Sunday, August 14, 2016
Sleeping Beauty
- Commentary: (See write-up for Maleficent.) I've never been much for animated movies. When I was a kid I really didn't have what I considered to be needed, the patience for animated movies. My parents caught on quickly. Although it seems that my sisters saw all the animated movies that were available when we were kids in the 60s, there is only one animated movie I'd seen that was made before Pixar started making animated movies (I like more than a few of theirs), and I saw it when I was a kid [Where, I wonder, was I when my sisters were watching movies like Bambi, Cinderella, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and One Hundred and One Dalmations (the original)?]. That movie was Sleeping Beauty. I loved it. The reason I loved it was because I fell in love with Maleficent (yes, there is even a Wikipedia page devoted to her, such is her power). There were a few other things I liked about Sleeping Beauty: the wand fights with color, the scene in which Sleeping Beauty waltzed with the animals. I even liked that song, which I continue to call "I Know You". Those, though, were all residuals beside Maleficent. Oh! Maleficent! I day dreamed about her. I could quote many of her lines. Somehow, I saw that particular animated feature more than once when I was a kid, despite the lack of movies-in-the-home, just to catch yet another glimpse of Maleficent. So, it should come as no surprise that I bought this movie when I bought Maleficent: the beginning and the continuation of my love affair with Maleficent. My niece, with whom I share a love of all things drama, including movies, told me a few days ago that the ABC TV series Once Upon a Time has begun to incorporate Maleficent. Lucky for me, it's on Netflix. I'm on my way ...
Update 2/9/18: As I was re-editing this write-up, I thought it would be fun to include some of the more interesting, and many, reviews of Sleeping Beauty and Maleficent. One, in particular, is from 1959, the Los Angeles Times. I hope to keep an eye out for links in this post that will surely go dead, but don't hold your breath!
In the table below you'll note the category "Voice/Perf Actor". "Perf" stands for "Performance. I was going to ignore this split until I noticed that many of the Performance Actors are recognizable actors outside of this movie. Gave new meaning, to me, for Disney animation.
Voice/Perf Actor Role Voice/Perf Actor Role Voice/Perf Actor Role Voice/Perf Actor Role Mary Costa/Helene Stanley Princess Aurora Bill Shirley/Ed Kemmer Prince Phillip Eleanor Audley/Jane Fowler Maleficent Verna Felton/Frances Bavier Fairy Flora Barbara Jo Allen/Madge Blake Fairy Fauna Barbara Luddy/Spring Byington Fairy Merryweather Taylor Holmes/Hans Conried King Stefan Verna Felton/Jane Fowler Queen Leah Bill Thompson/Don Barclay King Hubert Dallas McKennon Owl/Diablo Marvin Miller Narrator Hans Conried Lord Duke
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1959
Supervising Director: Clyde Geronimi.
Labels: adventure1, animated, drama5, fantasy2, me-favorite1, popcorn-and-soda2
