing concept wasn’t introduced until the 2000s. The reality is that after Sleeping Beauty performed poorly at the box office, Walt Disney Studios would wait another 30 years before releasing a subsequent 'Disney Princess' film - The Little Mermaid in 1989. Although Princess Aurora (voiced by American soprano, Mary Costa) is a somewhat bland, one-dimensional character, the creation of the fabulously evil Maleficent (Eleanor Audley), is easily one of the most iconic villains ever introduced in a Walt Disney Studios film. No wonder she was afforded her own film... albeit 55 years later!