This movie has never looked this good. I didn't even watch the Blu-ray release as I am still stuck in the land of standard-def, but I'll be damned if this transfer isn't amazing. Had I not been interested in the special features, I considered the brilliant cross-platform release that is the Blu-ray (they packed the movie-only standard def DVD in as a third disc). I'm going to spend a good deal of time with the feature itself before getting to the spread of special features.
One of the greatest sequences in animated history
One of the more striking features of the restored movie is the fact it's back in its originally-intended aspect ratio of 2.55:1, first available to the public exclusively in this new home release. As soon as I saw the comparison shots, I immediately wondered just how it could be that so much of the frame had been sliced out for so long from this undeniable animated classic.
The "tapestry" design of the whole film that was mandated by Walt himself and implemented by Eyvind Earle (more on him later) lends itself so perfectly to this ultra-wide ratio, I spent one time through watching the movie and the next trying to visualize what was lost in previous transfers. Below I've chopped a sample from the big fight with the Dragon (not very precisely, I apologize):
As seen in 2.35:1
As restored in full 2.55:1
The above examples contrast best when the sequence is seen in motion, but the below frame is really the true exemplification of why the wider aspect ratio is infinitely better. The sense of depth and the fundamental composition in this shot is completely betrayed by chopping the frame:
As seen in 2.35:1
As restored in full 2.55:1, to proper grand scale
This is like shaving a couple inches on the sides of a great work of portraiture because smaller frames were cheaper. Thank god this has been rectified. I never knew anything was wrong with it as a kid, but now I know I could sense those missing inches off the frame. I can only imagine how glorious this looks in 1080p, but my father-in-law assures me it "looks pretty damn amazing."
The restoration of the film is covered in one of the docs on disc 2 which I'll dig into soon enough further down), but for the real nitty gritty, I'll direct you to a recently-posted Yellow Layer Failure column put together by restoration king Robert A. Harris over at The Digital Bits.
As for the Movie
The storytelling shows its age, especially in the wake of Enchanted, which I find even more chuckle-worthy having re-watched Sleeping Beauty. While Prince Phillip stalks behind Briar Rose/Aurora in the forest, creeping up to take her in an embrace from behind, Ashley and I had a back and forth exchange that kept escalating more and more along the lines of "don't go in there" or "he's going to get you!" as one would warn while watching a slasher movie.
Just sing and play with animals and wait for a complete stranger to ambush you. Then, fight him off but then invite him over to your house that night. What could go wrong, right? The story is an artifact, but the aesthetic design holds up admirably 50 years later, especially thanks to the extensive restoration work. The dated plot mechanics and stereotypes aside, the fight with the Dragon is still one of the most compelling animated action scenes in the realm of traditional animation, and with the plethora of cheap CGI garbage churned out these days, the movie is a great family-friendly choice in a sea of talking animal crap.
Beyond the Movie: Disc 1
Feature Commentary
One of the last extras I looked at is in retrospect one I wish I'd looked at first: the Feature Commentary with Pixar chief John Lasseter, Leonard Maltin, and animator Andreas Deja. Any chance to listen to Lasseter talk about classic animation is a can't-miss, and his Pixar movie yack-tracks have always been good. Maltin is a guy many either love or hate, and I'm pretty ambivalent on him. If you dislike him at all, his presence here won't turn you off. As is often the case with Disney history, Maltin really knows his stuff and he doesn't overload you with unnecessary info.
Back to Lasseter for a moment, because a couple places in this track reminded me of a doc I saw last year called The Pixar Story (included in next week's WALL-E deluxe set) where he served as one of the primary talking heads. Any chance you ever have to hear this guy talk about animation is an absolute privilege. I don't listen to as many comment tracks as I used to, but any of them with John are worth listening to, sometimes twice.
The piece of this triumverate you may not be familiar with is Andreas Deja, who has worked for Disney as an animator since 1980's The Black Cauldron, and has been supervising animator for many of Disney's major villains since then including Gaston, Jafar, and Scar, in addition to creating Roger Rabbit. He most recently supervised animation of Queen Nerissa in last year's Enchanted, so his inclusion here is more of an insider's than you would assume just knowing he works for Disney. Very informative and quiet in places where the three guys get wrapped up (understandably so) in watching this masterpiece unfold.
Music Video: Emily Osment singing Once Upon a Dream
Look, I'm not the target market for this extra or a few of the others, so why did I watch it? Out of the same morbid curiosity my wife has in scrutinizing Disney DVD covers that employ radically different style than the actual movie, like the rerelease of Peter Pan. This is probably on there to support the Hannah Montana Generation of new Disneyphiles who'll learn the junk-rock version of this song because Hannah Montana's sidekick/friend is singing it. Not to get too off-topic, but if Miley Cyrus "retires" Hannah, will Osment take up the reins with the same character name/identity, or will she become "Morrigan Oregon" or "Rhoda Minnesota"?
Song Selection
Lets you jump to any "song" you want in this song-sparse movie.
Princess Fun Facts
Again, not aimed at me, this is what my wife calls "Pop-Up Video" for Disney movies. Assorted trivia and facts and so on.
