Critic's Grade: B+

Picture: 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, 1.33:1 fullframe

Sound: English Dolby Digital 5.1

Subtitles: English

~Picture and Sound~
-- After watching "Sleeping Beauty" for endless years on my old, burned-out VHS copy, I was finally happy to hear that one of my favorite films of all time was getting the DVD treatment, complete with a widescreen version of the movie, which I had never seen. Now having seen the movie the way that it was meant to be seen, I can honestly say that there's really no other way to fully appreciate the work that went into this motion picture if you can't see all of it. Small details within the art and drawings that were cropped in the fullframe version of the movie are given new life here, and the results are quite impressive, I must say.

Both the widescreen version of the movie and the fullframe version are available on Disc One; as always, wider is better. The 2.35:1 anamorphic image is absolutely breathtaking in many respects, struck from a source print that we later learn was remastered and touched up frame by frame, for optimum effect. The work at Disney has truly paid off, as colors are much more vibrant and full of life, while clarity comes across splendidly, especially where the smaller, more intricate details of the animation are concerned. There is nary a blemish to the found in regards to surface scratches or speckle, and while some minor film grain is apparent here and there, it is quite forgivable considering the glorious job done in making sure that "Sleeping Beauty" looks its very best.

Then we move on to the sound, which has also undergone the remastering process and is reborn as a full Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track. Now, suffice it to say, the original format for the sound was monaural, so there are considerable limitations that are noticed during this presentation. For one thing, the track retains a front-heavy feel for most of the film's duration; it is only during the music when background vocals make their way into the arrangement that the surrounds truly come alive with breathtaking splendor. Despite this overall lack of ambiance, however, the track sounds very clean, with only one or two instances where even the slightest hiss or noise is audible. Dialogue has come through nicely, and the sound effects have been given some miniscule oomph courtesy of the faint .1 LFE. It's not 100-percent perfect, but considering what could have been, this is a very nice effort.

~Supplements~
**Disc One**
- feature commentary with Disney historian Jeff Kurtti, art director Eyvind Earle, voice cast member Mary Costa, supervising animators Ollie Johnston and Marc Davis, background painter Frank Armitage, and Disney artists Mike Gabriel and Michael Giaimo

**Disc Two**
*Games, Music and Fun*
- "Disney's Art Project" game
- "Rescue Aurora Adventure" game
- "Princess Personality Profile" game
- "Once Upon a Dream" sing-along
- no secrets "Once Upon Another Dream" music video
- "Sleeping Beauty Ink and Paint" game

*History and Behind-the-Scenes*
- "The Making of Sleeping Beauty" featurette
- Story: "The History of the Story" essay, original 1951 outline, storyboard sequences
- Production: "The Music" featurette, "The Design" featurette, "Creating the Backgrounds" featurette, live-action references, "The Restoration" featurette, "Widescreen to Pan-and-Scan Comparison" featurette
- photo galleries
- theatrical trailers
- "Three Artists Draw One Tree" featurette
- "The Peter Tchaikowsky Story" featurette
- "Grand Canyon" short film

-- Every DVD has its fair share of ups and downs, and "Sleeping Beauty" is no exception to this. Yes, the historical material and behind-the-scenes looks are enticing, but altogether too brief, while the extras aimed at the younger set just aren't that great. But you gotta take the bad with the good sometimes, right?

First, the good, which begins on Disc One with the feature commentary hosted by Disney historian Jeff Kurtti, who moderates the track with a variety of historical references and information about the making of the movie. Along the way, many other commentators make remarks: art director Eyvind Earle, voice cast member Mary Costa, supervising animators Ollie Johnston and Marc Davis, background painter Frank Armitage, and Disney artists Mike Gabriel and Michael Giaimo. With such a wide selection of talent, there is much to be learned here; the only disappointment is that given the rather short running length of the movie, there's not room enough for more discussion of the film's many elements.

Then we move on to Disc Two, where in the "History and Behind-the-Scenes" section we start things off with "The Making of Sleeping Beauty." With a running time of less than twenty minutes, there's more stuffed into this piece than a Thanksgiving turkey, as it touches on everything from the creation of the characters to the layout and design of the backgrounds and settings. Overall, it's good stuff, and would be even better were it more fully developed. We then move to the "Story" section, which features an essay on the background of the fairy tale itself, the original 1951 outline of the feature's plot, and some storyboard sequences. This is all somewhat mediocre, but nonetheless interesting. In "Production," we kick off with featurettes covering the music (Mary Costa gives a few good comments here), design, backgrounds, restoration, and comparisons between the widescreen and fullframe versions. There is also some live-action reference material, including some film footage and photographs.

We then have a diverse photo gallery section with a number of subjects including posters, backgrounds and layouts, character and concept designs, and much more. Navigating the galleries is fairly easy, but the transitions from image to image is a bit annoying in some of the sections. There are three theatrical trailers here as well, and this section closes out with two "Disneyland" show segments: "Three Artists Draw One Tree," and "The Peter Tchaikowsky Story," both of which are okay, but nothing to write home about, really. There is also the short film "Grand Canyon," which was shown in theaters in 1959 with "Sleeping Beauty."

And now, the not-so-good, all of which can be found in the second section on Disc Two, entitled "Games, Music and Fun." There are a handful of interactive set-top games: in "Disney's Art Project" you can create a princess or a dragon; in "Rescue Aurora Adventure" you answer trivia questions in order to advance through the forest to the castle; the "Princess Personality Profile" matches you up with the Disney princess you are most akin to; and "Sleeping Beauty Ink and Paint" allows you to tinker with the color schemes of the characters. Nothing too terribly interesting or enlightening, and as a semi-avid gamer, I wasn't too thrilled with this one. The "Once Upon a Dream" sing-along is pure throwaway fluff, and don't even get me started on the no secrets "Once Upon Another Dream" music video.

Overall, the presentation of the movie is worth owning the DVD for, and the supplements, although somewhat scant when it comes to really digging into the movie, are interesting in what they do have to offer. But when you think of the DVD editions for "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," and even last year's "Beauty and the Beast," this one tends to pale in comparison.

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