Sleeping Beauty is a disappointment for Disney. If it were the first animated feature ever made or even the first "princess meets prince - falls in love - they live happily ever after" animated feature, it would be fairly decent. But compared with Cinderella and Snow White, Sleeping Beauty falls very far behind. The animation fluidity is very smooth, an improvement on Snow White, but that is where the magic ends. The backgrounds are less detailed, the extras on the screen are given little to no movement, and the color palette is mostly primary colors. The story is one we've all heard before, but no time is invested in the characters (save for the 3 fairies...who fail to delight) to spice things up. What made the fairy tales of Snow White and Cinderella so wonderful was the attention to detail, both in animation and characters. We got to know their personalities, their motivations, their quirks. For example, the magnificently drawn villain, Malificent, is given no reason for being bad. She just comes and lays a curse upon people and creates havoc because...well, I guess she just has nothing better to do...
In this movie, Disney seems to be going through the motions. Take note: more time is given to showing the storybook flipping through the pages and more narration is used to move us through the plot. Had Disney focused less on the plot and more on the characters relating to each other, the movie would have been much more interesting. There is nothing in Sleeping Beauty that is original, nothing they haven't done better earlier. Such a pity this was the last movie Walt produced before he died. It was the end of their classic era. Even the music is lacking with the Princess Aurora song and the song between the 2 kings being some of the silliest music they ever recorded. Only one great tune (The Once Upon a Dream song) stands above the rest. They clearly knew that it was their one good song since it is sung over and over again throughout the movie.
So why am I giving this movie a 5 and not lower? Because it is a competent movie. It is skillfully pieced together and flows smoothly. It will be a delight to children. On its own, it is decent. It pales in comparison to other great Disney films. Sleepy Beauty is a perfect example of a skilled studio cutting corners and putting out a product without a lot of love poured into it.
In this movie, Disney seems to be going through the motions. Take note: more time is given to showing the storybook flipping through the pages and more narration is used to move us through the plot. Had Disney focused less on the plot and more on the characters relating to each other, the movie would have been much more interesting. There is nothing in Sleeping Beauty that is original, nothing they haven't done better earlier. Such a pity this was the last movie Walt produced before he died. It was the end of their classic era. Even the music is lacking with the Princess Aurora song and the song between the 2 kings being some of the silliest music they ever recorded. Only one great tune (The Once Upon a Dream song) stands above the rest. They clearly knew that it was their one good song since it is sung over and over again throughout the movie.
So why am I giving this movie a 5 and not lower? Because it is a competent movie. It is skillfully pieced together and flows smoothly. It will be a delight to children. On its own, it is decent. It pales in comparison to other great Disney films. Sleepy Beauty is a perfect example of a skilled studio cutting corners and putting out a product without a lot of love poured into it.