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 up were the tears from her true love. Finally the day comes. Will she be left to sleep forever?

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Plot Keywords:

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

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Taglines:

Awaken to a World of Wonders!

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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)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Studio trademark: Habitually barefoot character(s): Aurora is barefoot for all but the very last scene.

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Goofs

The opening credits list the late 17th-century Charles Perrault version of Sleeping Beauty (La Belle au bois dormant/Beauty sleeping in the woods) as the basis of the film. However, the film is much closer to the early 19th-century Brothers Grimm (Jacob Grimm und Wilhelm Grimm) version of the same story: Dornröschen (Little Briar Rose).

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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

Referenced in Picture Perfect: The Making of Sleeping Beauty (2008)

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Soundtracks

Sing a Smiling Song
(1958) (uncredited)
Music by George Bruns
Lyrics by Tom Adair

User Reviews

This High-Def Transfer Will Blow You Away!

Quick......what was "Sleeping Beauty's" name? Answer: Either "Princess Aurora" or "Rose," depending on where she was.

Most of you probably know that but I didn't, probably because I hadn't watched this movie since it came out about a half century ago! I was a little kid, and never did see this again on TV or VHS. I only saw it again because several high-definition DVD websites said this looked spectacular on Blu-Ray.

How right they were; this looks incredible! I cannot believe how fantastic the artwork is, and sharp the picture comes through on this restored high-def disc. The colors and the amount of details in all the art are astounding. Many of the scenes had my jaw dropping in admiration. The story, frankly, is not anything that great for a man my age but the visuals are so fantastic that I enjoyed the experience.

I also appreciated the 2.55:1 widescreen picture. If you've only seen this on formatted-to-TV 4:3, and love the movie, you owe it to yourself to see this version. You won't believe how good this 1959 film looks.