Good vs Evil (Why Disney's Sleeping Beauty is a Masterpiece) Video Essay 

This mirrored my thoughts on this film almost exactly. The only difference is that I feel that the good vs. evil is the good fairies vs. the mistress of all evil. Philip and Aurora are simply the setting for this confrontation between the three good fairies who had to put up with Maleficent's deeds (fauna mentioned that she ruins all of flora's flowers). Now with her threatening their friends and sick of her misconduct they are willing to do anything to overcome her, even giving up their magic and living as peasant humans. They are the true main characters. Philip wouldn't have escaped or defeated Maleficent without their help. That is the ultimate battle of good vs. evil.

"Walt saw animation not as a genre but as an artform" It breaks my heart that animation is (mostly) no longer treated like this in the West. So many glorious and breathtaking artworks that will never be because they don't fit the money-making mold.

I've always maintained that people who don't like it just don't appreciate art because this is one moving tapestry with one of the best villains and the music is incredible.

I don't care what people say, Sleeping Beauty IS a good Disney Movie. The character's are perfect, good and evil. The score is beautiful, the songs are memorable, the artworks for the settings are so beautiful. And yet people just don't care, which is really sad. Allot of time a effort went into this film and yet people are just moaning mostly about Aroura, which in my opinion is not fair. After all she is called Sleeping Beauty, what do you expect?! I think Aroura is a good character and they did made her interesting. She wants to be independent, she's tired of being treated like a child and wants to make her own choices in life. And I think that's fair enough. After all a great video and agreed with everything you said.

Sleeping Beauty has always been my favorite Disney film of all time.

Maleficent is my fav villain bc she is truly evil. She punishes a baby bc the parents didnt invite her to a party. That is the perfect example of how a dark Faerie would be offended and react. It's why I hate the movies.

How couldn't it be when alone Tchaikovsky's ballet music is a masterpiece (:

What I love about Sleeping Beauty is that every time I pause the movie it will look like a painting especially at the dancing scene of once upon a dream in the middle of the forest

I completely agree about how this film handles comedy. The kings getting drunk together sounds like a gag but it does a lot for the story. The back and forth shows they have a good friendship and want what is best for their children and kingdoms, and eventually leads to the fairies learning that Prince Phillip is the key to saving Aurora. (As for the romance in the film, eh it's fine by fairy tale standards. There are a few tweaks I'd make but not too bad, especially for this tale considering its...alternate endings.)

As much as I think that the Maleficent movie is one of the most decent live-action adaptations Disney has made lately, I love Maleficent's original character, she's plain evil, so elegant, even majestic in her dragon form. Whenever someone mentions Disney villains, she's the one I think about.

Sleeping Beauty has been my favorite since I was a little girl, I love Aurora's blue dress over the pink one because you always see pink when you think of princesses, I love the way the blue looks with her hair. I love the hand painted cells that were used in Sleeping Beauty. I must have watched that video over a hundred times when I was a little girl. I think I own every format that it's ever been released on, haha

The story up to freeing Phillip, is all about the Fairies against Maleficent. She curses Aurora to die, and Merriweather converts it to do less harm. She actively hunts for Aurora, and they hide her. She captures Phillip, and they free him. It's all the evil acting, and the good mitigating the damage as best it can. When Phillip is free however, Maleficent attacks ferociously, and Phillip is now the one who fights back. She sends curses after him, and he battles through them, in a way as a metaphor for man against the sadistic side of nature. Then he has to face Maleficent in her dragon form, the quintessential man against beast that has been told since Beowulf. She directly goes for the kill this time, leading to Phillip and the Fairies having to kill her outright. Too the end, evil acted, and good countered. The beauty of Maleficent was that she was evil. She didn't need a reason for it, she just was. I'd actually like to see that in characters again. It's fine to have villains who do what they do because of some hurt they may feel, but sometimes, you just need to see a decent battle between the forces of good and evil.

