Sleeping Beauty Discussion

lord-of-sith · Post by **lord-of-sith** » Mon Aug 16, 2004 3:13 pm

The Sleeping Beauty Discussion

This is Walt Disney's most expensive and most ambitious animated film to date. And in my mind, one of his best. This film is most of the time overlooked when you think of animated films. But for those who have seen it, it is never for gotten. It has all the things a disney animated movie should. It also has all the things a regular movie should. It has a great story, based upon Charles Perault's original story. It has wonderful animation including that of Marc Davis, Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston, Milt Kahl, and all of Disney's most famous 50's era animators. It also features one of Disney's best Villains, the evil fairy Maleficent. It has the most stylistic design of any Disney animated feature to date. This is all thanks to Eyvind Earl, who's artistic vision created the glorious movie that we see today. The movie was shot in a widescreen technique called Technimrama 70, a first for Disney, it wasn't until decades later, widescreen would be used again in The Black Cauldron. This movie still holds up today, and it never seems dated. Plus it has one of the best climax's Disney has ever produced. And one of the best DVD's Disney has ever prdouced. A spectacle that everyone will enjoy!

disneywb · Post by **disneywb** » Mon Aug 16, 2004 3:20 pm

It's true! It's all true!
SB is by far my favorite disney animated classic, and I would never think of overlooking it... and I don't know how anyone else could! When I was little, I saw it many many times on a casette my aunt had given me, taped from the Disney Channel. As you can imagine, the picture and sound quality must have been horrible, but it was still good enough to enrapture me!
Imagine my excitement when I finally got the SE dvd last year! It is absolutely the best.

PheR · Post by **PheR** » Mon Aug 16, 2004 5:03 pm

for me, this movie is a piece of art; like a moving painting...allways wonderful to se, and hear; the Tchaicovsky music puts a really gothic mood, for me is perfect, even with the "plot holes" some people says.

Swiss · Post by **Swiss** » Mon Aug 16, 2004 5:19 pm

A truly magnificent and innovative masterpiece. One of my personal favourites. Beautifully done, the music fantastic and the animation smooth and artistic. A rare gem in animation history.

Post by **Luke** » Mon Aug 16, 2004 5:54 pm

Well I just had something written out and naturally, as is the case when I try to put thought into my posts, I lose it before submitting.

What makes Sleeping Beauty stand out for me is its look. It's a pretty straightforward fairy tale, a common domain for Disney, and yet it is perhaps the most satisfactorily executed. The look of the film is most compelling, in part due to the unique 2.35:1 scope, but more so due to the elegant and graceful nature of the imagery and motion. The film has flaws, for sure, but also has some of the most powerful moments that we've seen in Disney films, and overall, it's quite the evocative work.

In many ways, it's a callback to Snow White and Disney's first exploration into fairy tales. But, at the same time, probably in part due to its modest reception upon theatrical release, it signals an end to lavish, romantic films and in the years that followed we would be treated instead to warm and friendly animal films, no less entertaining but not quite the dynamic cinematic experience that Sleeping Beauty is.

MickeyMousePal · Post by **MickeyMousePal** » Mon Aug 16, 2004 6:18 pm

Sleeping Beauty this is one of my favorite films in Disney History.
I really love the story, action adventure and romantics in this film.
I love the song "Once Upon a Dream".
Maleficent is one of the evilest Disney villains in my opinion.
Maleficent wanted Aurora dead and she also curse her because she was so beautiful and she will stop at nothing to stop Prince Phillips.

This is one of the best Disney films Walt Disney made.

Disneykid · Post by **Disneykid** » Mon Aug 16, 2004 6:54 pm

Sleeping Beauty is in my opinion the best of three classic Walt-era fairy tales (edging out Cinderella only slightly thanks to the exciting climax). There's no need for me to discuss the animation because it's that's the first thing people bring up (and in detail) when discussing this film. The story is handled in a very elegant way, with less slapstick than Snow White or Cinderella and more of an operatic feel to it. My only problem with the film is that Aurora and Phillip are shoved to the side story-wise, obviously because the story crew couldn't think of what the heck to do with them. Some scenes of Aurora with the good fairies at home (similar to how Snow White was approached) would've helped fleshed her story arc and character more. The last third of the film is some of the moxt exciting piece of Disney ever put on celluloid. In terms of drama and tension, only Hunchback's climax matches it, in my opinion. It's sad that this film underperformed at the box office, even though it was #2 biggest money maker of the year after Ben-Hur. For me, Walt's personal legacy ended with Sleeping Beauty, not The Jungle Book since the 3 films from the 60's don't hold a candle to the previous ones, including Sleeping Beauty.

