Key Facts
full title · Sleeping Beauty
directors · Clyde Geronimi, Eric Larson, Wolfgang Reitherman, Les
Clark
leading characters' voices · Mary Costa (Princess Aurora/Briar Rose), Bill Shirley
(Prince Phillip), Verna Felton (Flora), Barbara Jo Allen (Fauna),
Barbara Luddy (Merryweather)
supporting characters' voices · Eleanor Audley (Maleficent), Taylor Holmes (King Stefan),
Bill Thompson (King Hubert)
type of work · Animated Motion Picture
genre · Fairy Tale
language · English
time and place produced · 1952–1959,
Walt Disney Studios, Burbank, California
awards · 1959 Grammy Awards:
· Nominated, Best Soundtrack Album—Original Cast, Motion Picture
or Television
1960 · Nominated, Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture
(George Bruns)
date of release · January 1959
producer · Walt Disney
setting (time) · Fourteenth century
setting (place) · King Stefan's unnamed kingdom
protagonist · Princess Aurora / Briar Rose
major conflict · The evil Maleficent curses Princess Aurora at birth
to die on her sixteenth birthday by pricking her finger on a spinning
wheel. Three good fairies try to help Aurora avoid this fate by
altering the curse's effect and hiding her in a forest under the
assumed name of Briar Rose.
rising action · As Briar Rose reaches her sixteenth birthday, her feelings
of love for a mysterious stranger combine with the three fairies'
ill-advised use of their magic powers to create a disastrous day
in which the Princess cannot avoid the fated spinning wheel.
climax · When Aurora collapses into a deep sleep after pricking
her finger, a war must be waged against the evil Maleficent, so
the fairies put the entire kingdom to sleep until they can think
of a way to approach this daunting proposition.
falling action · Using their magic powers, the fairies help Prince Phillip
escape from Maleficent's dungeon and fight an epic battle with her
for the good of the kingdom and for the life of the Princess.
themes · True love conquers all; pure good will vanquish pure
evil; home is where the heart is
motifs · Dreams and visions; animation; the geographical triangle
symbols · The spinning wheel; colors and shapes; animals
foreshadowing · The main element of foreshadowing comes when Briar
Rose tells her friends in the forest that she dreamed of a dashing
prince. Of course, she'll eventually marry such a figure.
· In many ways, much of the film is foreshadowed since
the character traits of the primary characters change very little.
That is, once one character is portrayed as good, it is inevitable
that good will come to him or her in the end.
