Sleeping Beauty (1959 film)

Sleeping Beauty (1959 film) is a landmark animated feature film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution. The film is an adaptation of Charles Perrault's fairy tale La Belle au bois dormant, with additional influences from the Brothers Grimm version, Little Briar Rose. It follows the story of Princess Aurora, cursed by the evil fairy Maleficent to die on her sixteenth birthday, a curse softened by the good fairies to a deep sleep that can only be broken by true love's kiss.

Plot

In the kingdom ruled by King Stefan and Queen Leah, the infant Princess Aurora is blessed with gifts by the good fairies Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather. The slighted Maleficent curses the princess to die by pricking her finger on a spinning wheel spindle before sunset on her sixteenth birthday. Merryweather alters the curse to a deep sleep, broken only by true love's kiss. To protect her, the fairies raise Aurora, renamed Briar Rose, in a secluded forest cottage. On her sixteenth birthday, she meets and falls in love with Prince Phillip, unaware he is her betrothed. Maleficent lures Aurora to the castle to fulfill the curse, placing the entire kingdom under a sleeping spell. The fairies arm Prince Phillip with the Sword of Truth and Shield of Virtue, and he battles Maleficent, who transforms into a gigantic dragon. Phillip defeats her and awakens Aurora with a kiss, breaking the enchantment.

Production

The development of the film, supervised by Walt Disney, began in 1951, making it one of the studio's most ambitious and prolonged productions. Clyde Geronimi served as the supervising director, with key sequences directed by Les Clark, Eric Larson, and Wolfgang Reitherman. The visual style was heavily influenced by medieval art, particularly the work of French illustrator Gustave Doré and the Unicorn Tapestries, leading to a more angular and sophisticated aesthetic. Lead animators included Marc Davis on Maleficent and Aurora, Frank Thomas on the fairies, and Milt Kahl on Prince Phillip. The film's intricate background painting was overseen by Eyvind Earle, whose distinctive style defined its iconic look. The high production cost, approximately six million dollars, made it the most expensive animated feature film made at the time.

Music

The film's score, composed by George Bruns, is adapted from Tchaikovsky's 1890 Sleeping Beauty ballet. Adolph Deutsch and Joseph Dubin handled the orchestration, with conducting by Walter Schumann. The songs, with lyrics by Tom Adair, Sammy Fain, Jack Lawrence, and Winston Hibler, include "Once Upon a Dream", "Hail to the Princess Aurora", and "The Skumps". Mary Costa, a classically trained soprano, provided the singing voice for Aurora, while Bill Shirley sang for Prince Phillip. The soundtrack album was released by Disneyland Records.

Release and reception

The film premiered at the Fox Wilshire Theatre in Los Angeles on January 29, 1959, with a general release on February 17. Initial critical reception was mixed; some praised its visual artistry but found the narrative cold. It was a relative box office disappointment upon its first release, failing to recoup its high production cost. However, it was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Score at the 32nd Academy Awards. The film's reputation grew significantly through successful re-releases in 1969, 1979, 1986, and 1995, and its inclusion in the Walt Disney Classics and Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection home video lines.

Legacy

Sleeping Beauty is now regarded as a masterpiece of animation and the culmination of Walt Disney's era of hand-drawn animation. Its distinctive art style, particularly the work of Eyvind Earle, has been highly influential. The film introduced one of Disney's most iconic villains, Maleficent, who has since appeared in numerous media, including the Kingdom Hearts video game series and the live-action film series starting with Maleficent (2014). The film's castle, a stylized version of Neuschwanstein Castle, became the primary model for Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland and the corporate logo for Walt Disney Pictures. It was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2019 for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Category:1959 animated films Category:American animated films Category:Walt Disney Animation Studios films Category:Films based on fairy tales