Are you going to be hanging around the house today like I am? Maybe catching up on emails or work or doing much-need housecleaning (I’m doing all three)? If so, run down to a store and grab Sleeping Beauty on DVD for a movie break! This Walt Disney classic has been completely restored as Sleeping Beauty 50th Anniversary Platinum Edition, and it looks amazing. You’d think it was a new movie it looks so good. Don’t remember the movie? David Kronke wrote this on Amazon.com:

Disney’s 1959 animated effort was the studio’s most ambitious to date, a widescreen spectacle boasting a gorgeous waltz-filled score adapting Tchaikovsky. In the 14th century, the malevolent Maleficent (not dissimilar to the wicked Queen in Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs taunts a king that his infant Aurora will fatally prick her finger on a spinning wheel before sundown on her 16th birthday. This, of course, would deny her a happily-ever-after with her true love. Things almost but not quite turn out that way, thanks to the assistance of some bubbly, bumbling fairies named Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather. It’s not really all that much about the title character–how interesting can someone in the middle of a long nap be, anyway? Instead, those fairies carry the day, as well as, of course, good Prince Phillip, whose battle with the malevolent Maleficent in the guise of a dragon has been co-opted by any number of animated films since. See it in its original glory here. And Malificent’s castle, filled with warthogs and demonic imps in a macabre dance celebrating their evil ways, manages a certain creepy grandeur. –David Kronke

For this new 2-Disc collection, Disney packed the DVDs with loads of bonus features, including: All-New Digital Restoration With Enhanced Picture And Sound
All-New 5.1 Disney Enhanced Home Theater Surround Sound
All-New Once Upon A Dream Music Video, Performed By HANNAH MONTANA’S Emily Osment
Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough A Fully Immersive Virtual Tour
All-New Enhanced Dance Game With Help From Briar Rose’s Forest Friends, You Can Learn How To Dance
Never-Before-Seen Alternate Opening
Deleted Songs
All-New Making Of SLEEPING BEAUTY Featurette

And SO MUCH MORE. Now, I want to warn you, if you have little ones, this movie gets kind of scary. Kaitlyn finds Maleficent the witch completely frightening and I have to fast forward that part. She’s much more interested when the three fairies are on screen. I’d say it’s probably most appropriate for ages 5 and up. Walt Disney spent an unheard of Six MILLION dollars making this movie in 1959, including using live actors to pose for the three main characters so the animators could make them look more realistic. From a historical point of view, or for the Disney movie fan and collector, this is a must-have purchase.

Want to help me make a buck? Use my affiliate link to make your purchase on Amazon.com. I mean honestly, it doesn’t hurt to ask, right? Click either of these images to make your purchase:

And now it’s back to work for me! More posts to come, that’s for sure

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