Sleeping Beauty
- Episode aired Jul 7, 1983
- 58m
A prince chases his destiny to an ancient castle in search of a cursed princess, thanks to the help of an informative woodsman.A prince chases his destiny to an ancient castle in search of a cursed princess, thanks to the help of an informative woodsman.A prince chases his destiny to an ancient castle in search of a cursed princess, thanks to the help of an informative woodsman.
- Sleeping Guard #1
- (uncredited)
- Ensemble
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- Jeffrey Alan Fiskin
- Charles Perrault(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaSleeping Beauty's costume was lost for several years, until fans of the series successfully tracked it down and presented it to producer/series creator Shelley Duvall as a present in February 2018.
- Quotes
"My son, the Prince": You're more lovely than I dreamed. Had not the journey been so long and the dangers so great and the hazards so many, I would not have believed that such beauty could crown my enterprise. And yet for all the time and the hazards and the peril, you are too beautiful, too pure, too good. Do I dare to awake you to reality? You are my dream come true... or am I dreaming now?
[the prince kisses Sleeping Beauty and she awakens and smiles]
Sleeping Beauty: What kept you?
- ConnectionsVersion of Cindy (1978)
Another thing, that wasn't said in my reviews for the previous episodes, and that is a huge part of 'Faerie Tale Theatre's' charm, is seeing talented performers either in early roles or in roles that are somewhat of a departure to usual. Up until this particular point in the series, so from "The Tale of the Frog Prince" to this, to me there wasn't a bad episode (and in the series in general even the weakest ones still have merits). Some may disagree, as "The Nightingale" is somewhat divisive, was one of the people who liked it while acknowledging its faults.
"Sleeping Beauty" is another very good episode, not one of my favourites from 'Faerie Tale Theatre', but, based on a slight (not uncommon in fairy-tales) but lovely and deservedly popular story, very entertaining and immensely talented.
Not to say that "Sleeping Beauty" isn't flawed. Its weakest element is the script, a good deal is a lot of fun and quite daring for back then but some of the campy humour falls flat and some of the innuendos do go overboard and don't really gel in this particular story or, with a couple of exceptions, the show in general in a series that fares much better (as with fairy-tales) when played straight.
"Sleeping Beauty", on the other hand, has very little otherwise that's wrong. It is one of the better-looking 'Faerie Tale Theatre' episodes, most of which actually don't look too bad considering its low budget, other than at times for 'Faerie Tale Theatre' overall shoestring budget costumes, a few instances of too ghoulish make-up or cheap effects, scenery/sets and photography have very rarely been a problem if ever. "Sleeping Beauty" is lavishly mounted and have none of the mentioned visual faults that can be seen in a few episodes before and since.
Music score is gentle and energetic, while there is fun to be had in the script and the story does not suffer from pacing issues (not a moment of dullness in sight) and tells the story with charm.
Casting is very good, a few unlikely choices on paper but all come off well. Bernadette Peters looks radiant and charms considerably in the title role and she has believable chemistry with Christopher Reeve, who is dashing and has fun as the Prince. Beverly D'Angelo is clearly enjoying herself and her villain Henbane drips with evil, quite rightly too. All the supporting cast play entertaining roles with gusto.
In summary, charming, fun and beautiful, definitely worth watching and in no way skip-able. 8/10 Bethany Cox
- TheLittleSongbird
- Jun 19, 2017