Sleeping Beauty [Disney 1959]

Customer reviews:

A Real Visual Beauty, 2007-08-22
This is my favourite Disney movie. The backgrounds are detailed and stylised like a series of medieval tapestries. The intergration of the characters in what look like the best sets ever designed for a semi-swashbuckling musical/comedy/thriller is stunning.
I still get frightened when the fire goes out and Maleficent appears to tempt Aurora through the back of the fireplace (Maleficent being a truly evil villainess). The score is superbly used in these scenes. Brilliant stuff.

Outstanding, 2007-07-01
Like "Cinderella" and "Snow White", "Sleeping Beauty" has gained a rather negative reputation over recent years. It represents, some critics might argue, everything that is wrong with the traditional Disney film: the princess is a brainless sweetheart who requires rescuing by a dullard of a prince, who is very brave and noble but not much else. The villain - shrouded in black and bearing a deep grudge against the princess - is treated mercilessly by the story, but somehow manages to be more interesting than all the other characters put together. Scattered among this motley crew are various cutesy animals, fairies, jamjars, etc., and everyone goes home, smugly saying, "Well! There goes Disney, ruining another classic fairy tale!"

There is, of course, an element of truth in all of this. Certainly Maleficent is the most interesting character in the film, and I'd go so far as to say that she's the greatest Disney villain ever. She is incredibly creepy and reminds the viewer of the Devil with her horned costume and dancing fiends in her castle. Her death, to be quite honest, is something of a tragedy. There are also plenty of the aforementioned cute woodland animals and fairies - although the former are really one of the most entertaining elements of the entire film.

It is impossible to talk about "Sleeping Beauty" without mentioning the artwork, and I personally think that Disney here reached a peak which they have never yet managed to equal. The visuals, quite simply, are gorgeous. Every scene looks like a Medieval painting brought to life. It is literally impossible to do the overall look of the film justice in words. The art is complemented by Tchaikovsky's score, the use of which was a real stroke of genius. Together, the two work together to wonderful effect, making "Sleeping Beauty" probably the most beautiful of all Disney films. There are perhaps too few songs for my liking (I have a weakness for full-on Disney musicals), but the ones that are there are entertaining and well-placed. The DVD extras are great, to the point that I don't think that Disney has ever included better ones. All the documentaries were interesting and well-informed - I really can't speak highly enough of them.

Oh, yes, it's not perfect. Aurora, as charming as she is, is not one of the most interesting princesses - her emotional struggles are regrettably shallow and she spends half the film fast asleep. Philip, too, is slightly more interesting than other Disney princes of this era - but only slightly. But in spite of the film's title, the film isn't really about either of them - the fairies and Maleficent are the key movers here. I suppose, furthermore, that the film lacks a complex plot, and the jokes are on the gentler, more old-fashioned side - although I think that both these points are made up for by the quality of the art and music.

I'm aware that Walt Disney himself was disappointed with the finished result, feeling that it lacked the heart of "Cinderella". He does himself a huge disservice. "Sleeping Beauty" is outstanding stuff, and probably one of the best films in the Disney canon. Full marks.