Under its spell again: "Sleeping Beauty" still superb on DVD
Published Oct. 31, 2003 in San Jose (CA) Mercury News
Ever since I was young, I've had a love affair with ''Sleeping Beauty.'' The Disney animated movie, that is.
First released in 1955, and the last of the classic fairy tales filmed by Walt Disney, the movie cast its spell on me. From today's perspective, it was probably Princess Aurora herself and the striking design and standout music influenced by Tchaikovsky that got to me back then.
All this came back after I watched ''Sleeping Beauty: Special Edition,'' Disney's two-disc DVD release with lots of bonus features, the first DVD version available in stores rather than via mail-order.
The film itself, restored frame by frame, looks beautiful with rich colors and a great-sounding Dolby 5.1 audio track. It was Disney's first widescreen film, and thankfully this set avoids forcing the shopper to choose between video formats by including both widescreen and full screen.
The film tells the story of a young princess who, at birth, is cursed to die at age 16 by the evil witch Maleficent, easily one of the scariest villains in Disney's animated films. The thrilling climax will likely send the youngest viewers into mommy and daddy's arms. But don't worry, kids; your folks did that, too.
The host of memorable characters includes the heroic Prince Phillip and the fairy trio Flora, Fauna and Merryweather, who hope to protect the princess from Maleficent's spell.
The set's best extra is the audio commentary. In documentary fashion, it presents a wealth of information from the film's art director Eyvind Earle, supervising animators Ollie Johnston and Marc Davis, background painter Frank Armitage and the actress who provided the voice for Princess Aurora, Mary Costa. It also includes the unused lyrics of the song ''Riddle Diddle,'' whose instrumental melody is heard in the film.
With an almost girlish glee, Costa recalls her audition, how her Southern accent was made to sound British and what it was like working with Disney.
The animators discuss the Renaissance influence on the backgrounds, the creation of the music and what made the characters, especially the animals, unique to this film. Davis remembers Disney as a tough boss who seldom gave out compliments.
Other extras include a panel discussion with some of the animators and critic Leonard Maltin, a close look at the creation of the backgrounds, alive-action dance sequence done by Helene Stanley to show how a dance scene was animated and a look at the restoration.
Also included are ''The Peter Tchaikovsky Story,'' a segment from the ''Disneyland'' TV series, and the Oscar-winning 1958 live-action short ''Grand Canyon'' (which has nothing to do with ''Sleeping Beauty'').
For kids, there's the Rescue Aurora Game, which gives them a chance to pick the right forest path to save Sleeping Beauty, and the Princess Personality Game, designed to show girls what princess they most resemble after a short quiz. Two features showcase the film's standout song, ''Once Upon a Dream.''
