Audience Rating: G (General Audience)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786304401132
Format: Animated
ISBN: 6304401132
Label: Walt Disney Home Video
Languages: Array
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Home Video
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Walt Disney Home Video
Release Date: 1997-09-16
Running Time: 75
Studio: Walt Disney Home Video
Theatrical Release Date: 1959-01-29

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

Customer Rating:
Summary: A timeless classic
Comment: It has been over two decades since I last saw Disney's animated film SLEEPING BEAUTY. I was just a small child in elementary school when I first saw the film. Once again, Disney digs deep into their vault and re-releases the classic animated film as part of their platinum edition series. The two dvd set includes the remastered version of the film and a slew of bonus features that the family is sure to enjoy.

The story of Aurora, princess to King Stefan, she is a welcomed into the kingdom with a lavished celebration. The infant is greeted by King Hubert and his son Prince Philip, whom Aurora is betrothed to marry later in life. Then Aurora is paid a visit by the three good fairies Fauna, Merryweather, and Flora. Flora and Fauna are able to bless the child with the gift of beauty and song but before Merryweather could bless the child, the evil witch Maleficent drops in unexpectedly. Displeased that her presence was not wanted at the celebration, Maleficent curses the child that she will die at the age of 16 with a single prick to her finger by a spindle. Thankfully Merryweather weakens the curse to simply a deep sleep. Reluctantly, King Steffan allows the three good fairies to take Aurora out of the kingdom until she is the age of 16, to protect Auroa from Maleficent's curse.

As mere mortals, the three fairies raises Aurora as Briar Rose in the forest without raising a suspicion. In the meantime, Maleficent has her army (who are totally incompetent for comedic value) out searching for Aurora for 16 years. When she realizes her army's mistake of looking for a baby for 16 years, Maleficent sends out her pet raven Diablo to search for Aurora. With the assistance of the fairies, Prince Philip goes to rescue the princess who had fallen under the evil witch's spell.

Everything you expect in a Disney animated film is there, song, comedy, drama, and a anti-climatic ending is here in the lavished remastered film. This was the first time I have seen SLEEPING BEAUTY since I was a child. I almost forgotten how good this film is. The colors in this new version is vibrant. The music is beautiful. The music in today's Disney animated films lacks the beauty and elegence of the classic Disney films like the orchestral score for SLEEPING BEAUTY. Once again Disney does a wonderful job at remastering and re-packaging SLEEPING BEAUTY.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Sleeping Beauty (Two-Disc Platinum Edition) - Blu-ray Info
Comment: Version: U.S.A / Region-A
MPEG-4 AVC BD-50 / High Profile 4.1 / High Profile 3.2 (BonusView)
Aspect ratio: 2.55:1
Running time: 1:15:10
Movie size: 18,36 GB
Disc size: 37,69 GB
Average video bit rate: 24.05 Mbps

DTS-HD Master Audio English 4459 kbps 7.1 / 48kHz / 24-bit / 4459kbps (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48kHz / 24-bit / 1536kbps)
Dolby Digital Audio English 640 kbps 4.0 / 48kHz / 640kbps
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48kHz / 192kbps

Subtitles: English / English SDH

Number of chapters: 30

# Original Disneyland Sleeping Beauty Walk
# Alternate Opening
# All New Documentary Picture Perfect: The Making of Sleeping Beauty
# A New DVD Game, Briar Rose's Enchanted Dance Game
# Four Deleted Songs
# Grand Canyon (HD)
# The Peter Tchaikovsky Story (HD)
# Four Artists Paint One Tree (HD)
# Fun with English Game
#Maleficent's Challenge
#Dragon Encounter
#Cine-Explore (BonusView)
#Restoring The Sound Track
#Customized Living Menu
#Disney BD-Live Network - Movie Chat / Movie Mail / Movie Challenge / Disney Movie Rewards Live
#DVD of Sleeping Beauty

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Customer Rating:
Summary: My first Disney film
Comment: Drug along at age four with the rest of the family, they thought I'd like the pretty colors, but I was absolutely transfixed. I made mom buy me the Disney Sleeping Beauty swag, the big picture book, the 45 rpm. I danced around the house to that sumptuous russian music. The medieval landscapes with imaginary proportions and false perspective, just perfect.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Not as good as I remember, but still a classic
Comment: It's strange that they would release this on Platinum Edition now when they just released a "Special Edition" a few years ago. That release was pretty much on the "Platinum" status to me. They should have done this then. Maybe this is part of their plan of releasing their classics every 7 to 8 years. I guess they started a little early with this one. I heard they'll be releasing Beauty and the Beast again in a couple of years, so I guess we're beginning another cycle of paying for things we already own. I'm talking about the DVD fanatics, of course. This is still a maybe for me since I have the other version, but I'm still glad they're putting it out again for the future generation. I grew up with it. Others should too. The only cons of this movie: kinda hollow of a movie if you think about it, and the Prince doesn't have any lines at the finale, which was rather strange and awkward to me. Still, one of the best Disney films of all time.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: 2 Disc Platinum Edition: Fantastic Movie & Extras
Comment: Sleeping Beauty is considered one of Disney's most artistically beautiful films, and the new Platinum Edition 2 Disc DVD release is a fitting new polishing of the Disney gem. The story is about Princess Aurora, who was cursed as a baby by the evil witch Maleficent due to the fact that she was not invited to the christening. Fated to an eternal sleep upon reaching the age of 16, she is given somewhat of a reprieve by one of the Good Fairies who bestows upon Aurora the blessing of being reawakened by true love's kiss. The 3 Good Fairies (Flora, Merryweather, and Fauna) take Aurora into the woods as a baby and raise her as Briar Rose in order to keep her away from Maleficent, hopefully avoiding the curse in the first place. However, on the crest of her 16th birthday, Aurora happens to meet Prince Phillip and naturally falls in love. Neither knows the true identity of the other and that their kingdoms have already decreed that they marry each other. When she is returned to her parents, the King & Queen, Aurora is upset that she cannot marry her boyfriend from the woods, and instead, must marry a Prince she has not met (as far as she knows). Maleficent finds the Princess and carries out her original curse. Can Prince Philip save the Princess with true love's kiss?

