Sleeping Beauty (1959)
There's something genuinely lovely about seeing a Golden Age Disney animation back on a screen, even if the film in question isn't quite the studio's finest hour. Sleeping Beauty has bags of charm, no question about it, and as a piece of animation history it's indisputably important. But important and brilliant aren't always the same thing, and sitting with it now, it's hard not to feel that it sits a rung or two below the studio's real mid-century peaks. Come in with an appreciation for the craft involved, though, and it's still a pleasant enough trip down memory lane.
What strikes you almost immediately is how extraordinary the backgrounds look. The hand-painted artwork has this rich, almost tapestry-like quality to it, all deep jewel colours and gothic geometry, and it gives the film a visual identity that feels genuinely distinctive. You can see the care that went into every frame, and there are moments where you just want to pause and sit with a single image for a while. That craftsmanship alone earns Sleeping Beauty its place in any conversation about the history of the form.
But then there's Maleficent, and honestly, she's the whole show. She is an absolute icon, full stop. A towering, terrifying presence who commands every scene she's in, she's the kind of villain who makes you forget the rest of the film is even happening. When she's on screen, everything crackles with menace and theatre. When she's off it, you're waiting for her to come back. It's a strange thing to say about a children's cartoon from the late 1950s, but she might be one of the great screen villains, full stop. The character design, the voice, the sheer dramatic weight of her every entrance; it's extraordinary work.
The songs, on the other hand, I could happily forget. They're not offensive, they don't derail anything, but they're completely without the sort of hook you'd expect from a Disney classic. I wasn't humming a single one on the way home, and I genuinely struggled to recall them clearly the next morning. Compare that to the best Disney songs, which burrow into your skull and stay there for decades, and the contrast is pretty stark. They feel functional rather than inspired.
And yes, watching it through a modern lens does throw up a few uncomfortable moments, the "true love's kiss" while the princess is literally unconscious being the obvious one. It's worth naming, because pretending it isn't there feels dishonest. But I don't think it's particularly useful to hammer a children's film made over sixty years ago against the standards of today. It has an innocent, well-meaning heart, and it was never trying to do anything more complex than bring a fairy tale to life for a young audience. That's the context, and it matters. I reviewed Alice in Wonderland from the same era and had similar feelings, where the artistry is undeniable even when the story itself feels a bit thin.
Where Sleeping Beauty falls short of the studio's best is in its emotional pull. Snow White, Cinderella, Dumbo, even One Hundred and One Dalmatians, which came just a couple of years later, all managed to make you genuinely feel something beyond mild warmth. Sleeping Beauty is pleasant, but it rarely moves you. The central characters are a little too passive, a little too decorative, and the story never quite generates the emotional momentum to carry you all the way through on feeling alone.
Two and a half stars, then. It's not a film I'd steer anyone away from, and if you've got kids who haven't seen it, by all means put it on. Maleficent alone is worth the runtime. But for those of us who love this era of animation and want to make the case for it, Sleeping Beauty is probably not the one you'd reach for first.
Rating: ★★½ | Year: 1959 | Watched: 2026-06-23
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
Affiliate disclosure: Movies With Macca may earn a small commission on purchases or subscriptions started via these links. It costs you nothing extra.
