Sleeping Beauty is a 1959 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution.

It is the 16th animated feature in the Disney animated canon. The film was released in theaters on January 29, 1959.

The story is based on the classic fairy tale The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood by Charles Perrault. It draws from both the Perrault version and the Brothers Grimm retelling, Little Briar Rose.

The film’s score is adapted from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s 1890 ballet The Sleeping Beauty.

Sleeping Beauty was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Music.

Despite now being considered a classic, its initial release was a box office disappointment. It cost around six million dollars but earned less during its first release.

Walt Disney wanted Sleeping Beauty to feel like a moving illustration, unlike previous animated films.

The film’s visual style was heavily inspired by medieval art, especially tapestries like the Unicorn Tapestries.

Eyvind Earle was the film’s color stylist and artistic director. His bold, flat, and stylized backgrounds gave the film its unique visual identity.

Animators initially struggled with Earle’s intricate style because the backgrounds were so detailed that it was difficult to make characters stand out.

Sleeping Beauty was the last Disney animated feature to be completely hand inked and painted before the Xerox process became standard.

The Technirama process made Sleeping Beauty unusually wide and sharp compared to most earlier animated features.

The film’s production took nearly the entire decade of the 1950s, starting in the early 1950s and finishing in 1958.

Prince Phillip is the first Disney prince to be given an very active role and a well-known name in an animated feature.

Aurora appears on screen for only about 18 minutes, less than many supporting characters.

Sleeping Beauty was re released in theaters multiple times, in 1970, 1979, 1986, and 1995.

It was not until The Little Mermaid in 1989 that Disney returned to the fairy tale princess genre.

The film’s initial box office disappointment contributed to Walt Disney becoming less focused on animation and more focused on other ventures like Disneyland.

Over time, Sleeping Beauty gained acclaim and is now considered a classic of animation.

Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland was built years before the film.