Disney’s Sleeping Beauty – 2-disc Platinum Edition + Standard DVD, Blu-ray (1959/2008)
Voices: Mary Costa, Bill Shirley, Verna Felton
Studio: Walt Disney 055608
Video: Original 2.55:1 anamorphic/enhanced for 16:9 color, 1080p HD
Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, Restored original stereo theatrical soundtrack
Subtitles: English SDH; (On Extras:) English SDH, Spanish, French
Extras: Separate bonus standard DVD with 5.1 HT mix & music video, 2nd Blu-ray of bonus features: New Cine-Explore Experience, New Maleficent’s Challenge Game, New Dragon Encounter, New audio commentary with animator John Lasseter, Never-before-seen alternate opening, BD Live, A Realtime Castle Environment tour, New Sleeping Beauty featurette, Deleted songs, more
Feature Length: 75 minutes
Rating: ****
Sleeping Beauty was the last of the big animated fairy tale features from Disney and was the most lavish in several respects. It was extremely widescreen, in gorgeous color, and shot on hi-res 70 mm film. The latter means the resolution is fantastic on Blu-ray – much like the IMAX transfers. Some of the early releases of the film in the 60s panned and scanned it to 4:3 ratio and ruined the color scheme, so this is the first opportunity for many to see it in all its glory.
With 15th century French illuminated manuscripts as the artistic model, and an accent on the most artistic drawing style, done at a relaxed pace for the Disney staff, the results are often breathtaking. Of course it’s still a Disney animation, so you can count on plenty of cuddly little animals scurrying about, and the main characters turn out to be not Sleeping Beauty and her Prince (after all, she’s asleep for part of time!) but three matronly Good Fairies who change size and fly about protecting Beauty and helping the Prince fight the evil Maleficent (who seems a lot like the witch in Snow White). The prince’s fight with the huge dragon is a highlight and the biggest action sequence in the movie.
There are a number of songs, though it’s not an all-sung musical by any means. The original music comes from Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty ballet, though it may often be difficult to recognize. There’s a cornucopia of bonus features, some of which are fun and others are a big corny but might appeal to kids. The BD-Live requires you to have an Internet connection, which only the latest Blu-ray players have, and you must slog thru a huge bunch of screens, legal stuff, and enter some personal information before you get the chance to watch the movie in sync with others, if you have any desire to bother with that. The movie is a Disney classic to be sure, and shows that even with animation Blu-ray can provide a considerably enhanced display and sound. I would think this a des rigeur movie for any family with a young girl in it.
– John Sunier
