Customer Reviews
Superb! - By: Paal Olstad, 23 Dec 2008 
Like the title of my review says: Superb!
When I first started the film (DVD Region 2) the screen showed black bars at the sides (as well as at top & bottom) & the balll on Maleficent's stick was not circular. I fixed this by changing the setting of my DVD player from 16:9 Fix to 16:9 Auto. That made the picture perfect. For those who have the same problem doing the same may fix it. I have found that some wide screen DVDs need the DVD player to be set at 16:9 Auto while others need it to be set at 16:9 Fix.
Beautifully restored Disney classic with very good extras - By: fantasy escapist, 11 Dec 2008 
I first saw this at primary school, aged 6 so it must have been the first film I saw there & I loved it. I'm now an adult, & while it does have flaws within the aspects of character & some other niggles, it still stands up as a classic.
Disc 1: The Film - Opening with the classic Disney storybook being opened, the gold jewelled cover represents how much money & time went into making this, which is Disney back at what they do best, adapting fairy tales.
The vocal performances are outstanding, especiallly the evil villian Malificent's. They just carry the animated performances the artist did so well & bring them to life. My fave characters are the three good fairies & the best pure evil antagonist in a Disney fairy tale-based film.
Plot wise, it's a straightforward telling of the fairy tale, no 100 years between the Prince finding Sleeping Beauty & changes things like the number of fairies & some comic relief thrown in to make it more cinematic & Disney-fy the quite short fairy tale.
The film's running time is short(72 mins) & even if I'd prefer it a bit longer, it's tightly paced & doesn't go on too long.
The animation has a medieval, paining type feel, with it's detailed hand painted backgrounds & boasts arguable their most beautiful (if lacking noteworthy personality traits) princess Aurora/Briar Rose. The tour de force climax for me in this fairy tale film has never been bettered & scared me as a child.
A lovely, wonderful score that drives the emotion & great songs like my fave One Upon A Dream complete the film.8/10
Scene Selection
Bonus Features: Music & More: "Once Upon A Dream" Music Video By Emily Osment - A colourful pop-rock take on the memorable song, with a high-pitched teenybopper-pandering vocal from Osment. I don't think the 'rock' elements of the song work, so I could live without this version of it. Instead, Broadway singers doing a duet covering it would've been so much better.
Disney Song Selection - Once Upon A Dream(Main Title), Hail To The Princess Aurora, I Wonder, Once Upon A Dream & Sleeping Beauty. Jump to these places in the film, either by picking just one at a time or selecting the PLAY ALL option.
Play Film with lyrics on Screen - On or Off option too.
Set Up
Sneak Peaks - Trailers for WALL.E, Space Buddies, DisneyLand Paris 15th Anniversary, Pinnochio, The Princess & the Frog, Bolt & Tinker Bell.
Disney Fast Play - Starts the film straightaway.
Backstage Disney: Audio Commentary - with John Lasseter, Andreas Deja & Leonard Maltin. A chance to switch this option ON to listen with the film as Lasseter(Toy Story director), Maltin(lifelong Disney fan & film buff) & Deja(an animator at Disney). You'll also hear snippets from some of the original filmmakers who made this classic.
Princess Fun Facts - pop up pink boxes of information about the film making & of course, princesses.
Grand Canyon - A pictoral interpretation of Ferde Grofe's "Grand Canyon Suite", conducted by Frederick Stark. Photographed in Cinemascope.
In four parts - Painted Deserts & Sunrise, On The Trail, Cloudburst & Sunset & Finale. Not sure what it has to do with Sleeping Beauty but interesting alll the same.
The Peter Tchaikovsky Story - Tow versions of a show (which was the first widescreen presentation & stereo simulcast on TV).
Version 1 sees Walt talk briefly about the history of Disney(also explains what the veiwer has to do to be able to hear the steroe simulcast on TV), then introduce the short drama of the composer in colour then it goes back to Walt in black & white to introduce a preview of the forest & escape sequences from Sleeping Beauty.
Version 2 is the same as above but without the set up for stereo bit.
Disc 2: Bonus Features -
<--- Cottage
Castle --->
Castle --->
Picture Perfect: The Making of Sleeping Beauty - a more in-depth discussion on the sophistication, the design & decorative look of the film & it's influence by Eyvind Earle.
Eyvind Earke: The Man & His Art - a short doc on the background artist on the film.
Sequence 8 - The forest sequence & it's troubles & costs($10,000 apparently).
Alternate Opening - Shows the pinned up rough black & white storyboard with narration esablishing the kingdoms of Stefan & Hubert & the celebration of Aurora's birth.
We then see the unused joyous Broadway-type song 'Holiday'. This section is both balck & white & coloured storyboards.
Deleted Songs: It Have A Picture - was planned to follow Holiday.
Vesrion 1 uses a newly recorded version of the song after the original dialogue. Version 2 uses the exact same lyrics of the song as original recorded dialogue. It's a nice, light song.
Riddle Diddle - a song sang by the fairies making the cake & dress with magic. It's a sprightly, fast little bop.
Go To Sleep - set when the fairies put the rest of the people to sleep wth Aurora.
Storyboard Sequences: The Fairies Put The Castle To Sleep - introduced by Deja. The film version & storyboard version are shown, one ontop of the other, showing the similarities.
The Capture of the Prince
Live Action References: Briar Rose Dances, Prince Phillip Fights The Dragon & The Queen & a Good Fairy. All in black & white & very brief.
Sleeping Beauty Art Gallleries: Visual Development, Character Design, Stroyboard Art, Live Action Reference, the Sleeping Beauty Storybook, Layouts & Backgrounds, Production Photos & Publicity.
Original Disnland Sleeping Beauty Castle walkthough Attraction:
chhose between - Auto Mode or With Guided Tour by Disey Imagineer, Tony Baxter. A side icon lets you view the book on the menu screen for this.
History of the Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough Attraction
Publicity: original Teaser Trailer, Original Theatrical Trailer & Re-Release Trailer.
Four Artists Paint One Tree
<--- Cottage
Briar Rose Enchanted Dance Game
Sleeping Beauty Fun With Language
8/10 for the extras.
5 stars for the film, only one for the DVD - By: Mr. S. Fernandes, 27 Nov 2008 
I'm afraid I have to agree with the earlier reviewer who said there is a fault with the DVD.
I have a 4:3 television & set my DVD player to letterbox. The film does not play in the correct aspect ratio, losing some of the picture at either side. Considering that one of the selling points of the 50th anniversary edition is that you get the entire original picture this is reallly disappointing. In addition, the picture appears to be somewhat squashed together so that the characters in the film appear far thinner then they should.
Initiallly I thought it was my DVD player causing the problems but I have no trouble with any of my other disks. After doing some research online at several other DVD review sites it appears that this is a problem experienced by quite a few other people.
I enjoyed the film, it's absolutely fantastic but please do not buy the standard (non Blu-ray) version of the disc until Disney get off their backsides & release a properly authored version. How Disney can make such a huge mistake with a release like this is beyond me, do they even have a quality control department?
I am VERY disappointed.
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 & stylisticallly consistent right down to the backgrounds, & the result is beautiful & atmospheric. The extras are alll 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 lost in 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.
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 seen in 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.
