Sleeping Beauty: Special Edition

Released in 1959, the wildly ambitious and stylistically bold Sleeping Beauty was, at the time, the most expensive animated feature ever (and, like Fantasia, was initially a disappointment at the box office). This is old-school Disney: enchanting Princess Aurora (who some younger viewers may consider bland when compared to such formidable contemporary Disney heroines as Ariel, Belle, and Mulan); spell-breaking Prince Philip; evil villainess Maleficent; scene-stealing good fairies Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather; and cute forest creatures to befriend our heroine. Sleeping Beauty makes a royal debut on DVD in a digitally remastered widescreen presentation that does full justice to the majestic panoramas, while the Tchaikovsky-inspired score (featuring the Disney standard "Once Upon a Dream," as well as the rollicking drinking song "Skumps") sounds wonderful on the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. The spectacular climactic fight between Prince Philip and Maleficent, who transforms herself into a terrible dragon, is still the stuff of nightmares. This two-disc set contains the typical Disney treasure trove of archival production goodies, as well as commentary by, among others, legendary animator Ollie Johnston and Mary Costa (the voice of Aurora). Highly recommended. (K. Lee Benson)[DVD Review—Oct. 14, 2008—Walt Disney, 2 discs, 75 min., G, $29.99—Making its latest appearance on DVD, 1959's Sleeping Beauty (50th Anniversary Edition) boasts a great transfer and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. DVD extras include audio commentary (by animators John Lasseter and Andreas Deja, and critic Leonard Maltin), “The Peter Tchaikovsky Story” episode of Walt Disney Presents (49 min.), a 44-minute “Picture Perfect” making-of featurette, a half-hour “Grand Canyon” Disney documentary, “Four Artists Paint One Tree” art featurette (16 min.), an “Eyvind Earle: The Man and His Art” featurette on the artist responsible for the background and style of the film (8 min.), a “Sequence 8” scene-specific segment (6 min.), an alternate opening (4 min.), two storyboard sequences (4 min.), “Live-Action References” (2 min.), a walkthrough of the Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland with guided tour and history, three deleted songs, the “Once Upon a Dream” music video by Emily Osment, a song selection option w/optional onscreen lyrics, a “Princess Fun Facts” trivia track, “Briar Rose's Enchanted Dance Game” and the “Sleeping Beauty Fun with Language Game,” and trailers. Bottom line: an excellent extras package for a Disney classic.][Blu-ray/DVD Combo Review—Oct. 7, 2014—Walt Disney, 75 min., G, Blu-ray/DVD Combo: $36.99—Making its latest appearance on DVD and Blu-ray, 1959's Sleeping Beauty boasts an excellent transfer and a DTS-HD 7.1 soundtrack on the Blu-ray release. Extras new to this “Diamond Edition” include deleted scenes (13 min.), “The Art of Evil: Generations of Disney Villains” (10 min.), “Once Upon a Parade” on the new Festival of Fantasy parade (9 min.), “@DisneyAnimation: Artists in Motion” (4 min.), and a “Beauty-Oke” sing-along (3 min.). Extras carried over from previous releases include audio commentary (by animators John Lasseter and Andreas Deja, and critic Leonard Maltin), a “Picture Perfect” making-of featurette (44 min.), “The Sound of Beauty: Restoring a Classic” (11 min.), and an “Eyvind Earle: The Man and His Art” featurette on the background illustrator (8 min.). Also including bonus DVD and digital copies of the film, it should be noted that this version is missing many of the special features from the previous Blu-ray release. Bottom line: completists will want to add, but most who already own the “50th Anniversary Edition” won't need this.]