Customer Reviews

They don't make 'em like this any more - By: H, 13 Nov 2008
This has always been my favourite Disney film, & I am so glad it's been given the loving restoration it deserves.

The fantastic detail & 1950s graphic take of gothic & medieval styles is positively breathtaking. For Walt Disney it was ground breaking (and almost bankrupting) to create something so meticulously detailed & stylistically consistent right down to the backgrounds, & the result is beautiful & atmospheric. The extras are all interesting, detailing the conceptual side of things, & added a whole new perspective on what was always my favourite childhood film (even though I was terrified of Maleficent & convinced she was under my bed).

Amazing as the new computer technology is, it just doesn't for me have the artistic soul & wonder of this kind of traditional animation (no offence to those talented folk who work long & hard creating it, it's just not my bag). Now we strive for 3D realism,in movies like this it was for a blending of styles/genres & a stylistic vision that I feel lostin the computer age. I doubt we'll see animation like this again, & for me that's a crying shame.

And on the character side of things... Flora, Fauna & Merriweather still crack me up, twenty years later.

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Pink! Blue! Pink! Blue! PINK! - By: DangermouseZilla, 10 Nov 2008
My daughter, like many others, is obsessed with Disney Princess & has watched this a few times now.

I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the transfer. The picture quality is superb - & the animation is the smoothest I've seenin a hand-drawn feature. It's probably wrong of me to assume that an animated film released 50 years ago wouldn't have the same level of animation quality as a modern film, & this has certainly quashed my preconceptions.

The story is simple, & the humour is basic - but there's a real charm to this early Disney film. Maybe it's the flawless animation, or the jaunty songs - but you soon see past the cheesy Prince Charming & enjoy this for the fairy tale that it is.

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Sleeping Beauty - By: S. Coombs, 31 Oct 2008
This region 2 UK 50th anniversary 2 disc edition has I'm sad to say, an authoring fault. It is not properly flagged as anamorphic 16x9, it appears the initial batch as I have had two copies now, are non anamorphic, resultingin the main feature playing with black bars on all four sides of the screen, rather than the usual widescreen bars top & bottom.

And before anyone asks, I have my dvd player & screen set up correctly.

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Simply a remarkable and truely inspirational Disney film - By: S. J. Pinder, 25 Oct 2008
very few animations can meet this standard of film making.
this was Walt Disneys' final fairy tale before his tragic death (r.i.p Walt...you are a true inspiration).
Sleeping Beauty had a complex style of animated style never ever before done to make it look extremely realistic.
and it all definately paid off to a great level...it is Disney (yet again) at its very best.
very few can beat it.
it blends its horror, fantasy, action & comedy together extremely well which earns it a high place on my list of ultimate films by Disney only beaten by The Little Mermaid & The Lion King.
a quality film that introduced us to the ultimate Disney villain ever created...Malefecent.
for me the fairy godmothers just steal it every time.
masterpiece is an understatement...well it beats Snow White & Pinocchio(not being controversial).
a well deserved re-release...i've been waiting & now i can watch itin high-definition...i can't wait till it gets to my doorstep:).
sheer movie magic.

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After 50 years, even more dazzling and more delightful animation - By: Robert Morris, 15 Oct 2008

This is a new release of a Disney classic that first appearedin 1959. As is my custom, I much prefer to watch an animated feature film with several of my younger grandchildren (ages 3-7) & did so again with Sleeping Beauty on its 50th anniversary. Once again, they were engrossedin the story line whereas I was somewhat more interestedin how the quality of animation measures up (after 59 years) when compared & contrasted with recent films such as Toy Story & Toy Story 2, the three Shreks, Ratatouille, Cars, & Wall-E. It measures up remarkably well. Just as there is a certain charmin black-and-white classic films from the 1930's & 40's (e.g. Casablanca, The Little Shop Around the Corner, & It Happened One Night), the same is true of older Disney features (e.g. Dumbo, Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs, & Pinocchio) despite relatively less sophisticated animation.

There were also generational differences when my companions & I examined the special features that include "Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough (a fully immersive virtual tour), an all-new "Enchanted Dance Game," the "Dragon Encounter Audio Sensory Experience," & an all-new "Making of Sleeping beauty." Predictably, my grandchildren much preferred the supplementary games whereas I was (as always) intrigued by the "behind the screen" material such as a discussion of the film by John Lasseter of Pixar, the film critic Leonard Maltin, & the Disney animator Andreas Deja. The production valuesin this new edition are superb, especiallyin the Blu-ray version. The running time of 75 minutes seems just about right. Whatever the ages of those who see this film & one or more of its numerous special features, they will find much to enjoy & appreciate.

The story line is strikingly similar to the onein Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs. A daughter named Aurora is born to royal parents & then cursed to die by her 16th birthday by an evil fairy, Malificent. To protect her, three good fairies take her away, re-name her Briar Rose, & raise her themselves. A handsome prince meets her by chance, they fallin love, & agree to meet again soon. However, on the night of her 16th birthday, as she prepares to return to her parents & be crowned a princess, the evil fairy locates her & then.... Fortunately, everything eventually works out for Aurora as it also does for Snow White, Belle, & other Disney heroines.

I highly recommend this 50th anniversary celebration of one of Disney's most delightful animated films. Under-appreciated when first released, I think it will now receive the praise it so clearly deserves. Bravo!