I Wonder, I Wonder....

Briar Rose and forest friends

Sleeping Beauty

Released:  January 29, 1955

This film is one of my all time favorites from the 1950’s.  I remember receiving when I was a child a four volume set of Disney books titled the "Wonderful Worlds of Walt Disney" published by Golden Press in 1965.  One of the volumes titled "Fantasyland" chronicled many of the Disney stories based on classic fairy tales including Sleeping Beauty.  This book sparked my imagination with castles, knights and kings and allowed me to escape to a place where I could pretend and have some fun.  Illustrated throughout with colorful storybook art evoking the feature film, these wonderful books helped me to imagine, hold and visualize in the comfort of my own room the essence of Disney animation.  When I finally saw Sleeping Beauty (on television) for the first time as an adult, I understood the beauty and the complexity that this film portrayed in whole new way.  I could probably trace back my love for Disney art at a very early age with these very books.

        

One of my favorite scenes from this classic story is the forest sequence where Briar Rose meets her forest friends and and sings the song, "I Wonder..."  I love Mary Costa's voice and technique in this segment.  Her clear operatic tone adds to the mystery of the sequence and compliments the background imagery of the tall trees and cathedral like setting in the forest.  Picture below is a wonderful concept sketch really illustrates this feeling for the sequence and sets up the locale for the one of my favorite cel setups in the collection.

     Original concept story sketch, conte crayon on paper

     Artist:  Unknown Studio

     Acquired:  May 26, 2010

The production cel setup below was my first animation cel of a Disney heroine, Briar Rose, and is comprised of two separate cel levels purchased separately.  After finding the cel of Briar Rose, a number of years later I was able to acquire a great companion cel of her forest friends whereby I combined the two to create the setup you see here.  What is really special about this piece, is that Briar Rose is on a full technirama cel sheet with production numbers and measures approximately three feet wide.  Most cel setups for this film had to be painted in the wide format due to the film being shot on 70mm film or widescreen Cinemascope.  Very few cels from the film remained untrimmed as they were prepared for sale through Disneyland’s Art Corner shop in Tomorrowland during the 60’s.

In this particular cel scene, Briar Rose is talking with her forest friends and states...."Oh, we walk together and talk together......and just before we say goodbye, he takes me in his arms and then?....... I wake up!"

 Original production cel setup, gouache on celluloid, photographic background

 Supervising Animator: Briar Rose - Marc Davis

 Acquired:  November 1, 1996

One of the beautiful qualities of this piece is the line work on the topside of the cel.  Notice the different colors and the exacting detail that was painstakingly completed by hand.  It is amazing to think that up to 24 cels may have done to complete one second of animation!  I have attached a nice closeup so that you can see the exquisite detail in the line-work done at the Disney Studio.  It is also important to note that Sleeping Beauty was on of the last films to have such intricate line work.  Xerographic technology was introduced in the late 1950's and was used in this film for the first time in a couple of scenes.  As was tradition at the studio, all cels were hand-inked and painted by women.  

In this scene, Briar Rose has been sent out to pick berries while the good fairies prepare for her 16th birthday celebration.  While wandering in the forest, Sleeping Beauty is greeted by her forest friends where she begins to share her fantasy story about her dream prince.   Marc Davis, who was a master draftsman at creating female characters, was the supervising animator for Briar Rose and developed the look and feel of her character.  This cel wonderfully portrays Briar Rose’s energy and warmth as she talks to her friends.