Author: Keith Aiken Source: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

Each year, Walt Disney Home Entertainment presents one or two of the studio`s classic animated films in a deluxe 2-Disc Platinum Edition DVD. The latest entry is SLEEPING BEAUTY, which celebrates its 50th Anniversary with a beautiful digital restoration, enhanced sound, and a wealth of bonus features. SLEEPING BEAUTY was a groundbreaking film that also marked the end of an era for Walt Disney Pictures. Realizing that his adaptations of fairy tales like SNOW WHITE and CINDERELLA had been more successful both commercially and critically, in 1951 Walt decided to go with the tale of SLEEPING BEAUTY. To keep the film from being nothing more than a repetition of those earlier fairy tales, Disney thought the film should have a drastically different animation style. He turned to Eyvind Earle, one of the studio`s top background artists, to design the entire look of the film, which crossed the international Gothic style of the late Medieval period with the modernist art that had become popular in the post-WWII years. Earle— working with top Disney animators like Marc Davis, Milt Kahl, Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston— brought an angular and stylized look to SLEEPING BEAUTY that definitely distinguished the film from what had gone before. SLEEPING BEAUTY was also the first Disney film done in the 70mm Technirama format, and the extreme widescreen image allowed an incredible sweep and movement to the onscreen animation. This is particularly evident in arguably the film`s most famous sequence: the battle with the dragon. In a recent interview discussing his work on the upcoming film version of THE HOBBIT, director Guillermo del Toro described Maleficent as one of the screen`s top two iconic dragons (the other being Vermithrax Perjorative from the 1981 Disney/Paramount picture DRAGONSLAYER). The sequence also inspired the finale of the recent Disney hit ENCHANTED (2007).

In addition to the film`s visual style, another drastic difference in SLEEPING BEAUTY was in the Academy Award nominated musical score. While the movie does feature a number of traditional Disney-style songs, the main themes come from the classical ballet work of Peter Tchaikovsky. Adapted by George Bruns, the music adds a layer of depth and weight to the story. If SLEEPING BEAUTY has a flaw, it comes with the script. The film moves at such a brisk pace that there is little time for character development so Aurora, her parents, and Prince Phillip are little more than cyphers. Their blandness is quite different from character-driven pieces such as THE JUNGLE BOOK and more recent animated films like TARZAN or LILO AND STITCH.

The level of detail paid to the film`s look and animation made SLEEPING BEAUTY an extremely expensive production. Even though the movie received glowing reviews and was the second-highest grossing film of the year (behind only BEN-HUR), it did not turn a profit in its initial release. Walt Disney Studios was never able to lavish that degree of attention on another animated feature. For the DVD, the film was digitally restored and is presented in the original 2.55:1 theatrical aspect ratio. Audio options include the English audio in a new 5.1 stereo mix, French, and Spanish 5.1 tracks. Rounding out the presentation are optional English, French, and Spanish subtitles. There are 30 chapter stops. Additional features for SLEEPING BEAUTY are "Princess Fun Facts" (pop up trivia about the movie) and a full length audio commentary by Pixar`s John Lasseter, Disney Supervising Animator Andreas Deja and film historian Leonard Maltin. Disc One also includes "Backstage Disney" with: • GRAND CANYON: The Academy Award winning short about one of the great natural wonders of the world. The film was shown with SLEEPING BEAUTY during its initial theatrical run. 29:00 • THE PETER TCHAIKOVSKY STORY: The January 30, 1959 episode of the WALT DISNEY PRESENTS televison series previews the Studio’s upcoming release of SLEEPING BEAUTY and includes a dramatic reenactment of how Tchaikovsky came to write his score for the ballet. Two versions with alternate opening introductions are included. 49:00

MUSIC & MORE: This section features a new version of "Once Upon a Dream", by Emily Osment of HANNAH MONTANA, continuing the trend of Disney Channel stars totally missing everything that made the original song a classic. There is also direct access to every song from the film. SNEAK PEEKS: Previews for PINOCCHIO Platinum Edition DVD and Blu-ray, THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG, TINKERBELL, and SPACE BUDDIES. Disc Two is divided into two sections; “Cottage” and “Castle”. The first section is devoted to the kid-friendly interactive games "Briar Rose`s Enchanted Dance" and "Sleeping Beauty`s Fun with Language". Section two goes behind the scenes of the film`s production, and includes: PICTURE PERFECT: A 43 minute documentary on the making of SLEEPING BEAUTY. EYVIND EARLE: The Man and His Art: A look at the amazing work and often tragic life of the designer of SLEEPING BEAUTY. 7:32 SEQUENCE 8: The big dance sequence in the woods took more than a year to create. It led to the firing of director Eric Larson due to cost overruns even though Walt told Larson to take as much time as needed to make the sequence perfect. 5:32

ALTERNATE OPENING: Through recently discovered storyboards from 1952 and the original demo track, viewers finally get to see the big musical number "Holiday" that was originally intended for the beginning of the film. 3:30 DELETED SONGS: The unused songs "It happens I have a Picture" (two versions), "Riddle Diddle", and "Go to Sleep" are presented through storyboards, finished animation, and the original voice and audition tracks. STORYBOARD SEQUENCES: Storyboards for two scenes from the film, with comparisons to the finished sequences. LIVE ACTION REFERENCE: Actor would perform certain scenes for the artists to use as guides. The DVD features three sequences including Briar Rose`s dance and Prince Phillip battling the dragon. ART GALLERIES: Everything from visual development to publicity art. DISNEYLAND SLEEPING BEAUTY CASTLE WALKTHROUGH: A virtual tour of the theme park attraction that Walt supervised over 50 years ago. Viewers can choose to tour the attraction in “Auto Mode,” and experience it the way it was originally intended, or view the experience with “Commentary” by Disney’s Imagineers and take a look behind the detailed dioramas. There is also a featurette on the history of the attraction, how it was developed and later abandoned, and is now being refurbished for Disneyland. PUBLICITY: The teaser trailer, original theatrical, and 1995 re-release trailer. FOUR ARTISTS PAINT ONE TREE: In an interesting look at varying artistic styles, Disney artists Marc Davis, Eyvind Earle, Josh Meador, Walt Pergoy each paint their own interpretations of the same tree. 16:00

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has delivered another top-notch presentation of a Disney classic. Highly recommended. Street Date: October 7, 2008 Suggested retail price: $29.99 U.S./$35.99 Canada Feature run time: 78 min. Rated: G, Bonus materials not rated. Aspect ratio: 2.55:1—The first time ever the film will be presented in its original aspect ratio. Sound: 5.1 HD Sounds sourced from the original recording tapes Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound Languages: French, Spanish audio tracks Close Captioned in English