Sleeping Beauty is the tale of a kingdom so overjoyed at the birth of the King and Queen's daughter, the lovely Aurora, that they throw a huge celebration so that each person can give homage to the tiny, new princess. Only one person was not invited to the party, Maleficent (Eleanor Audley), the empress of evil. Naturally, this doesn't sit well with her and she crashes the party, bestowing an evil gift on the child - on her 16th birthday, she'll prick her finger on a spindle and die! Fortunately, the three magic fairies, Flora (Verna Felton), Fauna (Barbara Jo Allen) and Merryweather (Barbara Luddy) were in the midst of bestowing their gifts on the princess and Merryweather still had hers to give, so she changes the spell to only make the princess sleep until she is awakened by love's true kiss.
With this horrific turn of events, the three fairies are tasked with caring for the baby princess until her 16th birthday has passed and they don the personas of three older ladies living in the woods with a young girl, whom they now call Briar Rose. Fast-forward 16 years and the true identity of the princess has been successfully kept a secret, despite Maleficent's minions searching for her. When Flora, Fauna and Merryweather begin preparing for Briar Rose's birthday celebration and bust out their magic wands that have lain dormant for som many years, things get out of hand and Maleficent's crow spots magic happening in the cottage. In the meantime, Briar Rose meets a handsome young stranger in the forest and the two fall madly in love. Little do either one know that they are already betrothed to one another and are to be married. Maleficent's evil plan finds Briar Rose getting pricked by a magical spindle and Prince Phillip being imprisoned and it's up to the three fairies to rescue Phillip, so that he can save his princess and live happily ever after.
This is truly one of my favorite Disney classics, second only to Cinderella. Part of that is Maleficent, who absolutely oozes evil. Eleanor Audley also voiced the evil stepmother in Cinderella, so that could have something to do with it. It's just a really great fairytale, all around. Aside from getting the wonderful story, you have it in its completely remastered form and when I tell you they did an amazing job, I was floored. I had to literally get up close and search for the pencil marks, but they were there. Everything is clean and crisp and so rich in color. They did a fantastic job. Combine this with the superb surround sound and that's plenty enough reason to buy this Blu-ray. But wait, there's more...
Special features abound here and do not disappoint. There are a few games, such as a dancing/Simple Simon type game, and the really fun Maleficent's Challenge Game which is a Q21 game where she has to figure out what you are thinking. We stumped it twice, but more often than not, it was amazingly accurate. You've got commentary, a music video, a never-before-seen alternate opening, but probably the coolest of all is the virtual tour of Sleeping Beauty's castle, where you can get all sorts of additional info by clicking an extra button or two. For mega fans, this is a real coup. Also, in their supreme genius, they have included a free copy of the film on DVD. This is a brilliant move on Disney's part, because there's a good chance that a parent buying this for their child will have a portable DVD player and that way, they can take the fun on the run. Very cool Disney. Sleeping Beauty also includes Disney BD Live, where you can log in and chat with friends on your list, play games and more. This is something the kids should really enjoy, although it didn't really appeal to me.
If you are a Disney fan and have a high def setup, this is must-have stuff. This movie looks so sweet, if you don't have high def, it's worth the investment. It's a true showpiece for your high def home entertainment system. Highly recommended.