Grand Canyon
The entire Grand Canyon suite set to a 29-minute video of the Grand Canyon. Lovely music, but I remember them showing this to us in elementary school music class and it put us all to sleep. The '58 Oscar winner for Short Subject, this may be used as background when I'm making dinner on the odd night. Lovely photography if you have a kid who's never seen the million and one docs/specials on The Canyon.
The Peter Tchaikovsky Story
My wife laughed at me when I put this on, but it turned out to be phenomenally entertaining. Thanks to current TV movie trends, I joked, it sounded like a Lifetime TV movie about "noted wife-abuser and philanderer Peter Tchaikovsky, that son-of-a-bitch." The first TV show broadcast in "stereophonic" sound and theatrical widescreen (it's only taken us 50 years to get aspect ratio right), it tells the story of young Tchaikovsky being haunted by melodies and being reprimanded for being an "artist" in the face of a lucrative career as a government official like his father. Plenty of 1950's TV acting is on display, which in and of itself is hilarious. Walt Disney himself introduces the piece as well as the "special preview" of Sleeping Beauty, and as much as we see movies spoiled in trailers these days, the two near-full sequences he shows are the climatic Dragon fight at the end and Sequence 8 ("Once Upon a Dream" in the forest).
Alternate Languages
Most people gloss over this, but I love being able to watch these Disney classics with the Spanish ad French voice tracks. Great way to start your kids early on foreign language comprehension.
Disc 2: The Real Meat
Games and other Kiddy Stuff
Again, these were not designed for me, but I don't see how they could be entertaining to the target audience. The games themselves are better played with cards and the narrating voice is so condescending I wanted to take a sleeping pill.
Picture Perfect
Ahh, now this is the stuff. A comprehensive documentary of the production, history, and problems on Sleeping Beauty. Not too long, not too short, and just right. Disney's DVD production team does a masterful job of differentiating featurette content from "The Making of" and separating those out to their own little segments. Contributors range from Briar Rose herself, Mary Costa, to filmmakers and historians.
Eyvind Earle: The Man and His Art
This glimpse intot eh life of Earle is a fascinating eight or nine minutes with a genius. With a life history so interesting, I'm surprised no one has fashioned a capable biopic or bio-musical about this guy. A rough childhood that lead to greatness in this film. Worth re-watching it's so interesting.
Sequence 8
Most would refer to this as "Once Upon a Dream" when the two leads first meet. A notoriously complex sequence that Walt demanded be more and more unique, it almost sundered the entire production, let alone the studio.
Deleted Scenes/Storyboards
The wisely-trimmed opening song and additional stuff with the kings. Disney really does cut the fat before they get to cooking. Three songs total and a couple of storyboards, introduced by Andreas Deja. The Storyboards are a comparison to the finished footage and worth watching.
Live Action Reference
They filmed live actors in costumes in front of stock sets for reference when drawing back in the days before mo-cap. Nice to see a peek into just how precisely they captured the physical nature of hair, fabric, and facial expressions.
Production Galleries
This is probably my favorite, sure-to-be unsung feature of this set. Through a copious amount of stills, you get to see the evolution of various character and location designs. Take my word for it and spend a few minutes with these and you'll find yourself spending the better part of a half hour or full hour poring over these.
Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough and Attraction
This was particularly engaging for me since as a kid or an adult, I've never been to either Disney theme park in the US. Disney Imagineers walk us through the attraction that's been unviewable to the public for something like 40 years. They show us the magicians' tricks that make everything possible, and the changes that it went through until its closing. There's a not-so-hidden easter egg toward the end of the guided tour in addition to the news that the Castle Attraction is going to have a grand re-opening next year, which reminds me of Lasseter's passionate dedication to the Disney parks. Not only is his presence at Disney revitalizing their feature animation division, but their parks and DVD releases are really truly getting those Pixaresque bits of extra loving care.
4 Artists Paint 1 Tree
An old Walt goodie featuring how four artists interpret one task. This should be shown in school art classes. Eyvind Earle is one of the artists.
Trailers
The teaser, and full trailers from 1959 are here as well as the 1995 re-release one. I realized I hadn't watched these yet, so I just popped the disc back in and...my god. The 1995 trailer is in 1.85:1.
The Last Word
From a guy who used to buy DVDs all the time but has been tamed from that habit by a very practical wife, this would have gone to the top of my "weekly stack" in those days. As it stands, the pedigree of recent Disney DVD releases under John Lasseter have vastly improved over the nigh-perfect ones from before his tenure. This one is a blind buy unless you hate animation, classic films, or Disney. Note that I left out "family-friendly" there. The frightening "get seduced by strangers vibe" in the forest glen makes this one difficult to recommend as totally ok for young girls...but then again I have to compare it to other "family friendly" movies out there. The Bolt trailer has a hamster talking about snapping someone's neck, for cryin' out loud.
A splendid addition to anyone's collection, and I'm sure the Blu-ray is just as worth it. There is one (or five) people close to you that will enjoy this arriving in a stocking or as a present of any sort this year.