Walt Disney first considered adapting Sleeping Beauty in 1938. The project was based primarily on Charles Perrault’s 1697 fairy tale, though the Brothers Grimm version also influenced later development.
The idea did not immediately become a feature film. Story artist Joe Grant prepared preliminary artwork, but the project stalled while Disney concentrated on other productions. After Cinderella’s success, Sleeping Beauty returned to active development, and Disney registered it as a planned production in January 1950.
The eventual film changed substantially during its long production. Story artists discarded the earliest version, shortened Aurora’s enchanted sleep, and gave her and Prince Phillip an acquaintance before the curse. The finished movie premiered in 1959, more than two decades after Disney first considered the adaptation.