Plot.
Poster of Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty

1959 · Film · 75 min

  • Fantasy
  • Animation
  • Romance
  • Family

Plot

Cursed to die by the evil fairy Maleficent when she was a baby, Princess Aurora is sent into hiding under protection from three good fairies. As she grows up far away, Maleficent becomes increasingly determined to seal the princess's fate.

About Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty is a 1959 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Film Distribution. Based on Charles Perrault's 1697 fairy tale, the film follows Princess Aurora, who was cursed by the evil fairy Maleficent to die from pricking her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel on her 16th birthday; she is rescued by three good fairies, who change the curse so that Aurora falls into a deep sleep and will be awakened by true love's kiss. The production was supervised by Clyde Geronimi, and was directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, Eric Larson, and Les Clark. It features the voices of Mary Costa, Bill Shirley, Eleanor Audley, Verna Felton, Barbara Luddy, Barbara Jo Allen, Taylor Holmes, and Bill Thompson. Sleeping Beauty began development in 1950. The film took nearly a decade and $6 million (equivalent to $66,267,000 in 2025) to produce, and was Disney's most expensive animated feature at the time. The film's tapestry-like art style was devised by Eyvind Earle, who was inspired by pre-Renaissance European art; its score and songs, composed by George Bruns, were based on Pyotr Tchaikovsky's 1889 ballet. Sleeping Beauty was the first animated film to use the Super Technirama 70 widescreen process and was the second full-length animated feature filmed in anamorphic widescreen, following Lady and the Tramp (1955). Sleeping…

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Series

Part of Walt Disney Animation Studios feature film.

Awards

Nominated for 1 other award: Academy Award for Best Original Musical Score.

As recorded on Wikidata, which may not list every award.

Cast

  • Mary CostaPrincess Aurora (voice)
  • Bill ShirleyPrince Phillip (voice)
  • Eleanor AudleyMaleficent (voice)
  • Verna FeltonFlora / Queen Leah (voice)
  • Barbara LuddyMerryweather (voice)
  • Barbara Jo AllenFauna (voice)
  • Taylor HolmesKing Stefan (voice)
  • Bill ThompsonKing Hubert (voice)
Images