Hey guys! Gerawallstar here and I am here to review the 16th Walt Disney animated film called Sleeping Beauty, which was released in 1959. When this film came out, it was a disaster at the company with the film bombing at the box office and also having a mixed critical reception. This film bombed so hard that it almost killed the Disney company, because the it was their expensive film of the time. Its failure caused the company to switch their future animation styles from cel-animation to xerography. What is my opinion on the film despite it not being a success? Eh.
Story:
The story is about a young princess named Aurora who was born into royalty. The evil sorcerer didn’t get invited to the christening, so she devises a plan to kill the princess by putting a spell on her eventually causing her to fall into a deep sleep on her 16th birthday. The story right off the bat is a con. The reason why I have a problem with the story is because it is very boring. There are some moments in the story where the scenes get too boring that it wanted to put me to sleep such as the kings being drunk. I don’t remember much that was exciting or worth remembering. That doesn’t mean that there are some good moments in here. The climax is very exciting and iconic with the prince battling the villain. The moments between the three fairies are funny. The cake and dress scene was hilarious. The ending was also good. The story is average for the most part. I give the story six stars.
Animation:
The animation is the best part of the film. It looks beautiful! Everything from the visuals, colors, effects and even the character designs makes the animation astounding. They do a good job making the animation look like a painting. It feels so rich and colorful. This is where the expense of the movie’s budget came from, and it looks like a piece of art. There is a lot of experimentation in the animation alone. Firstly, this is the first time Disney has experimented using xerography during the climax scene with the villain, which would be implemented in future Disney films after this one. Second, this is the first Disney film to be shot using the Super Technirama 70 widescreen process and the second Disney film using Widescreen whereas the other Disney films are shot on a 1:85 ratio. I honestly would’ve loved to see this film on the big screen. The animation is beautiful and the best-looking visuals in any animated film. I give the animation ten stars.
Characters:
Do the characters make up for the middle of the road story? Unfortunately no. The characters are the weakest part of the movie. A lot of the characters are bland and boring. Starting off with the sleeping beauty herself, Aurora is the worst Disney princess. She is boring, dull and she doesn’t even appear much in the movie. All she does is sleep throughout the movie. Although the last part does make sense in terms of story. Prince Phillip is also boring. He does do a lot in the middle half of the film, but that doesn’t redeem himself for being too bland. The parents are funny but dull. Now that we got the bad characters out of the way, lets move on to the good characters. The villain Maleficient is one of the best Disney villlians of all time. She is evil, manipulative and the way she transformed into a dragon during a climax shows how much of a badass she is. She is known as the best Disney villians of all time. The three fairies Flora, Fauna and Merriweather steal the show. They crack me up everytime they are on screen whether they bicker with each other, or when they find ways to save the princess. I always liked Fauna. The characters are allright for the most part, but they do have some good characters as well. I give the characters six stars.
Songs:
There are not a lot of songs in this movie to make a songs category, but despite that there is a song that I give praise to. And that song is “Once upon a dream.” That song is simple and charming. It warms my heart every time I listen to it. The other song “Scamps” However is a terrible song. The score is the best part of the movie, because every time something dramatic happens or during the climax, the score builds up through and through making these moments powerful. The songs are good, but they are not perfect. I give the songs seven stars.
Verdict:
Sleeping Beauty is all right. It has THE best animation/villain, and the fairies steal the movie. Unfortunately, the story and most of the characters including the main leads brings this movie down for the most part. I’m sorry if you are fans of this movie that are upset with my score, but I hope you guys see this as a honest Disney fan perspective. I give this film a 6.5 out of ten.
6.5/10.