Bashful · Post by **Bashful** » Tue Aug 17, 2004 4:52 am

Sleeping Beauty is one of my all time favourites. Perhaps partly because of the beautiful music, animation, and romantic fairy tale feel, and partly because the SB storybook was one of my dearest books as a child. I first saw the film as a teenager and was perhaps a little disappointed, but I've come to love it with its imperfections and all. I've always favoured the traditional fairy tales by Disney and to me it has some of the same appeal that Snow White has. Storywise it does not quite hold to Snow White but is nevertheless a very satisfying film to watch.

It's sad how we always have to look at the numbers at the box office when deciding whether a film was worth something or not. How many times a financial success has actually made a film immortal? At least in this case we can say that Sleeping Beauty has entertained and enchanted several generations of people, and will continue to do so for years to come. Hopefully SB and the likes are not going to be the last financial and artistic chances that animation studios will make. Every once in a while there needs to be someone willing to experiment, since the result can be an amazing piece of art.

deathie mouse · Post by **deathie mouse** » Tue Aug 17, 2004 10:46 am

And don't forget it was shot in Technirama, so the original negative has more resolution than the eye can see, so hopefully, one day we'll see a 2048 x 4608 pixel rerelease where you can see the most minute detail and shading. With NO grain!
(If you wanna imagine it, if you're using a screen in 1024x768 resolution, Technirama would be about 3 times your screen height by 4 times the width but still with your current screen's clarity! Imagine a Malefic Dragon that size shooting hellfire!

When You Wish Upon a Star...

Isidour · Post by **Isidour** » Tue Aug 17, 2004 10:55 am

just can say one thing of that:
WOOOOOW!!!!!
because SB is one of the best Disney movies in the world.
you 're so lucky on having the original dub and voices,not like the "rest of the world" DVD editon

Disneykid · Post by **Disneykid** » Tue Aug 17, 2004 1:37 pm

deathie mouse wrote:And don't forget it was shot in Technirama, so the original negative has more resolution than the eye can see, so hopefully, one day we'll see a 2048 x 4608 pixel rerelease where you can see the most minute detail and shading. With NO grain!
(If you wanna imagine it, if you're using a screen in 1024x768 resolution, Technirama would be about 3 times your screen height by 4 times the width but still with your current screen's clarity! Imagine a Malefic Dragon that size shooting hellfire!

When You Wish Upon a Star...

Ah, and there's our human encyclopedia DM sharing bits of knowledge that we can all live by.

AwallaceUNC · Post by **AwallaceUNC** » Tue Aug 17, 2004 3:42 pm

Sleeping Beauty is in my top 5 (well, maybe 6) favorite Disney animated classics. It is in every way a masterpiece.

The animation- yes, it's everyone's favorite subject for this movie- and for good reason. It is quite literally moving art. The color is so rich and so fitting for the film. The detail and thought that went into it is simply awe-inspiring and I love that it's presented so nicely on the DVD.

The music- The score (an adapatation from Tchaikovsky's) for Sleeping Beauty is among the greatest theatrical scores in history. That's impressive in and of itself, but when you consider that it wasn't written (only adapted) for the movie- but for the story, and that it still worked so wonderfully, it's even more impressive. The songs are great (Once Upon A Dream being my favorite). I only wish they would've gone with early plans and included 3 or 4 songs instead of just two. Still, the musical sequences work splendidly just the way they are. I always judge scores by their ability to capture the meaning and spirit of a movie in sound. Sleeping Beauty's does that- the best example being Maleficent's "theme," which gives evil an anthem.

The characters- SB also has some of the best characters. The three fairies and Maleficent are all well-defined. The same can't be said for Aurora and Prince Phillip (even their respective fathers are more well-defined), but they aren't completely devoid of characterization. The three fairies are so funny, and yet so sympathetic at the same time. Maleficent, as I've said many times before, is in many ways the standard by which all other villains can be measured... at least within the grounds of fantasy. She's my favorite Disney villain, and perhaps my favorite Disney character.

