Blu-Ray Review - Sleeping Beauty Diamond Edition

About the Movie
Finally releasing from the Disney Vault, Disney's ultimate princess fairytale classic “Sleeping Beauty” will be available for the first time on Diamond Edition Blu-ray, Digital HD and Disney Movies Anywhere on October 7, 2014. Experience all of the pageantry and power of this wondrous tale on Blu-ray - and for the first time on Digital HD - with incredible high definition picture, thrilling, soaring sound, and all-new Diamond Edition special features that make this a must-own for every family’s classic collection!

Creating the ultimate at-home viewing experience, Disney’s 2-Disc Diamond Edition Blu-ray Superset (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy) contains digitally restored picture and sound, a digital copy of the film, and a variety of magical new bonus features, including “Once Upon A Parade,” in which “Modern Family” star Sarah Hyland tells us the tale of Walt Disney World’s new Festival Of Fantasy Parade, “Art of Evil: Generations Of Disney Villains,” a legacy piece spotlighting Disney’s favorite villain animator and Maleficent creator Marc Davis, and “@DisneyAnimation: Artists in Motion,” in which Walt Disney Animation Visual Development artist Brittney Lee goes through the process of creating a three dimensional sculpture of Maleficent, completely out of paper.

Additional all-new bonus features include never-before-seen deleted scenes “The Fair” (with Deleted Character The Vulture,) “The Curse is Fulfilled” and “Arrival Of Maleficent,” plus the Beauty-Oke sing-along to “Once Upon A Dream.” The Blu-ray Superset also includes classic DVD bonus features and more!

“Sleeping Beauty” tells the wondrous tale of a princess cursed by an evil fairy, protected by three loving fairies and, ultimately, saved by “true love’s kiss.” Featuring the voice talents of renowned opera singer Mary Costa as Sleeping Beauty and Disney stalwart Eleanor Audley as the evil fairy, Maleficent, the film’s vibrant visuals were created by a team that included Milt Kahl and Ollie Johnston, two of Disney’s legendary Nine Old Men and an Academy Award®-nominated score, 1959, adapted from the incandescent music of Peter Tchaikovsky. “Sleeping Beauty” is the sixteenth animated feature in the Disney animated features canon and was the last animated feature produced by Walt Disney to be based upon a fairy tale. It is the tenth film released as part of Disney’s prestigious Blu-ray Diamond Collection.

“Sleeping Beauty” awakens to spectacular new life in the following home entertainment formats, with new and classic bonus features included below:

Bonus Materials:

2-Disc Blu-ray Superset with Digital Copy (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy) and select Digital Retailers

Includes:

• ‘Once Upon A Parade’ (Starring Sarah Hyland) - Behind every attraction, event and parade at the Magic Kingdom is a unique story. Join Sarah Hyland from ABC’s “Modern Family” as she tells us the tale of Walt Disney World’s new Festival Of Fantasy Parade. This magical “in world” short film goes behind the scenes of the new parade and shows how the residents and characters of Fantasyland created this parade to tell their stories.
• Art of Evil: Generations Of Disney Villains – This legacy piece spotlights Disney’s favorite villain animator, Marc Davis and his infamous creations of characters such as Maleficent and Cruella. Throughout the piece, we will talk to modern day animators like Andreas Deja and also the new generation of Animators (Lino DiSalvo Animation Director of FROZEN) on how Marc’s designs and characters influenced what they do today.
• @DisneyAnimation: ARTISTS IN MOTION (Extended Edition) - Join Walt Disney Animation Visual Development artist Brittney Lee as she goes through the process of creating a three dimensional sculpture of Maleficent, completely out of paper. In this extended edition, go deeper into Britney’s process
• Never Before Seen Deleted Scenes:

• The Fair (With Deleted Character – The Vulture) – In this version of the story, the fairies do not take the Princess to live with them in the forest. Convinced that King Stefan's order to burn all the spinning wheels in the kingdom will not prevent Maleficent's curse, the good fairies put a magic circle around the castle and cast a spell: "No evil thing that walks or flies or creeps or crawls can ever pass these castle walls."
• The Curse is Fulfilled - The three good fairies have just returned Aurora to the castle and give her a crown. They leave the room to give Aurora some time alone…but Maleficent pays her a visit.
• Arrival Of Maleficent (Alternate Scene) – Maleficent arrives uninvited to the christening of the Princess Aurora.

• BEAUTY-OKE “Once Upon A Dream” - Sing along to this kinetic text video of Aurora’s signature song.

Classic DVD Bonus Features Include:

• The Sound Of Beauty: Restoring A Classic - This featurette covers the creation of the 7.1 mix of the score of Sleeping Beauty that was done for Blu-ray, using the source tapes from the original recording sessions resulting in an audio experience of superior quality with greater detail and fidelity that you have ever heard before.
• Picture Perfect: The Making Of Sleeping Beauty - Discover the behind-the-scenes magic that transformed a beloved fairy tale into a cinematic work of art. Legendary Animators, actors and film historians reveal the secrets behind Disney’s masterpiece.
• Eyvind Earle: A Man And His Art - Early in his career, renowned American Artist Eyvind Earle worked as a background painter at the Walt Disney Studio. Walt Disney liked his work so much that he entrusted him with the assignment to be the Art Director for Sleeping Beauty. This was the first time that one artist was given the responsibility for the entire look on one of Disney’s animated features. This piece follows Earle’s development as an artist and his years at the Studio.
• Audio Commentary by John Lasseter, Andreas Deja and Leonard Maltin

My Take on the Movie
This is a great new release from the Disney vault! Remastered with beautiful color and sound, this blu-ray really exploded off the screen when we watched it for the first time as a family. I have to say that they did a great job at putting this new movie together! On top of the movie itself, they also released some great bonus features that I had never seen before. I cannot tel whether they had been in an earlier release or not, but I can say that they are definitely interesting and we loved seeing some of the deleted scenes! All-in-all this is a great addition to any Disney fan;s movie collection. I highly recommend this movie to all!


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