As part of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Gold Standard screening series, the classic animated film SLEEPING BEAUTY will be presented on Friday, July 18, at 7:30 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. Hosted by film historian Leonard Maltin, the evening will feature the premiere screening of a newly restored digital version of the 1959 film by Walt Disney Studios.
Following the screening, a team from Walt Disney Animation Studios including Dave Bossert, creative director of special projects; animator Andreas Deja; Theo Gluck, director of library restoration and preservation; and Terry Porter, sound department chief and head rerecording mixer will participate in a panel discussion about the film, which earned an Academy Award nomination for Music -- Scoring of a musical picture (George Bruns).
Walt Disney envisioned SLEEPING BEAUTY as his masterwork, and his nearly decade-long effort to bring the 17th century fairy tale to the screen at the then-shocking cost of $6 million resulted in an exquisitely detailed animated fantasy. With the enchanting fairies Flora, Fauna and Merryweather, the beautiful Princess Aurora, her valiant Prince Phillip, and the evil witch Maleficent all modeled on extensive footage of live actors, the human characters are remarkably lifelike, and Eyvind Earle's visual and color stylings realize Disney's conception of the film as a "moving illustration."
This new digital restoration of SLEEPING BEAUTY comes from 4K scans of the camera original successive exposure Technirama negative. The 7.1 audio remix was created from the Disney Studio's 35mm mag elements, including the original 3-track stereo music masters, which were recorded in Berlin in 1958.
Original artwork from SLEEPING BEAUTY is showcased in "Ink & Paint: The Art of Hand-Drawn Animation," a new exhibition that explores the creative process of pre-computer animation, now on display in the Academy's Grand Lobby Gallery. Encompassing all stages of the filmmaking process -- from storyboards and color keys to layouts and cels -- the exhibition showcases artwork from the 1950s through the 1990s, including the work of Eyvind Earle. The exhibition will be open for viewing following the screening.
Tickets to SLEEPING BEAUTY are $5 for the general public and may be purchased online at www.oscars.org, in person at the Academy box office or by mail. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The Samuel Goldwyn Theater is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. All seating is unreserved. For more information, call (310) 247-3600.