The film looks and sounds spectacular. Shot in Super Technirama 70, the widescreen (2.55:1 enhanced for 16x9 TVs) film has been restored using state-of-the-art technology, and will fill up your speakers with its 5.1 enhanced home theater mix. For purists, the restored original theater track is also included. Either way you choose, Mary Costa (the voice of Aurora) sounds incredible. It would be hard to imagine anyone else vocalizing the Princess with such warmth and beauty. Eleanor Audley also deserves kudos for her vocalization of the evil Maleficent. She is definitely one of the most scary and memorable Disney characters.

This project was special to Walt; it was the last feature based on a fairy-tale (until 1989's "Little Mermaid"). Since the studio had already done a similar tale with "Snow White," Walt wanted to make it different by adding a classical music inspired Tchaikovsky score and giving the film a less cartoony and more artistic visual representation. Breaking all box-office records, this film succeeded on all levels.

And the extras...wow! On Disc One, in addition to the feature, you get:

*Music & More: "Once Upon A Dream" music video performed by Hannah Montana's Emily Osment, who updates the song with a pop rock beat

* Disney Song Selection: Instantly access your favorite songs from the movie

* Backstage Disney includes audio commentary for the film (John Lasseter, film critic Leonard Maltin, and Disney animator Andreas Déja), Princess Fun Facts (pop-up trivia fact option while watching the movie), "Grand Canyon" short (1959 Oscar winner for best short subject film and features the music of Ferde Grof's "Grand Canyon Suite"), and The Peter Tchaikovsky Story. The Peter Tchaikovsky story was featured on the 1959 Walt Disney Presents anthology. It was a historic telecast due to the fact that home viewers could listen in true-stereophonic sound, by turning on two additional radios with ABC simulcast of the necessary stereophonic channels. Disney explains the process at the beginning of the featurette. You can choose between this version and the version that replaces Disney's explanation. Although the featurette was first broadcast in black and white, it was shot in color. The remaining color footage is here on this DVD set.

* Naturally, there are trailers/promos for other Disney films, including the upcoming theatrical release "Princess & The Frog" and the next Platinum Edition DVD release, "Pinocchio."

Extras on Disc 2:

Games & Activities:
* Briar Rose's Enchanted Dance Game: Learn to Waltz, taking on the role of Princess Aurora or Prince Phillip.
* "Sleeping Beauty" Fun With Language Game. This one is definitely for VERY young children who must identify the most basic of words using visuals from the film.

Backstage Disney:
* Picture Pefect: The Making Of "Sleeping Beauty" (43:32) A wonderful documentary detailing the making of the movie. Features interviews with animators and Mary Costa, who is still beautiful today. Watching this will definitely enhance your appreciation for this movie as the artistic masterpiece that it is.
* Eyvind Earle: The Man and His Art (7:33) is about the man responsible for the artistic backgrounds and overall look of the film. Disney stepped up everyone's game at the animation studio by having Earle oversee the design. Features interviews with Alice Davis and John Canemaker.
* Alternate Opening (3:28) is recreated with storyboards and sketches. After viewing this, I'd say they made the right decision, as the music intended for this sequence was more pop-oriented and not fitting the classical Tchaikovsky score.
* 3 Deleted Songs
* 8 Art Galleries, including visual design, character development, storyboards, publicity, and a detailed look at the Storybook featured in the film's opening,
* Original Disneyland Sleeping Beauty Castle walkthrough attraction, unseen for years, presented in a virtual digital recreation which is BREATHTAKING. Almost like being at Disneyland. "Tour" it yourself, or with host Tony Baxter explaining your tour as you go through. There is also a featurette explaining the history of the walkthrough.
* Sequence 8 (Forest Scene) (5:30) is a featurette that shows the detail and labor that went into this sequence put together by Disney's famous "Nine Old Men." This sequence alone cost the studio over $10,000. It is also interesting to note that only about 8 drawings were able to be done per day because of the precision required; considering it takes 24 to make a second of film, well...you do the math.
* Publicity features 3 trailers (teaser, original 1959, and 1995 re-release)
* "Four Artists Paint One Tree" (16:08) is a 1958 featurette that has four Disney artists (Marc Davis, Eyvind Earle, Joshua Meador, and Walt Peregoy) painting the same tree, each showing their own personal style. Walt Disney himself encourages each to "be themselves." An excellent lesson for budding young artists.
* Storyboard sequences
* Live-action reference footage. See three of the black and white films that were shot to aid the animators. Especially fun to watch is the sequence where Prince Phillip fights the dragon.

What a set! Definitely not to be missed for your Disney home movie collection.

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