(c) Disney

1. Sleeping Beauty was the first animated feature filmed in 70 mm Technarama.
2. Unlike most animated films, all the backgrounds were in focus with the animation.
3. The film was narrated by Marvin Miller, a popular radio personality at the time.
4. Eleanor Audley originally turned down the role of Maleficent due to her health.
5. Audley herself played Maleficent for the live action reference; sadly, none of that footage has survived.
6. Popular TV character actresses Frances Bavier (The Andy Griffith Show), Madge Blake (Batman) and Spring Byington (Laramie) portrayed the three good fairies for the live action reference footage.
7. Alice Davis� first job for Disney was making Briar Rose�s dress for the live action reference footage.
8. Helene Stanley, who played Cinderella for that film�s live action reference material, repeated the task here for Briar Rose/Princess Aurora.
9. Sleeping Beauty was the most expensive Disney film to date.
10. It was also the last Disney feature to be hand inked; the Xerox process would begin being used on the next feature, 101 Dalmatians.

Disc two is divided into two main sections, �Cottage� and �Castle�, with the kid-friendly bonuses in the former and more �Backstage Disney� features in the latter. �Games and Activities� in the �Cottage� section include the �Briar Rose Enchanted Dance Game�, where children are encouraged to dance along with Briar Rose�s forest friends or learn how to waltz with Prince Phillip and the princess herself; your little ones will be �dancing with the stars� in no time. Also included is a �for pre-school� only �Fun with Language� activity.

Eleanor Audley
(c) Disney

On to the meat of the bonus features in the �Castle� section, where you�ll find the brand new, 43-minute documentary �Picture Perfect: The Making of Sleeping Beauty�. This one is a step above the typical Disney �making of� feature, as it utilizes dynamic editing and montage techniques to fully bring the telling of the creation of this classic to life. Onscreen participants include the voice of Princess Aurora herself, Mary Costa, as well as Disney animators past and present Don Bluth, Andreas Deja, and Will Finn and such animation experts/historians as John Canemaker, Roy Disney and Bob Thomas.

Two shorter featurettes -- focusing on the film�s main stylist Eyvind Earle and the infamous �Sequence 8� -- offer supplemental information to the main �making of�, while an �Alternate Opening� and a trio of deleted scenes give you a chance to hear the songs written for the film but ultimately not used, including the peppy opener �It�s a Holiday Today� and the fairies� own version of �Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo�, titled �Riddle Diddle�.

But by far the most intriguing and unique of this new set's bonuses is found in the section dedicated to the original Disneyland Sleeping Beauty Walkthrough Attraction. Like the �Haunted Mansion Holiday� feature on this year�s The Nightmare Before Christmas deluxe DVD, this is an extensive and endlessly informative �behind-the-scenes� look at this long-gone guest favorite (which will soon be �reawakened� in the park in the near future).

Several viewing options are available, including the �Auto Mode�, which takes you through the virtually recreated castle stairways, complete with original narration and music. Disney Imagineer Tony Baxter is also on hand for a fascinating �Guided Tour�, which allows you (by way of the three color-coded good fairies) to pause and read the storybooks, take a good close look at the intricate dioramas, or stop and find out the ingenious methods that were used when they were originally created.

Additionally, a ten-minute �History of� the attraction is also included, as well as an �Easter Egg� that will give you a chance to see a very special souvenir from the attraction�s early days.

All in all, this latest edition of Sleeping Beauty on DVD offers a superlative combination of what appeals to the casual DVD-buying masses as well as to hardcore Disney/animation enthusiasts.

• The Wild Cats hit the big screen in High School Musical 3: Senior Year (Disney, October 24).
• Tinker Bell and all her faerie friends light up your DVD player October 28.
• This year�s batch of Walt Disney Treasures includes the final volume of The Chronological Donald and such TV favorites as Annette and Dr. Syn, the Scarecrow of Romney Marsh (Disney DVDs, November 11).

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Related Links

• LP Guide to Sleeping Beauty 50th Anniversary Platinum DVD

• Sleeping Beauty 50th Anniversary Platinum Edition Stills and Publicity Photos
• List of all Toon Talk Reviews and Articles

-- Posted October 7, 2008
-- Kirby C. Holt
-- Logos by William C. Searcy, Magic Bear Graphics