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Sleeping Beauty: Diamond Edition
- Release Date: October 7, 2014
- Rated: G (General Audience)
- Run Time: 75 minutes
- Number of discs: 2
- Studio: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
- ASIN: B00KB3PZ60
- SRP: Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy = $36.99 US, DVD $29.99 US
My Mom gave me my love for Disney movies. Sleeping Beauty is one of the first Disney animated movies I remember seeing as a child. You probably know the story but just in case you don’t, here’s the short version. King Stefan and Queen Leah have a beautiful baby girl, Princess Aurora. At birth it is arranged that when the Princess is older she will marry Prince Phillip. At a large party celebrating the birth of the princess the evil witch Maleficent places a curse on Aurora. The curse states that the Princess will die on her sixteenth birthday after pricking her finger on the needle of a spinning wheel. The three good fairies Flora, Fauna and Merryweather decide to intervene and stop this from happening. The first step is to place another spell on the Princess that says that instead of dying she will go into a deep sleep that can only be awakened by a kiss from her true love. The second step is to take the Princess away from the kingdom where she can live safely and noone will know who she is.
The Princess (now called Rose) grows up happy and healthy and turns into a beautiful young lady under the care of the fairies. As she is turning sixteen she announces that she is in love. The fairies explain that she cannot marry her young man as she is already promised to a Prince. This piece of news causes the secret to come out that Rose is actually Princess Aurora. Maleficent’s trusted bird overhears this and alerts her where the Princess is. The Princess is tricked into pricking her finger and falls into a deep sleep. The fairies decide to have everyone fall into the same sleep rather than be sad. As the King is falling asleep one of the fairies realizes that the boy Rose had fallen for was actually Prince Phillip. She and the other fairies rush back to the forest to get the Prince but Maleficent has already gotten there before them and taken the Prince. The fairies help him escape. He races to wake the Princess but must battle Maleficent to get to the tower where the Princess sleeps. With the fairies help good overcomes evil and he slays Maleficent, who is in her dragon form. Prince Phillip finally gets to kiss Princess Aurora and she (and everyone else in the kingdom) wake up and live happily ever after.
Here are some clips from the film.
“The Curse”:
“Make It Blue”:
“Once Upon A Dream”
“Sleeping Beauty” features the voice talents of renowned opera singer Mary Costa as Sleeping Beauty and Disney stalwart Eleanor Audley as the evil fairy, Maleficent. The film’s vibrant visuals were created by a team that included Milt Kahl and Ollie Johnston, two of Disney’s legendary Nine Old Men. The Academy Award®-nominated score, dated 1959, was adapted from the incandescent music of Peter Tchaikovsky. “Sleeping Beauty” is the sixteenth animated feature in the Disney animated features canon and was the last animated feature produced by Walt Disney to be based upon a fairy tale. It is the tenth film released as part of Disney’s prestigious Blu-ray Diamond Collection.
Bonus Features
2-Disc Blu-ray Superset with Digital Copy (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy) and select Digital Retailers
Includes:
· ‘Once Upon A Parade’ (Starring Sarah Hyland) – Behind every attraction, event and parade at the Magic Kingdom is a unique story. Join Sarah Hyland from ABC’s “Modern Family” as she tells us the tale of Walt Disney World’s new Festival Of Fantasy Parade. This magical “in world” short film goes behind the scenes of the new parade and shows how the residents and characters of Fantasyland created this parade to tell their stories.
· Art of Evil: Generations Of Disney Villains – This legacy piece spotlights Disney’s favorite villain animator, Marc Davis and his infamous creations of characters such as Maleficent and Cruella. Throughout the piece, we will talk to modern day animators like Andreas Deja and also the new generation of Animators (Lino DiSalvo Animation Director of FROZEN) on how Marc’s designs and characters influenced what they do today.
· @DisneyAnimation: ARTISTS IN MOTION (Extended Edition) – Join Walt Disney Animation Visual Development artist Brittney Lee as she goes through the process of creating a three dimensional sculpture of Maleficent, completely out of paper. In this extended edition, go deeper into Britney’s process
· Never Before Seen Deleted Scenes:
o The Fair (With Deleted Character – The Vulture) – In this version of the story, the fairies do not take the Princess to live with them in the forest. Convinced that King Stefan’s order to burn all the spinning wheels in the kingdom will not prevent Maleficent’s curse, the good fairies put a magic circle around the castle and cast a spell: “No evil thing that walks or flies or creeps or crawls can ever pass these castle walls.”
o The Curse is Fulfilled – The three good fairies have just returned Aurora to the castle and give her a crown. They leave the room to give Aurora some time alone…but Maleficent pays her a visit.
o Arrival Of Maleficent (Alternate Scene) – Maleficent arrives uninvited to the christening of the Princess Aurora.
· BEAUTY-OKE “Once Upon A Dream” – Sing along to this kinetic text video of Aurora’s signature song.
· Classic DVD Bonus Features Include:
o The Sound Of Beauty: Restoring A Classic – This featurette covers the creation of the 7.1 mix of the score of Sleeping Beauty that was done for Blu-ray, using the source tapes from the original recording sessions resulting in an audio experience of superior quality with greater detail and fidelity that you have ever heard before.
o Picture Perfect: The Making Of Sleeping Beauty – Discover the behind-the-scenes magic that transformed a beloved fairy tale into a cinematic work of art. Legendary Animators, actors and film historians reveal the secrets behind Disney’s masterpiece.
o Eyvind Earle: A Man And His Art – Early in his career, renowned American Artist Eyvind Earle worked as a background painter at the Walt Disney Studio. Walt Disney liked his work so much that he entrusted him with the assignment to be the Art Director for Sleeping Beauty. This was the first time that one artist was given the responsibility for the entire look on one of Disney’s animated features. This piece follows Earle’s development as an artist and his years at the Studio.
o Audio Commentary by John Lasseter, Andreas Deja and Leonard Maltin
Bonus Materials Overview for These Products:
DVD
Includes:
· Never Before Seen Deleted Scenes:
o The Fair (With Deleted Character – The Vulture) – In this version of the story, the fairies do not take the Princess to live with them in the forest. Convinced that King Stefan’s order to burn all the spinning wheels in the kingdom will not prevent Maleficent’s curse, the good fairies put a magic circle around the castle and cast a spell: “No evil thing that walks or flies or creeps or crawls can ever pass these castle walls.”
o The Curse is Fulfilled – The three good fairies have just returned Aurora to the castle and give her a crown. They leave the room to give Aurora some time alone…but Maleficent pays her a visit.
o Arrival Of Maleficent (Alternate Scene) – Maleficent arrives uninvited to the christening of the Princess Aurora.
Bonus Materials Overview for These Products:
Disney Movies Anywhere
Includes:
· Artists In Motion – Join Walt Disney Animation Visual Development artist Brittney Lee as she goes through the process of creating a three dimensional sculpture of Maleficent, completely out of paper.
· Classic DVD Bonus Features –
o Alternate Opening, Live Action Reference, and 4 Deleted Songs.
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I LOVED this movie as a kid!! Love that it is being re-released.
This is my daughter’s favorite Disney movie and I think the Diamond Edition would be exceptional.
This is such a classic and got to think of it – I do not have the Sleeping Beauty in my collection. My kids would love it
This is one of my favorites growing up. I have a copy in my Disney collection.
It’s a true classic. I have always loved Sleeping Beauty. I can’t wait to see what it looks like on Blu-Ray.
The dragon part is a cinema wow!