Sleeping Beauty (1959)

Director:

Clyde Geronimi

Writers:

Erdman Penner (story)
Charles Perrault (story)
(more)

Release Date:

6 February 1959 (Brazil)

Genre:

Animation | Family | Fantasy | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

Now the magic moment! Full-length feature fantasy - Beautiful beyond belief

Plot:

A snubbed malevolent fairy casts a curse on a princess that only a prince can break, with the help of three good fairies.

Plot Keywords:

Prince | Fairy | Princess | King | Birthday

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Mary Costa	...	Princess Aurora (voice)
Bill Shirley	...	Prince Phillip (voice)
Eleanor Audley	...	Maleficent (voice)
Verna Felton	...	Flora (voice)
Barbara Luddy	...	Merryweather (voice)
Barbara Jo Allen	...	Fauna (voice)
Taylor Holmes	...	Stefan (voice)
Bill Thompson	...	Hubert (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bill Amsbery	...	Maleficent's Goon (voice) (uncredited)
Candy Candido	...	Maleficent's Goon (voice) (uncredited)
Pinto Colvig	...	Maleficent's Goon (voice) (uncredited)
Dal McKennon	...	Owl (voice) (uncredited)
Marvin Miller	...	Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Thurl Ravenscroft	...	Singer (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
Clyde Geronimi		(supervising)

Writing credits
Erdman Penner		(story adaptation)
Charles Perrault		(story "Sleeping Beauty")
Joe Rinaldi		(additional story) &
Winston Hibler		(additional story) &
Bill Peet		(additional story) &
Ted Sears		(additional story) &
Ralph Wright		(additional story) &
Milt Banta		(additional story)

Original Music by
Jack Lawrence		(musical score) (uncredited)

Film Editing by
Roy M. Brewer Jr.
Donald Halliday

Production Design by
Ken Anderson
Don DaGradi

Production Management
Ken Peterson	....	production supervisor

Sound Department
Robert O. Cook	....	sound supervisor

Visual Effects by
Jack Boyd	....	effects animator
Jack Buckley	....	effects animator
Ub Iwerks	....	special processes
Eustace Lycett	....	special processes
Dan MacManus	....	effects animator
Joshua Meador	....	effects animator
Bob Abrams	....	effects animator (uncredited)
Abra Grupp	....	digital paint artist (restored version) (uncredited)
Dorse A. Lanpher	....	assistant effects animator (uncredited)

Animation Department
Hal Ambro	....	character animator
Dick Anthony	....	background artist
Ray Aragon	....	layout artist
Frank Armitage	....	background artist
Bob Carlson	....	character animator
Eric Cleworth	....	character animator
Tom Codrick	....	layout artist
Basil Davidovich	....	layout artist
Marc Davis	....	directing animator
Al Dempster	....	background artist
Eyvind Earle	....	color stylist
Blaine Gibson	....	character animator
Don Griffith	....	layout artist
Victor Haboush	....	layout artist
Joe Hale	....	layout artist
Jack Huber	....	layout artist
Ralph Hulett	....	background artist
Ken Hultgren	....	character animator
Ollie Johnston	....	directing animator
Homer Jonas	....	layout artist
Milt Kahl	....	directing animator
John Kennedy	....	character animator
Hal King	....	character animator
Fred Kopietz	....	character animator
Bill Layne	....	background artist
John Lounsbery	....	directing animator
Don Lusk	....	character animator
Fil Mottola	....	background artist
George Nicholas	....	character animator
Ernie Nordli	....	layout artist (as Erni Nordli)
Ken O'Brien	....	character animator
Tom Oreb	....	character stylist
Walt Peregoy	....	background artist
Anthony Rizzo	....	background artist
John Sibley	....	character animator
McLaren Stewart	....	layout artist
Henry Tanous	....	character animator
Frank Thomas	....	directing animator
Richard H. Thomas	....	background artist
Harvey Toombs	....	character animator
Thelma Witmer	....	background artist
Robert W. Youngquist	....	character animator (as Bob Youngquist)
Don Bluth	....	assistant animator (uncredited)
Chuck Jones	....	layout artist (uncredited)
Gary Mooney	....	assistant animator (uncredited)
Floyd Norman	....	clean-up artist (uncredited)
Floyd Norman	....	inbetween artist (uncredited)
Phil Roman	....	assistant animator (uncredited)

Casting Department
Ken Peterson	....	casting: animation artists (uncredited)

Music Department
Tom Adair	....	songs
George Bruns	....	songs
Sammy Fain	....	songs
Winston Hibler	....	songs
Evelyn Kennedy	....	music editor
Jack Lawrence	....	songs
Erdman Penner	....	songs
John Rarig	....	choral arrangement
Ted Sears	....	songs
Frederick Stark	....	conductor (uncredited)

