Sleeping Beauty (1959 movie)

Sleeping Beauty (1959) is an American-French animated movie produced by Walt Disney Productions and released to movie theaters by Buena Vista Distribution. It is based on the 1697 fairy tale "The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood" by Charles Perrault.  The movie was directed by Les Clark, Eric Larson, and Wolfgang Reitherman, under the supervision of Clyde Geronimi. Additional story work was provided by Joe Rinaldi, Winston Hibler, Bill Peet, Ted Sears, Ralph Wright, and Milt Banta.

The movie's musical score and songs are arrangements or adaptations of material from the 1890 Sleeping Beauty ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Buena Vista Distribution released the movie to theaters on January 29, 1959. Sleeping Beauty was re-issued to theaters in 1970, 1979, 1986 and 1995. It was the first animated movie to be photographed in the Technirama widescreen process. The movie was presented in Super Technirama 70 and 6-channel stereophonic sound in first-run engagements.

 Reception 
The movie generated mixed reviews from critics. They thought the movie was slow-paced and lacked character development. Sleeping Beauty earned approximately $7.7 million in box office rentals. Its production costs totaled $6 million, making it the most expensive Disney movie to that date. The high production costs of the movie resulted in the company posting its first annual loss in a decade for fiscal year 1960, and many animators were fired. Even though it failed when it first came out, it made a lot of money during re-releases. After inflation, it’s the seventh highest grossing animated movie. 

 References 

Category:1959 movies
Category:Disney animated movies
Category:1950s English-language movies
Category:American family movies
Category:Movies composed by George Bruns
Category:Sleeping Beauty
Category:Movies based on fairy tales
Category:1950s American drama movies
Category:1950s American musical fantasy movies
Category:1950s American romance movies
Category:Movies about witchcraft
Category:Movies about death
Category:Movies based on books
Category:Movies set in forests
Category:Movies set in castles
Category:Movies set in Europe
Category:Movies directed by Clyde Geronimi
Category:Movies directed by Wolfgang Reitherman