Sleeping Beauty (1959)

After being snubbed by the royal family, a malevolent fairy places a curse on a princess which only a prince can break, along with the help of three good fairies.

Director:

Clyde Geronimi

Writers:

Erdman Penner (story adaptation), Charles Perrault (story "Sleeping Beauty")

Stars:

Mary Costa, Bill Shirley, Eleanor Audley

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Mary Costa	...	Princess Aurora (voice)
Bill Shirley	...	Prince Phillip (voice)
Eleanor Audley	...	Maleficent (voice)
Verna Felton	...	Flora / Queen Leah (voice)
Barbara Luddy	...	Merryweather (voice)
Barbara Jo Allen	...	Fauna (voice)
Taylor Holmes	...	King Stefan (voice)
Bill Thompson	...	King Hubert (voice)

Storyline

After a beautiful princess, Aurora, is born in to royalty everyone gathers to exchange gifts. Everything is perfectly fine until an unwanted guest appears, Maleficent. Maleficent casts a spell on the young princess and announces that she will die by pricking her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel on the evening of her 16th birthday. Fortunately, one of the good fairies, Merryweather, changes the spell so Aurora will fall asleep, and that the only way to wake her from her sleep is true love's kiss. Finally the day comes.

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Plot Keywords:

fairy | 16th birthday | spinning wheel | kingdom | prophecy | 

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Taglines:

Wondrous to see... Glorious to hear... A magnificent new motion picture!

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Genres:

Animation | Family | Fantasy | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 July 1959 (Argentina)

Also Known As:

La bella durmiente

Filming Locations:

Loire Valley, Loire, France

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,548,698, 21 March 1986, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$51,600,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min

Sound Mix:

3 Channel Stereo (1939 Reissue) (RCA Sound Recording) (Stereo) 4-Track Stereo (1939 Reissue) (RCA Sound Recording) (Stereo) Stereo (1939 Reissue) (RCA Sound Recording) (Stereo) SDDS (re-release) (1995) Dolby SR (re-release) (1995) 3 Channel Stereo

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The huge cost of " Sleeping Beauty " was a massive concern for Walt Disney who slashed his animation personnel from 551 to just 75 the following year. In fact, Disney was advised to pull out of animation altogether and concentrate on TV and theme parks instead.

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Goofs

King Hubert and Prince Phillip both remark at certain points in the movie that it's the 14th century. In another scene, we see fireworks being set off. Fireworks were not used for entertainment until the 16th century.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: In a faraway land, long ago, there lived a King and his fair Queen. Many years they had longed for a child, and finally their wish was granted. A daughter was born, and they called her Aurora. Yes, they named her after the dawn, for she filled their lives with sunshine. Then a great holiday was proclaimed throughout the land, so that all of high or low estate could pay homage to the infant Princess. And our story begins on that most joyful day...

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits say Technirama, but not Super Technirama 70, which is the process it was filmed in.

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Connections

Featured in L'ami public numéro un: Les ours (1971)

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Soundtracks

Once Upon a Dream
(1958) (uncredited)
Music and Lyrics by Sammy Fain and Jack Lawrence
Performed by Chorus during the opening credits and at the end, Mary Costa and Bill Shirley
Performed again by Mary Costa
Whistled by Bill Shirley

User Reviews

An Inspired Classic

"Sleeping Beauty" is definitely a classic among the Disney animated features. It bears the distinction of being the first to be shot in 70mm widescreen format. The score borrows much from Tchaikovsky's classic ballet based on the Brothers Grimm tale. The art is beautiful, being inspired by medieval art. And the characters are delightful, particularly the three Good Fairies, Flora, Fauna and Merryweather. Malificient makes for a wonderful villainess, with awesome magical powers. Even those who would not call this Disney's best animated feature should agree that it harkens back to the famed studio's golden age. It's a classic that all ages can treasure!