Disney's 1959 Sleeping Beauty was the studio's most ambitious effort to date, a lavish spectacle boasting a gorgeous waltz-filled score adapted from the music of Tchaikovsky.

In the 14th century, the malevolent Maleficent (not dissimilar to the wicked queen in Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) taunts a king that his infant Aurora will fatally prick her finger on a spinning wheel before sundown on her sixteenth birthday. This, of course, would deny her a happily-ever-after with her true love. Fortunately, some bubbly, bumbling fairies named Flora, Fauna and Merryweather are on hand to assist.

It's not really all that much about the title character--how interesting can someone in the middle of a long nap be, anyway? Instead, those fairies carry the day, as well as, of course, good Prince Phillip, whose battle with the malevolent Maleficent in the guise of a dragon has been co-opted by any number of animated films since. See it in its original glory here, alongside Maleficent's castle, which, filled with warthogs and demonic imps in a macabre dance celebrating their evil ways, manages a certain creepy grandeur. --David Kronke, Amazon.com
A brand new DVD package to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Disney classic Sleeping Beauty. The timeless story tells of Princess Aurora, cursed by the evil sorceress Maleficent to die on her 16th birthday after pricking her finger on a poisoned spinning wheel. Despite being brought up in secret by three good fairies as Briar Rose, the curse comes true. Can her true love, Prince Philip, battle Maleficent and her spells and wake Aurora from her ageless sleep?

DVD Bonus Features

Audio Commentary
Princess Fun Facts
"Once Upon A Dream" Music Video
Disney Song Selection
Picture Perfect: The Making Of Sleeping Beauty
Alternate Opening
4 Deleted Songs
Storyboard Sequences
Live Action Reference
Sleeping Beauty Art Galleries
Sleeping Beauty Castle Walk-Thru Attraction
Publicity
The Peter Tchaikovsky Story
Four Artist Paint One Tree
Briar Rose’s Enchanted Dance Game
Sleeping Beauty Fun With Language Game

A beautiful princess born in a faraway kingdom is destined by a terrible curse to prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and fall into a deep sleep which can only be awakened by true love's first kiss. Though the titular princess is on par with the rest of Disney's essential heroines, most of the fun arises from the trio of charming fairies entrusted with her care: Flora, Fauna, and Meriweather. Meanwhile the evil Malificent may just be Disney's most chilling villainess. This classic makes wondrous use of Tchaikovsky's same-titled ballet score, which earned SLEEPING BEAUTY an Academy Award nomination for Best Scoring of a Musical Picture.

Customer Rating:
Summary: at long last
Comment: i was a disneyaholic when i was little girl and this was by far my favourite disney film, the bit that i always remembered and was lovely to watch is when the fairies are making aurora her birthday treat and everything changes colour! i've waited so long for this dvd to come out and can't to get it on dvd at long last!!! thanks disney

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