Product Details

• Actors: Mary Costa, Bill Shirley, Eleanor Audley, Verna Felton, Barbara Luddy
• Directors: Clyde Geronimi
• Format: Limited Edition, Color, Animated
• Language: English
• Rating: G (General Audience)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Walt Disney Home Video
• Run Time: 75 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• ASIN: B000A39X3C
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #12,145 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Disney's 1959 animated effort was the studio's most ambitious to date, a widescreen spectacle boasting a gorgeous waltz-filled score adapting Tchaikovsky. In the 14th century, the malevolent Maleficent (not dissimilar to the wicked Queen in Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) taunts a king that his infant Aurora will fatally prick her finger on a spinning wheel before sundown on her 16th birthday. This, of course, would deny her a happily-ever-after with her true love. Things almost but not quite turn out that way, thanks to the assistance of some bubbly, bumbling fairies named Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather. It's not really all that much about the title character--how interesting can someone in the middle of a long nap be, anyway? Instead, those fairies carry the day, as well as, of course, good Prince Phillip, whose battle with the malevolent Maleficent in the guise of a dragon has been co-opted by any number of animated films since. See it in its original glory here. And Malificent's castle, filled with warthogs and demonic imps in a macabre dance celebrating their evil ways, manages a certain creepy grandeur. --David Kronke

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Disney Classic, November 1, 2008

By	Joanne E. Theodorou - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

A Disney classic ... an iconic story, timeless, told beautifully, easily and happily. What I find remarkable is the color in this version, so vivid...Sleeping Beauty has held up well. The three fairies, in lieu of the original fairy tales' seven godmothers, was a smart substitution. I especially thank Disney for keeping the word "spindle" in our vocabulary! A real popcorn movie for all to enjoy.