Other crew
Les Clark	....	sequence director
Walt Disney	....	presenter
Eric Larson	....	sequence director
Wolfgang Reitherman	....	sequence director
Eleanor Audley	....	live action model: Maleficent (uncredited)
Frances Bavier	....	live action model: Fairy (uncredited)
Madge Blake	....	live action model: Fairy (uncredited)
Spring Byington	....	live action model: Fairy (uncredited)
Jane Fowler	....	live action model: Maleficent (uncredited)
Ed Kemmer	....	live action model: Prince Phillip (uncredited)
Helene Stanley	....	live action model: Princess Aurora (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Walt Disney Productions

Distributors

• Buena Vista Film Distribution Company (1959) (worldwide) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista Film Distribution Company (1979) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Buena Vista International (1995) (Austria) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Finnkino (1995) (Finland) (theatrical)
• RKO (1960) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Suomi-Filmi (1959) (Finland) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1998) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment (BVHE) (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment (2002) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment (????) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Gativideo (19??) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Gativideo (2008) (Argentina) (DVD) (platinum edition)
• Walt Disney Home Video (????) (worldwide) (VHS)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2008) (Germany) (DVD)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2008) (Finland) (DVD)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2008) (UK) (DVD)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2008) (UK) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-Ray Disc)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-Ray Disc)

Other Companies

• Berlin Symphony Orchestra  score recorded by (uncredited)
• Cinesite  restoration work
• Panavision  process lenses

Runtime:

75 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo (original release) | 70 mm 6-Track (RCA Sound Recording) (70 mm prints) | Dolby Digital (DVD version) | Mono (35 mm prints) (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

West Germany:o.Al. | Iceland:L | Portugal:M/6 | South Korea:All | Canada:G (video rating) | USA:G (re-rating) (1970) | USA:Approved (certificate #19062) (original rating) | Finland:K-3 (2008) (DVD release) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Chile:TE | Finland:K-8 (1959) | Peru:PT | Spain:T | Sweden:7 (re-release) | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | Brazil:Livre

Company:

Walt Disney Productions

Trivia:

For the first time on a Disney animated feature, one man was in charge of the color styling, background design, and the overall look of the film. Eyvind Earle's modernistic approach to design and painting resulted provided this film a bold, unique art style, even though Earle's colleagues did not care for his production methods and art style while the film was in production.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the song "Once Upon A Dream" in the forest, Briar Rose places her shawl and picnic basket on the log. When it goes back to the log, they both disappear.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: In a faraway land, long ago, there lived a King and his fair Queen. Many years they had longed for a child, and finally their wish was granted. A daughter was born, and they called her Aurora. Yes, they named her after the dawn, for she filled their lives with sunshine. Then a great holiday was proclaimed throughout the land, so that all of high or low estate could pay homage to the infant Princess. And our story begins on that most joyful day...

Movie Connections:

Featured in DTV: Golden Oldies (1984) (V)

Soundtrack:

Once Upon a Dream

One of the finest films of the 1950's

In its scale, beauty, and dramatic power, Sleeping Beauty stands as (I think at least) the pinnacle of Disney's animated features. While in terms of cultural significance, it holds a second tiara to Snow White and Fantasia, it is set apart by its richly detailed, groundbreaking expressionistic design. The Disney animators had decidedly moved away from the European storybook feel of its 30's and 40's triumphs with Alice in Wonderland (1951) and Lady and the Tramp (1955), yet it was Sleeping Beauty that was the most radical departure. With its $6 million budget, the film has an epic sweep and scope never before achieved in animation. From the crowds of celebrators in the beginning to the tremendous size of King Richard's throne room, it achieves a tremendous feel of space and depth pioneered by the multi-plane work in Snow White and Fantasia. The film shows many other applications of the lessoned learned from the great experiment of Fantasia, particularly the remarkable scene of the three fairies bestowing their gifts on the infant princess. The camera pans up and off into dreamy, surreal vignettes slightly reminiscent of Fantasia's "Toccata in Fugue" segment. Its one of animation's finest moments. Yet what surely is the most memorable element of this film in the eyes of many viewers is its villain, the Marc Davis creation, Maleficent. Voiced by longtime Disney staple Eleanor Audley, she is easily Disney's most overtly evil villain. Davis' brilliant streamlined design exudes of an infernal elegance (complete with demonic horns). She carries a royal nobility that only adds to her ambiguous, sinister nature as well as to her dramatic presence. She slanders and cackles and proclaims her evil decrees with such bile and disgust it's almost overwhelming. In the final conflict between Prince Phillip, she cries out in utter fury, "Now shall you deal with me, o prince, and all the powers of hell!" Lightning cracks, smoke gathers and Maleficent rises, now changed into a fire-breathing dragon. It is one of Disney's most daring moments and very well one of its finest. Sleeping Beauty is a masterpiece, a tremendous artistic triumph from one of Hollywood's most successful and prolific studios. Its artistry, dramatic power, and compelling performances stand it along side the great American films of the decade, which is a fact not stated often enough.