I'm completely comfortable with the nature of the romance between Phillip and Aurora. I think it's merely a modern and cynical trope to scoff at it (not only in fairy tales, but in all classic romances, such as Romeo and Juliet) on the grounds that it's not realistic. The trouble is a tendency for modern audiences to insist on filtering the issue through a modern perspective. For over a century, it's generally been accepted as a given that romantic love is the foundation for marital interactions: not only is romantic love the only valid reason to marry, it trumps all other possible reasons not to. Phillip and Aurora are, after all, a medieval couple; being a man and a woman who were mutually attracted, enjoyed one another's company well enough, and politically sufficient as a match (even had she not turned out to be his societal equal, the implication is that in this universe he had the power to veto his father's objection if he really wanted to), was not only a good enough reason to marry, it was MORE THAN sufficient material to justify it. In media today that is basically accepted as valid (particularly if it's for family audiences, as Sleeping Beauty was), you'll often see casual acquaintances who have just met laying down their lives, or similar dramatics, for each other because of a vague notion of the Power of Friendship, so it's silly to suddenly act like we have a high burden of proof to meet in order to buy that characters are devoted to one another. Between that and the plot-driven reason that the prince and princess in this story have to give a rat's about each other to justify there BEING a story, I think any concerns about whether Phillip and Aurora are a valid love match come out in the wash.

This is my favorite movie, and Phillip my favorite Prince. Yes, he needs the fairies' help, but they also need his. And they may have given him the sword, but he is the one who faces the dragon.

"But times are different now father. It's the fourteenth century." LOL! Gets me every time!

Nice video! Although I’m sad that you barely spoke of the fairies! They’re the real protagonists of the movie (most scenes and they pretty much made all of the decisions)

I don't get why people dislike this film and dislike aurora so much, the true beauty of the movie is the animation itself with the perfect match of the characters with the scenario and also how the soundtrack goes perfectly with them. even with few screen time we can see how pure hearted aurora is, but also lonely, wich explains why she fell for the prince so quickly. the end where he fights maleficent in that MASTERPIECE scene is the perfect ending for the plot. I don't know I just really love the sleeping beauty and feel that is so underestimated

One of the main reasons the music is good is because of Tchaikovsky. I LOVE his music. And the art in the movie is seriously under appreciated nowadays. I think that is mostly because people dont like the characters or the predictable storyline. Edit: I’m noticing that many people are randomly getting this recommended lol

I always thought Aurora was the one Disney princess it was illogical to say you hated. We don't get to know her, beside the fact that she's been hidden away from the world and wants some human connection. It's a shame we don't get to know more about her, since she seems like she'd have a sweet but assertive personality like Snow White and Cinderella.

The artistic advantage the simple story gave? That reminds me of The Thief and the Cobbler, which too was intended to be a masterpiece, the greatest animated film of all time by its director Richard Williams. The film does frequently get criticized for its story being simple or just nonexistent, and I believe Williams kept the story that way so that he could pay attention to absolutely creating a spectacle of a movie, to push the medium of animation to another level. Perhaps it is that type of ambition that drove Walt Disney to create Sleeping Beauty the way it is today.

There is no logic behind Maleficent's actions, that's the whole point. She's a fae. Fae are erratic and unpredictable. Not a rape victim. That franchise is trash.

Lovely video, although I think you should have mentioned how the three good fairies embody "good", as Prince Philip would not have been able to escape without them, and they are probably given the most screen time of all the characters.

This movie is my Favorite disney animated film. Its a technical marvel actually. What many people dont know is that first the movie used clear cell layering rather than traditional animated flip book animation which is what gives it that look like the charcaters are passing behind objects like trees or flowers in the foreground. Also this was the only Disney animated film that was shot in 70 mm Cinemascope so that ment the cells they had to use to animate the film were about the length and with of a king size mattress. A very huge undertaking.

Sleeping Beauty was my favorite Disney film as a child, and I have often had people questioning that when I've told them. And yes, there are many Disney films with "better" and more "interesting" plots. But I believe that the reason I loved it so much is precisely what you say in this essay. It is absolutely beautiful in its' animation and the story's simplicity works well with that. Thank you for giving me words for this!

I love the original and its simple romance, but if they were going to make a true live action I would've loved to see Aurora and Phillip's relationship more fleshed out, and to see the fairies given higher quality roles as well. If anything the live actions made the fairies more into some irritating, stupid and blundering antagonists which I absolutely did not like....

