This film is one of the greatest achievements and oneof the biggest failures in the history of Disney Animation. It is technically the greatest film Walt Disney produced, but characteristically, it is one of the weakest he ever produced. The film is beautiful to look at, but a drag to sit through. That being said, the film is one of my personal favorites for a few reasons. Oh well, let's open the book and begin.
Plot: Once upon a time, there lived a king and queen, who were blessed with the birth of their daughter, whom they called Aurora. The royals hold a celebration for their infant daughter, which is spoiled when a wicked fairy named Maleficent arrives and curses the princess. On her sixteenth birthday, she would prick her finger and die. One of the good fairy's is able to weaken the curse, by making death turn into sleep, until awoken by True Love's Kiss.
The fairies take Aurora into hiding, disguising her as a peasant and keeping her out of Maleficent's watchful eyes, which do not find her for sixteen years. Aurora grows into a beautiful maiden, with no knowledge of her royal blood. While out picking berries for the fairies, she meets Prince Phillip and the two fall in love. Both ironically believe that the other is a peasant and are heartbroken when they are told they cannot marry.
That evening, as the fairies take Aurora back to her castle, Maleficent tricks the princess into pricking her finger on a spinning wheel, fulfilling her curse. The fairies decide to put the rest of the castle into slumber, until Aurora is awoken. When the fairies discover that Philip was the boy she met, they rush off to find him, but learn that Maleficent has kidnapped him and locked him in her dungeon. It is up to the fairies to free Philip, awake the Princess, and stop the all powerful Maleficent however they can.
What's Bad?: If you couldn't tell from the plot summary, the main flaw of the film is the extreme lack of interest from the main characters, Aurora and Philip. These two are bland and generic to the highest degree. Aurora only appears in eighteen of the seventy five minute film, while Prince Philip's last line in the movie is in the middle of the movie. The only scene where it is understandable is the scene when he gets kidnapped, but that's only because he's gagged. In reality, this film should have been a character study of the fairies and their struggle against Maleficent, with the kingdom suffering the consequences.
What's Good?: Despite the major character flaws in the leads, the good fairies and Maleficent more than make up for it. Maleficent is single-handedly the greatest Disney Villain brewed during Disney's tenure, while the fairies are also quite memorable.
The animation is breathtaking. The animators seemed to go all out with this one, pouring their heart and soul into each scene of animation. Each frame of the film seems to be a frameable piece of art, that would hang in a museum of art. The scene of Maleficent as a dragon is simply the best piece of animation ever drawn. Period.
George Bruns's musical score it one of the best ever produced, especially during the climax. The song "Once Upon a Dream" is a classic.
Overall: What could have been Disney's greatest effort is anchored down by weak lead characters, who ruin the fun of the film. Still, the film is one of Disney's finest efforts. Too bad the film isn't as perfectly crafted as one of the nineties films, but on it's own, it's watchable, mainly for one of the best antagonists ever.
Report Card:
Hero: D-
Heroine: D-
Villain: A+
Side Characters: A
Songs: A-
Musical Score: A+
Animation: A+
Special Effects: A+
Story: C+
Theme: C+
Final Grade: B+
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