The runtime of Disney’s 1959 Sleeping Beauty is 75 minutes.
That 75-minute running time places Sleeping Beauty among Disney’s more compact animated features, despite the film’s unusually ambitious production. It tells the story of Aurora’s curse, her years hidden in the forest, her meeting with Phillip, and the final battle against Maleficent in a tightly structured format.
The film’s short length does not reflect a short production schedule. Sleeping Beauty began development in 1950 and took nearly a decade to complete. Walt Disney Productions spent about $6 million on it, making it the studio’s most expensive animated feature at the time. The movie’s elaborate visual style was shaped by artist Eyvind Earle and drew on medieval and pre-Renaissance art.
Sleeping Beauty premiered on January 29, 1959. It was produced in the Super Technirama 70 widescreen process and used six-track stereophonic sound in specially equipped theaters. Its original theatrical performance was disappointing, but later re-releases helped establish it as one of Disney’s most acclaimed animated films.