Sleeping Beauty

As I said when I reviewed Fantasia back in January, I'm often not sure which of the classic Disney movies I've actually seen in there entirety in my childhood, and which ones I only saw clips, or read the storybook-on-tape for it. Sleeping Beauty is another one of those. In fact, just about all I remember is the Once Upon a Dream musical number.

I was pleased upon watching it on Friday that Sleeping Beauty was one of, if not the very best, of all the Disney classics. It's rich, layered, and magical, and visually stunning.

We're introduced to Sleeping Beauty, alias Princess Aurora, alias Briar Rose, as an infant, being introduced to her betrothed, a boy prince, who seems a little bit weirded out that someday he's going to have to marry that baby. On this day of celebration, the three good fairies come to give the Princess gifts. Before they can finish, the horrible witch Maleficent appears, angry that she wasn't invited, and curses Aurora so that she will fall asleep on her 16th birthday. When Maleficent leaves, the third fairy can't undo the curse, but she can alter it by saying it will be lifted by true love's kiss.

We all know the story, even those of us who haven't seen the movie. She falls asleep, the prince has to fight his way to her. It's great stuff!

The good fairies, Flora, Fauna, and Merriweather, are excellent comedic characters, each with her own distinct and loveable personality. They're featured through the majority of the movie, and watching them bounce off of each other is one of the reasons it's so fun to watch. Imagine being raised in a cabin in the woods by three Angela Lansbury clones who don't know how to not use magic. My wife pointed out that they appear to have been some of Craig McCracken's basis for Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup, the Powerpuff Girls. I thought that was interesting. There are similarities with the colors they each wear, and even aspects of their personalities. Can anyone confirm this?

Maleficent, the vindictive witch, is probably Disney's coolest villain. Her design is amazing, she's compelling to watch. I like that domination of the kingdom isn't really her goal. She has her own castle and minions. She just wants to punish those who slighted her, at any cost. Her demon lackeys are wicked cool, too.

I was surprised by how little of the movie Sleeping Beauty actually slept for. It was only maybe 15 or 20 minutes of the total running time. I guess I assumed the plot was much thinner than it actually was.

I enjoyed the music a great deal. One of my problems with the early Disney flicks like Snow White and Alice in Wonderland, is they have this choir singing in the backgrounds sometimes, but you can't understand a word the choir is saying. I assume whatever recording equipment they had in those days had been improved upon by 1959, because that choir is still featured in Sleeping Beauty, but this time you can actually make out the lyrics.

I'm glad I've been picking up these Disney Blu Rays. They're wonderful films, true works of art, and if you don't have kids to make you sick of them, they're insanely rewatchable. I recommend that people buy them while they can. Disney takes them out of print after a while. Sleeping Beauty just got pulled from circulation, so you will have to find it used. Blu Ray is likely the last physical format. After this, it will all be digital, so if you want a hard copy, these are the very best ones you will ever get.

Sleeping Beauty is a timeless classic. A+