The voice talent is also outstanding.

The story- It's your classic fairy tale... all the elements are there. From romance to magic to adventure (the final scene is intense!) the story really has it all. I miss these kinds of films. I place it slightly above Snow White and about on par with Cinderella.

Other adaptations- Maybe I just haven't seen them, but it doesn't seem that Sleeping Beauty has been covered in the film industry nearly as heavily as Snow White and Cinderella, which is a shame. Therefore, Disney's is of course my favorite. We may soon see a sequel for it from Disney, but I have a hard time seeing where they'll go with that and only hope they give it its due-- especially in terms of animation.

The DVD- One of (and some would argue the best) Disney's finer DVDs, SB presents the film in seemingly pristine quality (though DM says it can be even better! lol) with great audio and outstanding features. I'm proud to own it.

Sleeping Beauty is, in my opinion, one of Walt's finer achievements and an outstanding piece of his legacy. I can't wait to see SB castle up close at Disneyland (they should have thorns grow up around it for some sort of show). I'm sure it will continue to be cherished by the generations to come.

-Aaron

ichabod · Post by **ichabod** » Wed Aug 18, 2004 7:58 am

I always kinda overlooked sleeping beauty, and never really considered it as one of my favourites because i had only ever seen the pan and scan video however when i saw the dvd in cinemascope i thought it was amazing. the film has really grown on me and has now become one of my favourites i like the characters much better than i did too.

toonaspie · Post by **toonaspie** » Thu Aug 19, 2004 2:24 pm

from seeing this film again recently, it occured to me how much the three fairies really stole the show. They had more lines, more scenes, it's pretty much SB told through their eyes, kinda unique, that and its artsy!!!

lord-of-sith · Post by **lord-of-sith** » Fri Aug 20, 2004 12:02 pm

ichabod wrote:I always kinda overlooked sleeping beauty, and never really considered it as one of my favourites because i had only ever seen the pan and scan video however when i saw the dvd in cinemascope i thought it was amazing. the film has really grown on me and has now become one of my favourites i like the characters much better than i did too.

Yeah, The widescreen makes all the difference in this film!

Isidour · Post by **Isidour** » Fri Aug 20, 2004 10:47 pm

even when SB its my 2nd favorite movie,i just can say than i'm glad of NO HAVING the DVD.It sounds nuts but if you hear the original dub and the new one and compare them you'll be able to see,or hear,how a great moviecan be turned on crap

deathie mouse · Post by **deathie mouse** » Sat Aug 21, 2004 8:32 am

Isidour wrote:if you hear the original dub and the new one and compare them you'll be able to see,or hear,how a great moviecan be turned on crap

What exactly are you talking about here? You're talking about the original English multitrack mix, or another language's dub?

Isidour · Post by **Isidour** » Sat Aug 21, 2004 8:53 pm

another,of course.
one thing than admire of the us version DVD is than it allways preserve the original dub-not like here...-

DreamerQ18 · Post by **DreamerQ18** » Thu Aug 26, 2004 8:48 am

Sorry to be bring this thread back everyone

Now that school has started I am a bit behind in my posting on movie disscussions.

Okay but on that Note sleeping Beauty is just like the Little Mermaid for me we go way back. I reamemeber always renting the movie every Friday if I behaved my mom would let me. Although the funny thing is I dont remember exactley when was the first time I saw the movie. But it was one of my ablsloute favorites. The three good faries it wahat totlay did it for me. My favorite Secen is when they send Aurrora in the forest to pick some barries and she meets up with the prince and they sing that song Once upan a dream in which in my opinion is one of the Orignal a Whole New Worlds. Mean while the faires were trying to get things ready for Aurroras birthday. And they cant do anything right wiht out magic. And how Flora and Mary Weather fight on the color odf the dress

. I think its a great movie with eye capturing Charaters and Sleeping Beauty will always remain one of my favorite movies.

AwallaceUNC · Post by **AwallaceUNC** » Thu Aug 26, 2004 9:13 am

Dreamer, your post made me remember of a home video we have of me watching Sleeping Beauty when I was 3 or 4.

-Aaron

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