ABLAZE WITH WONDER!
When a princess is born in a kingdom, three fairies bless the child… but an evil witch, who was not invited, puts a curse on her. Disney’s most ambitious animated film of the 1950s is a classic fairy tale, its visual style borrowing inspiration from Medieval paintings and Art Deco, all supervised by the artist Eyvind Earle who had a major influence also on later Disney movies. Not as colorful as the similar Snow White, but still grand entertainment with a terrific villain in Maleficent who gets a fiery final battle with Prince Phillip. Brilliantly arranged music, most of it inspired by Tchaikovsky’s ”Sleeping Beauty” ballet.
1959-U.S. Animated. 75 min. Color. Widescreen. Produced by Walt Disney. Directed by Clyde Geronimi. Screenplay: Erdman Penner. Story: Charles Perrault. Music: George Bruns. Song: ”Once Upon a Dream” (Sammy Fain, Jack Lawrence). Voices of Mary Costa (Aurora), Bill Shirley (Phillip), Eleanor Audley (Maleficent), Verna Felton, Barbara Jo Allen, Barbara Luddy.
Trivia: Disney also produced a live-action film centering on the villain, called Maleficent (2014).
Last word: “I didn’t really have very much vocal training. Everything was natural, because that was my first major part. I talked to Walt Disney on the phone so long because he didn’t want to be influenced by my personality and person. He gave me so many directions and I got to know him and he would tease me and everything. One day I said ‘Would you tell me please why you chose my voice? I know you’ve heard many beautiful voices. Why did you choose me?’ And he said, ‘Because your voice was like an extension of speech. It was not puffed up and you didn’t put extra color into it. You just sang with a warm tone from your heart. It intrigued me because it was like you just stopped talking and started taking it at a higher register. It was like an extension of speech.'” (Costa, DVDizzy.com)