I think Sleeping Beauty is easily the most gorgeous of the silver age 50s Disney films. But the plotting will always be messy to me which is surprising for a disney film from this era where the plotting is usually pretty tight. Aurora is also just so sidelined and she feels derivative of Cinderella and Snow White to me. And she has such little dialogue. The fairies and Maleficent are super delightful though and they keep the movie afloat. It’s an odd one I think. But I do love the Tchaikovsky

I love sleeping beauty every scene in this film looks like a painting truly a work of art people who criticize this film don't realize the focus of this film wasn't the story at all it was a test of what animation can accomplish as a kid myself I remember watching this movie and just admiring how awesome the animation looked the backgrounds the colors this movie is lovely it's not my favorite Disney film of all time but it's definitely in my top 5

I wish you mentioned that the beautiful art was inspired by medieval tapestries and illuminated manuscripts. The design is beyond superb : characters, landscapes, monsters, etc

As a child I was fascinated by Maleficent. I thought she was so beautiful, cool and amazing, I almost rooted for her. Sleeping Beauty is all about her, just as Hunchback is all about the amazing Frollo.

As young as I can remember, I always loved how dark and moody the coloring, backgrounds, and stylizing of this movie are.

Fun video! Maleficent is a terrific villain. She's kind of ruined by the reboot, which was a mess.

Okay, but I am in shock. I thought this video was from a bigger channel. It's so well made. Your channel deserves more love.

great job! it’s my favorite movie of all time

The love and talent and hours put into this film are amazing, and I think it is Disney's masterpiece. The animation is astonishing, the designs gorgeous, the character/voice acting top notch, the dialogue funny, and the music is beautiful. I hope everyone who hasn't seen this film does so.

Modern animation is always getting praise for its beauty but this movie is absolutely stunning all the background all hand drawn and so detailed. Any shot of like the forest or the castle could be hung at a museum and they would easily fit in with other paintings.

I loved the classic Disney princess movies as a kid. But re-watching Beauty And The Beast, Snow White, and Cinderella recently, i found them kind of boring (though I still love them). So I was afraid of re-watching Sleeping Beauty because it was my most favorite princess movie, besides The Little Mermaid and Aladdin, as a kid. But I finally watched it again a few weeks ago and I didn't find it boring at all!! There's just something simple yet alluring about it, it's really fun and beautiful and innocent. It actually even made me laugh out loud too like when I was little!

I LOVE this film, the art, design, music, characters - and the story. It's a question of less is more - sometimes the simplest of stories can be very complex. And despite their foul-ups, what no one really discusses much is that the real heroes and the heart of the whole movie are Flora, Fauna and Merriweather! Yes, if it weren't for the wand fight, they never would have been discovered, but, at the same time, if it weren't for them, Phillip would never have escaped (so easily) and would never have the weapons he needed to defeat Maleficent.

Goddammit, I've been so caught up in the logistics of the fairy tale and the rational of falling in love and Maleficents simplistic motives. But this really changed my thoughts on the movie and how the simplistic story really allowed the medium to shine. So, thank you for shifting my perspective a bit. Now I appreciate the movie a bit more than I still do today. I've always loved the tapestry style animation of this movie, but i never thought that why it was this way. So Kudos to you, my friend!

Lets be honest, the real heroes are the 3 fairies.

This is my favourite Disney animated movie. My dad introduced me to it and my grandmother gave me the 1983 ballet for my birthday, and the music and characters are important to me. The sad part is that modern media doesn’t know what to do with the good characters anymore. The dynamics of the 3 fairies is boiled down to a constant colour war anywhere they go, Aurora has a bizarre personality and Phillip doesn’t do anything great. Maleficent remains fully iconic as a villain and is now a secondary foil to Mickey Mouse on several occasions. What a rise in stature and presence. The only thing the movie needed just a little more is Phillip talking or making any noise. His last audible sound is whistling, and then literally nothing after a few muffled noises. I get that he really has nothing else of relevance to say, but… something! I will love this movie forever and a day for its living art, the story, the inspiration and everything it took to make it, since Disney nearly went broke trying to make it. Love your work!

