Sleeping Beauty (1959)
There are certain films that loom large in the collective memory simply by virtue of existing at the right moment in history, and Disney's Sleeping Beauty (1959) is a fairly textbook example. Based on the centuries-old fairy tale made famous by Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm, the film arrived at the tail end of what many consider Disney's classic golden age, sandwiched between Cinderella (1950) and the studio's subsequent pivot toward cheaper, less labour-intensive production methods. It was, by any measure, an extraordinarily expensive undertaking for its time, with production costs reportedly reaching around six million dollars, making it one of the costliest animated features ever attempted up to that point. The financial returns were modest enough on initial release that Disney shelved the hand-drawn widescreen format almost entirely for the next two decades. History, as it tends to do, has been a little kinder to the film than its box office performance suggested it would be.
The production was helmed by Clyde Geronimi, a studio veteran who had co-directed Alice in Wonderland (1951) a few years earlier, working within the well-organised machinery of Walt Disney Productions rather than as a singular auteur voice. The visual approach was genuinely ambitious: backgrounds were painted in a style influenced by medieval illuminated manuscripts and the angular geometry of European Gothic art, giving the film a look quite distinct from the softer, rounder aesthetic of earlier Disney pictures. The soundtrack leaned heavily on Tchaikovsky's original ballet score, adapted by George Bruns, which lent the whole thing a certain classical grandeur, polished but unremarkable in the way that faithful adaptations of very familiar source material can sometimes feel. As a companion piece, it sits interestingly alongside the studio's slightly more freewheeling effort that followed it, One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), which took a noticeably looser and more contemporary approach to both animation and storytelling.
On the voice cast side, soprano Mary Costa provides the speaking and singing voice of Princess Aurora (or Briar Rose, depending on which half of the film you're in), a role she landed after Walt Disney himself heard her at a party. Her co-star Bill Shirley is pleasant enough as Prince Phillip without leaving any particular impression. The real weight, both dramatically and in terms of sheer screen presence, falls on Eleanor Audley as the villainous Maleficent, a role the actress had already warmed up for, having voiced Lady Tremaine in Cinderella. Audley brings a dry, imperious menace to the character that the rest of the voice work simply cannot match. Verna Felton and Barbara Luddy round out the good fairy trio with a warm, bickering chemistry that provides most of the film's lighter moments.
It’s always a delight to see these classic Golden Age animations like Disney’s Sleeping Beauty (1959), directed by the legendary Clyde Geronimi back on the screen. While it’s often considered one of the slightly weaker entries from that era compared to the narrative heavy hitters that came before and after it, there’s still a massive amount of charm to be found here. It’s a foundational piece of animation history, and going in with an appreciation for the sheer artistry involved makes it a genuinely pleasant trip down memory lane, even if the story itself doesn't quite reach the emotional heights of the studio's other mid-century masterpieces.
It’s actually quite strange when you think about it, because the most famous and enduring thing about this movie is undoubtedly its villain. Maleficent is an absolute icon of cinema, a towering, terrifying presence who completely steals every single scene she’s in and elevates the entire picture just by being on screen. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the musical numbers. The songs are completely forgettable, lacking the catchy, toe-tapping magic you’d expect from a Disney classic. They do the job of filling the silence and keeping the pacing moving, but you certainly won't be humming them on the way home.
I will admit that watching it through a modern lens, a few of the narrative beats are a little troubling by today’s standards, particularly when it comes to personal boundaries and the whole "true love's kiss" trope while the princess is literally unconscious. But it’s important to remember it’s a kids' film made over sixty years ago, and at its core, it has a very well-meaning, innocent heart. It’s not trying to be a complex character study; it’s just a straightforward, colourful fairy tale meant to spark a child's imagination.
Overall, it’s a perfectly average piece of animation. Sleeping Beauty might not be a cinematic masterpiece, but thanks to one spectacular villain and some gorgeous, hand-painted background art, it remains a harmless, nostalgic watch that still does the job.
Sleeping Beauty occupies a curious place in the Disney catalogue: technically accomplished, visually unlike almost anything else the studio produced, and yet strangely inert at its dramatic centre. For those interested in exploring the broader landscape of 1959 cinema, it makes for an interesting contrast with something like Pickpocket (1959), a film released the same year that could hardly be more different in ambition and execution. What Macca's review captures is the tension that sits at the heart of the film: the gap between what is genuinely beautiful to look at and what actually lands emotionally. It's the kind of film that earns its place in animation history on craft alone, which, depending on your patience for a thin story, may or may not be quite enough. Some films coast on a single great performance. This one does exactly that, and just about gets away with it.
Rating: ★★½ | Year: 1959 | Watched: 2026-06-23
Trailer
▶ Watch the official trailer for Sleeping Beauty (1959) on YouTube
Where to watch
Watch in the UK
Stream: Disney Plus
Rent: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV
Buy: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Physical: Amazon UK · Zavvi
Watch in the US
Stream: Disney Plus
Rent: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Buy: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Physical: Amazon US
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