Review: UK Release of the Sleeping Beauty DVD
Page 4 of 4
Grand Canyon
During the premiere engagement of
Sleeping Beauty in 1959, a short film entitled Grand Canyon accompanied the
feature. The piece was filmed in CinemaScope and was conceived as a pictorial
interpretation of the Grand Canyon Suite by the famed American composer, Ferde
Grofe. Grofe wrote the piece in 1929, as an uplifting, spiritual recording after
the ravages of the Wall Street crash and the economic suffering of the nation.
James Elgar and Ernst A. Heiniger paired together to complete the work, which
brought them both the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Subject in 1959.
Although the grandeur of the piece in CinemaScope is somewhat reduced in the home cinema format (the letterboxing of the short is very narrow), one can only begin to imagine how stunning and beautiful the final featurette must have been, when experienced to its potential. The colours of the vistas displayed are vivid and evocative. The raging waters of the Colorado are mesmerising, like rivers of liquid chocolate, twisting and turning, turbulent to the extreme. Heiniger spent an entire year of his life with his camera and a portable record player, documenting the raging waters of the river and the subsequent creation by the Colorado of the Canyon itself, ensuring that the images were appropriate for each section of the music.
The second segment of the short is entitled "On The Trail" and follows a series of desert animals, such as snakes and rodents that were found both along the rim and on the floor of the canyon itself. On viewing this section, one is drawn to the similarities with the True Life Adventures series.
Marc Davis and Mary Costa (Sleeping Beauty)
(c) Disney
Story & Production
Contained within the navigation menu, one can find text documents and mini
documentaries outlining the arduous process employed by Walt Disney Feature
Animation in creating this masterpiece. Like the other deluxe editions, the
first caption is about the history of the story. I was unaware that there had
been several incarnations of Sleeping Beauty, prior to Charles Perrault's
version debuting in 1697. However, Perrault took the story further than Disney,
as his tale follows Aurora beyond the awakening to the birth of two children and
even further. In fact, the DVD is quick to point out that although Walt Disney
credits Perrault for the basis of his version, most commentators believe that
the script has a closer allegiance to the Brother Grimm tale.
Next, viewers are taken through two storyboard sequences; the first shows pencil sketches of the three fairies putting the entire castle to sleep and the second displays the capture of Prince Phillip by Maleficent's henchmen.
In the production sub-menu, we see Leonard Maltin enthusing about the music of Sleeping Beauty, and in particular the vocal and singing talents of Mary Costa, the voice of Aurora. Costa herself talks fondly of the collaboration with George Bruns, the composer on "Once Upon a Dream". Later, contributors such as Maltin, Eric Goldberg (a former Disney supervising animator) and Ollie Johnston, one of the famed Nine Old Men enthuse about the involvement of Eyvind Earle, the first time an artist had been employed by the studio to create an iconic look to an animated feature. Earle himself talks about the lengthy production process and how he ensured that all artists followed the same procedure, with significant layering to the backgrounds to evoke depth and realism.
A treat for Disney enthusiasts will be the live action references that were shot on the Burbank studio. A stuttering camera follows a young man dressed as Prince Phillip, climbing makeshift stairs with his sword and shield as he clashes with Maleficent as the dragon (in this case a white ball on a stick!). The second video footage is from the Disneyland T.V. series that is more fluid and shows artists like Marc Davis sketching, as a young girl waltzes around the studio in between objects labelled as "wishing well" and "tree". The section is concluded with a gallery of still images from other live action photo shoots.
Finally, we are led through the computer restoration process, which is only the second time in history that it has been used (the first was Snow White). Every frame is scanned into the computer and painstakingly cleaned to remove the stutter, dust and other scuffs and scratches that had collected onto the original film. The final product is then recorded onto film before being copied onto videocassette and DVD.
Scrapbook
The final section of the second disc contains a whole series of odds ‘n' ends
that provide the viewer with an insight into how the movie was pitched to
audiences in 1959 and the lasting legacy of this classic. Photos from behind the
scenes at the studio show the animators hard at work; stills show the
decorations that adorned marquees in famed American theatres such as the
Wilshire; images of the various Sleeping Beauty castles at Disney theme parks,
including Tom Morris' meticulously detailed renderings for EuroDisneyland; and
finally, a series of photographs that display the various merchandise offerings
from the late fifties. This latter category has some amusing products, including
a Bantamlife Lit-Up Magic Wand that is "individually mounted" on "dramatic 20
inch king size pilfer proof" card, all a bargain at just 98 cents "complete"!
The Movie
Ah, I almost forgot about the movie itself! I was amazed at the richness of
colour that was prevalent throughout the restored product. I was able to observe
the pastel colours in the final feature that I had never seen before. The
quality of the transfer is simply superb and this DVD belongs in the home of
every Disney enthusiast.
A Caveat To Conclude
Don't forget that in order to purchase this DVD, you must have a Region 2
compatible player. Most U.S. players are regionalised to only play the domestic
product, which is encoded for Region 1. If you have any questions about this
disc, please do not hesitate to either post a message on the relevant board or
contact me directly by email on
lee.macdonald76@btinternet.com.
Discuss It
-- Lee Macdonald
-- Posted March 28, 2003
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