Last night, a packed house at the Motion Picture Academy enjoyed the new, restored version of Mr. Disney's Sleeping Beauty. In fact, we saw it as no one else has ever seen it. The new digital restoration involves an even wider screen than the movie had when it was first released in 1959.
It was one of about five dozen movies made in the Technirama process which involved an extremely wide screen. The Disney craftsmen composed the movie for the ratio of 2.55:1 but for reasons I didn't understand (it sounded like some sort of technical screw-up) portions of the image on either side were lopped off and the film was released in the ratio of 2.35:1. There's nothing that important in the margins that have been restored for this new version but it was still exciting in an odd way to realize you were seeing more of Sleeping Beauty than anyone ever saw before. You can make up your own filthy-minded joke.
In his introduction to the presentation, Leonard Maltin said that we were in for a stunning visual treat. He was right. Boy, that's a great-looking picture. I guess it always was but the restoration is sharp and amazing. They're bringing it out on DVD and Blu-ray later this year and I guess we'll all buy it. But it's also getting some theatrical release — next month at the El Capitan in Hollywood for one night, then longer runs all over…and I don't care how big a TV monitor you own. Go see this one on a real big screen.
Leonard also remarked that at the time of its release, the film received some harsh reviews which called it cold, impersonal and confusing. Leonard thought this was wrong and he and I usually agree…but I think I side more with the critics who found flaws. I don't think the storyline works all that well, either as a love story or as a fantasy. Let me put up my SPOILER ALERT warning and then I'll tell you why.
As a love story, there's a problem: It's about a princess who was betrothed at birth to a prince. For years, she's unaware of this commitment or even that she's a princess…until one day she meets him by chance and, unaware he's her hubby-to-be, she falls instantly in love with him. And by "instantly," I mean it's about forty seconds of idle conversation and a few dance steps…so it all happens in the shallow end of the pool. But it's not really about finding love or about either of them ever maybe loving someone else because they never do. It's not a romance that really relates to anything that could ever occur to any of us since few of us are betrothed at birth. It's just a contrived problem that pertains occasionally to members of royalty.
As a fantasy, the scenario isn't much crisper. There's a horrendous villainess but we never know quite what makes her so rotten. She gets mad at not having been invited to a celebration but she was evil before that. Then she casts a curse that says that the princess will die at or around sundown of her sixteenth birthday. Three magic fairies decide (I'm not sure why) to forsake their magic for the next sixteen years and live with the princess in a cottage in the forest…and then they decide to start doing magic again and to bring the princess back just before sundown of her sixteenth birthday. Why don't they keep her away a few days longer? I have no idea.
The princess falls victim to the curse just as predicted (nice job of protecting her, fairies) but way back at the birth, one of the fairies cast a spell to alter the curse so that instead of the princess dying, she will merely sleep for all eternity or until her true love kisses her, whichever occurs first. This might be kinda interesting if she didn't have a true love around to kiss her but as it happens, she does. It's the guy she's been engaged to since the day she was born, the fellow she just happened to fall madly in love with about an hour before.
So all the fairies have to do is go get that guy and arrange for him to lay a big wet one on the title character. But before the fairies go fetch him, they decide to put everyone in the kingdom to sleep so that…uh…I guess I don't know why they do that. After the screening, I asked a few friends who were there and they didn't know, either. I assume there's a reason and maybe I read it in the comic book version or some novel adaptation way back when but if it was in the movie, we all missed it.
Finally, the prince has to battle monsters and spells and many near-death threats to go kiss the princess and save the day…which he does, though it seems like the three fairies do most of the heavy lifting.
Ultimately, I guess I didn't care about any of the characters in the film except maybe the fairies…and the movie really isn't about them. It's about a curse we don't understand and a princess we don't see much of. I still recommend the DVD and better still, a visit to an actual movie theater. Take a kid if you have one. One of the more delightful aspects of last night's screening was hearing the occasional "ooh" and other audible responses of the children present.
I think I see why this one was not regarded as the equal of some of the other Disney classics and why — in addition to the fact that it cost so darn much to make — it lost money. The reason I recommend it is that the animation and artwork is so wonderful. The screening was followed by a panel discussion and a display of artwork done for the film, and I believe the forthcoming DVD will have a considerable amount of such material. That's yet another reason to get it.