Sleeping beauty's dragon scene is the coolest thing I've ever seen as a kid. I keep wondering how a mere human could win against a mighty dragon. One slap of her tail and he's gone. How did Phillip even win? I don't remember lol. I only remember maleficent.

+DisneyMagicFanatic Sleeping Beauty is one of my all-time favourite Disney classics. It really is a beautiful and stunning masterpiece.

Its my favorite Disney movie ❤️❤️❤️ Animation and music are amazing, gorgeous. Fairies are great and Maleficent is the best villain! Aurora is very underrated, interesting princess. She sacrifices her feelings for the kingdom.

This is so good Christian! Can't wait for episode 2!

Well done!! I haven’t ever watched this movie all the way through. You did a fantastic job of this!! It was awesome to see the old and new movies talked about too! Great job! Loved it! Keep up the great work!!!!

Talks about good vs evil. Doesn't even bring up the Good Fairies. Ya know, the true heroes of the movie. Smh. Without them, where would Phillip be? Chained to a wall for a hundred years. Also, Flora killed the dragon.

Wonderful video!!

You did a really good job. I really like all the work that went into this video.

Fabulous essay!

I love you for making this. Favorite Disney movie of all time

Seeing all the work behind the backgrounds alone makes me freaking lose it, I legitimately cry when watching the movie because of that

Walt's princesses >>> any other princess from Disney studios after Walt's death. The corporation should be ashamed of treating the old princesses as "weak"

Heigh Ho fellow fanatics! Just a friendly reminder that Part 2 is now available to watch here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-izAkeTJ2iG8.html Thank you so much for your feedback and encouragement! I read every single comment on all my videos and try to respond to everyone individually. Thank you for helping me be the best channel that I can possibly be!

It is magnificent wide screen movie that must be seen on the theater screen!

Abbas been my favorite movie since 1959,when I saw it seven times. I love this movie. It absolutely is a masterpiece!

I'll be honest, i initially wrote off these classic fairy tale movies because of taking them simply at face value and having them tickle none of my modern sensibilities. Seeing someone break them down for what they truly are helps me appreciate them.

One of my favorite Disney movies 🎥

Sleeping Beaty is the best disney princess movie of all time second comes aladdin. The thing that makes sleeping beauty amazing is the song once upon a dream

Prince Philip is such a daddy

The film is a classic, with the Disney 1st gen animators working at the height of their powers, but it was the most expensive film Disney had produced at the time and it wasn’t a hit. I like the film, Malificent is one of the greatest villains of all time, and the artwork is *stunning*. But, I don’t love it as much as some of the other Disney films, as it is somewhat cold and distant.

LOVE the dragon!!

Are you sure that Princess films still aren't bankable? The only poor one was I think Princess and the Frog but all the other ones (Ariel, Beauty and the Beast) were all sucessful

Aurora says she’s been lonely for the past sixteen years. I think if the good fairies or Maleficent didn’t interrupt, I believe they could have established more of a relationship. So this whole idea that Aurora wanted to marry him on the first day is just flawed

Thank you so much!

The 2D animated Maleficent is much better than the live remake one, in my opinion.

One of my favourite movies

I’ve always loved the unique, dark, and moody coloring and stylizing of this film. But beyond that, I think it’s a fundamental, timeless, and beautiful story that flies in the face of modern propaganda in a perfect way. Radical feminism has turned into telling women that they don’t need men and _shouldn’t want one_ - but the fact that this exact story lives on in insanely popular modern romance novels tells a different story. It’s just something we long for! Being whisked away by a strong and righteous man. And that’s not wrong! The fact that more and more people nowadays say there is no absolute moral right and wrong… and yet you can perfectly see it here, and everyone cheers for it. There IS good and evil. And the fact that it’s not wrong or of-the-devil to have a heterosexual romance as the main plot point. It’s an innate biological human desire to find a mate! That’s not wrong either! It’s a tale as old as time because our core desires DON’T CHANGE.

