Review #786: 'Sleeping Beauty' (1959)

If there's one thing that separates the classic Disney era from it's modern efforts, then it was their ability to truly bring a fairytale to life. The moral and narrative simplicity of the fairytale formula is now portrayed somewhat cynically, with their black-and-white ethics and la-de-da princesses receiving a lampooning in the likes of Shrek (2001) and Enchanted (2007). Although this can make for clever and amusing viewing, it makes it easy to forget how beguiling these stories can be. Sleeping Beauty is one of Disney's finest, and a perfect example of how the make-believe world of witches, fairies, kings and princesses can truly enthral and fill a young heart with wonder.

King Stefan and Queen Leah welcome the birth of their daughter, Princess Aurora (Mary Costa), and invite their subjects to pay homage at their castle. The baby is thrice blessed by the three good fairies, Flora (Verna Felton), Fauna (Barbara Jo Allen) and Merryweather (Barbara Luddy), until the evil sorceress Maleficent (Eleanor Audley) gate-crashes the party. Maleficent curses the princess and announces that on her sixteenth birthday, she will prick her finger on a spinning wheel and die. The curse is dented somewhat when Merryweather intercepts, meaning that Aurora will not die, but will fall into an eternal sleep unless she receives true love's kiss.

Inspired by the Brothers Grimm's Little Briar Rose and The Sleeping Beauty by Charles Perrault, the film, under the directorial supervision of Clyde Geronimi, has some of the finest animation work ever put out by Disney. The last Disney film to use hand-inked cells, animators Marc Davis, Milt Kahl, Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston, John Lounsbery, Wolfgang Reitherman and Eric Larson, create a beautiful world reminiscent of the colourful Medievals film that were so popular in the 1950's, when Technicolor was a-booming. The climax, which sees the horned demon Maleficent turn into a dragon, was revolutionary in it's day and is still unnervingly striking today. The romance between Aurora and her betrothed - the amusingly named Prince Phillip (Bill Shirley) - is rather unconvincing and wishy-washy, but it does little damage to a movie that is a delight from start to finish.


Directed by: Clyde Geronimi
Voices: Mary Costa, Bill Shirley, Eleanor Audley, Verna Felton, Barbara Luddy, Barbara Jo Allen
Country: USA

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie