"Of all the stirring legends of the triumph of good over evil, none has ever been so inspirational to me as Sleeping Beauty."

-Walt Disney

Walt Disney, like George Lucas, was a major influence on my imagination and creativity as a youth. For years I wanted to be a Disney animator. Unfortunately, my artistic talent wasn't cut out for animation, but I still developed an appreciation for great artwork because of Walt Disney. Along with Star Wars, Disney movies were the other movies that I can remember seeing in theaters with my parents. We were not a movie going family, so that was always an exciting thing. I remember seeing all the Disney movies, but Sleeping Beauty in particular stands above them all.

I first saw the film in 1986 when Disney re-released it. This one made a long lasting impression on me though. My appreciation for classical music has it's roots in such Disney stories as Fantasia, Peter & the Wolf, and of course, Sleeping Beauty. While I enjoy all of the films that Walt Disney made, some stand out to me more than others. Sleeping Beauty is first and foremost among these Disney fims. As a little boy, this was the one that I would watch over and over again.

Now as I watch the film in adulthood, I can see why Sleeping Beauty influenced my mind more than other Disney films. In many ways, the film reminds me of Star Wars because of some strong similarities between the respective films. Some film historians have written that seeing Walt Disney's masterpiece must have been a strong influence on aspiring future filmmakers named Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson, and of course, George Lucas. As I watch Sleeping Beauty I see some common ideas and themes that the respective films share.

First, off the music of both films had a profound effect on me. Petr Ilych Tchaikovsky's score of the ballet of the same name is very memorable. Disney composer George Bruns adapted the ballet score for the film and received an Academy Award nomination for his work. But what strikes me as interesting about the music is how it helps to tell the story. Most films use music as an important backdrop to add emotion into a scene. But some films use music differently. John Williams' Star Wars score has almost become a character in and of itself. In listening to the music alone, you can still follow the story of the movie as each character has a distinctive theme that announced their presence in the story. The same comparison holds up in Sleeping Beauty.

The music tells the story. You can hear Prince Philip race in the forest to find the voice he found so enchanting. You can hear the wonder of love blossoming as Phillip and Aurora meet for the first time in the Once Upon A Dream sequence. You can hear the tension as Philip fights Maleficent to rescue the Princess, and of course the triumphant crescendo as true love conquers all. In Star Wars you can feel the fear as Vader's theme announces the Dark Lord to the audience. You can feel the evil as Palpatine emerges for the first time in ROTJ. You feel the innocence of Princess Leia and the light and hopeful of Luke Skywalker. And of course, the triumph of destroying the first Death Star in the Throne Room and the sheer exuberance of everyone in finally defeating the Empire.

While many people have become musicians because of the work of John Williams and others like him, I have no musical talent worth noting. But I can say that the work of John Williams has given me an appreciation for classical music and I suspect subconciously told me that classical music was outstanding even if I had no musical talent to save my life. This enjoyment of classical music has enriched my life, and I give credit to Walt Disney, John Williams, and my mother(who is musically talented) for helping me to appreciate music.

Another similarity the two films share is a unique artistic vision. Even today, Sleeping Beauty retains a distinct style all it's own. No animated film before or since has looked quite like it. I'm amazed at the distinct realism the forest and the trees have in the film. The film itself has been called a moving illustration. The detail in the stone and mortar of the castle make it look far more like any real castle from history than any I've seen in animation, while still holding all the romanticism and idealism of a fairy tale. The characters themselves move with an almost realistic look. It's a testament to Walt Disney's vision and talented animators that the characters looked so real without the aid of sensors to help them track the movement of the principals. Disney used live actors for the Once Upon a Dream forest sequence and climactic finale as a reference in animation.

This attention to detail is also clearly seen in Star Wars. Like Sleeping Beauty, the Star Wars universe has a lived in feel. The landscaping, while appropriately extra worldly, also has a realistic feel. You may be watching a fantasy, but you clearly feel like this is a place that could exist. Disney had an incredible gift to be able to transport his audience into a another world. You could literally leave this planet behind and visit a make believe place. George Lucas' sense of vision and imagination are very much like Walt Disney's. He can transport you to another world, another time.

Any comparison between my two favorite films would must include their respective action sequences. The battle between Maleficent and Prince Philip as he tries to save Aurora was unlike anything Disney had ever done before. The fight was intense and scary. In watching it, you're not at all certain that Philip is going to win the day. The clilmax itself has tremendous realism to it. It just looks spectacular, but it's also full of action. I strongly suspect that the exciting lightsaber duels in Star Wars influenced my enjoyment of Sleeping Beauty's climactic battle.

And last, but not least, both films inspire my imagination with their timeless themes. The triumph of good over evil has been perhaps the biggest influence on my imagination, and of all the things I enjoyed in childhood, that theme is most prominent in Sleeping Beauty and Star Wars where we not just the triumph of good over evil, but we see the hero pass through difficulties and hardships on the way to his triumph. As important as the virtue of the Princess is to the story, it's also equally important that the Prince be a good man willing to fight for what he believes in.

My parents put a Disney poster in my nursery even before I was born. I grew up figuring that Mickey Mouse was like a member of my family and that I was going to marry a Disney Princess. So it makes sense that I would want to be like Prince Philip because he gets to do more than just make Aurora's dreams come true. Not only does he get to marry the beautiful Princess, but he has to fight a dragon in to rescue her. This is of course way better and infintely more cool because you get to be noble, courageous, and heroic in the process of falling in love with and marrying the Princess.

Now in adulthood, the films continue to inspire my imagination and bring comfort to me because of their important messages of good triumphing over evil and true love conquering all. Both Walt Disney and George Lucas alawys sought to push the envelope as to how technology could be used in their respective mediums of art. In a sense, that technological development has helped me reconnect with my passion for animation in my youth. If you're so inclined, you can check out my website
Jedi Princess Aurora, which I put together mainly for the purpose of creating pictures of Princess Aurora wielding a lightsaber. Now, Sleeping Beauty is even better than I remembered.