Which is why I don’t like the movie maleficent:(

This movie does have breathtaking animation, sophisticated characters like Prince Phillip (despite being silent in the second half), King Hubert (despite his white hair), Maleficent and the Fairies. While Aurora is one of the issues for the film, one of the biggest problems is both of her parents, King Stefan and Queen Leah as they too, have poor performances and development. The thing is that both of Aurora’s parents were not so major characters because all we know is that they wanted to make sure their daughter is safe, so there’s nothing much to them and neither of them appear much in the film. For starters, Hans Conried (the model reference) got the role of King Stefan taken away from him and Aurora didn’t have any development nor did Queen Leah (plus her voice was way off)

is it possible to refresh the frog prince movie?

Nice review. Change or lose the music

I do think it's the most beautiful animation however I kinda feel like some of it was filler and unmemorable. Less so than most other disney films tho.

Quality vs Quantity. Yep. Those were the days

I think the moral of SLEEPING BEAUTY is not to have any hard feelings. Maleficent is the only fairy in the kingdom not invited. But she still shows up with a fabulous light show... and tries to prove she bears no ill will by also giving a gift to the baby. Sure, it's NOT really a great gift. But some people just don't have great taste. And then, everyone tries to take that gift away from the princess. And Maleficent gets upset by this. Again, who wouldn't?

Thank you *SO* much for this video! It was an excellent study of Sleeping Beauty. 😃 Thank you as well for *not* speaking in that pretentious, put-on, phony RU-vid-er voice.

If classics came out today, they wouldnt hold up because theyd have already been done. Not a literal sleeping beauty already exists, but the tropes and cliches it employs would have been so thoroughly established and, in some ways, tired today to the point itd end up just being an unimaginative nothing. This goes for any classic film that has had a huge cultural impact. I learned this when someone asked "what if superman was introduced today? Would he hold up?" and gave the answer I explained above.

Maleficent will always be the greatest villainess to me, alongside the other greats like Jadis the White Witch and the Grand High Witch. 🤩👹😱

Maleficent is the main character of the movie. Fight me.

also me realising this is the inspiration of shoujo manhwa. het that evil needs no reason , still curious why target the king.

I didn't see the live action Malevolent because I felt they were an abomination when they were announced

Small criticism but you might want to turn up your audio it's hard to hear over the music

Oh, imagine a land, it's a faraway place Where the caravan camels roam Where you wander among every culture and tongue It's chaotic, but, hey, it's home When the wind's from the East And the sun's from the West And the sand in the glass is right Come on down, stop on by Hop a carpet and fly To another Arabian night

Good essay, although the club music didn’t complement well the content

Because back then it was Less Propaganda! Now its all Crude like Frozen.

Wait people didn't think it was good? Lol

Beauty is the most beautiful princess

TL;DR “This movie is super simple but it’s pretty n I like it”

it's my favorite it's so funny

Not a film but a moving painting.

Prince Philip is the best Prince. Prince Eric is close second.

The only valid criticism I've seen of this movie is its boring, and it does plateau at many parts, even so. It's art and I think that outweighs the lack of anything interesting happening because you're looking at what the visual medium is capable of. Much other criticism comes from a place of ignorance. The problems people have come down to not understanding the troops and motifs that define the movie, or caring for them.

You sound like you’re making things up. Where are your sources?

It’s not...not really...she literally does nothing through the entire movie and only appears for 18 minutes 🙄 as a Disney character she’s one of the most useless ones to her plot. My opinion tho. No hate. I tend to gravitate towards villains anyway

What I've always loved about this movie are the fairies. That includes Maleficent, yes, but also Flora, Fauna, and Merriweather. Philip may be the vessel for good, but the fairies are the ones who soften Maleficent's curse, raise Aurora, free Philip, and enchant his sword to finally kill Maleficent. THEY are the heroes of the story. It's a drag that a prince had to resolve the plot for them, but he really is just a pawn in the fairies' story. I can forgive all the dated gender tropes of the movie for the female power on display alone. Does this movie pass the Bechtel test? Baby, you know you don't remember a male character's name or what they talked about in this movie once.

It's Me Princess Aroura from DISNEY!