Faerie Tale Theatre Sleeping Beauty (1982–1987) Online

This presentation of Sleeping Beauty is delightfully amusing. I am a huge fan of Christopher Reeve and love Sleeping Beauty, so I absolutely HAD to see this when I heard about it. As always, Christopher Reeve gives a wonderful performance as the prince and works very well with the rest of the cast. Although she does not fit my picture of Sleeping Beauty, Ms. Peters is fabulous and entertaining. The costumes and scenery are very colorful and fairytale-ish, as they should be. There are several supporting characters who are very amusing, and you can tell that the entire cast must have had immense fun in this production. This is definitely geared towards young children but will no doubt delight parents as well.

Although I did not watch this movie as a child and therefore cannot say what it would have been like , as an adult I found it to be a humorous and somewhat suggestive movie. But before I get into the plot allow me to praise this amazing cast of actors! Bernadette couldn't be more charming in the role of Sleeping Beauty. While she sings to the visiting King you cannot help but be drawn to her eyes and her sweet innocent face- almost mirroring Shirley Temple. As Princess Debbie she is equally charming-although opposite of Beauty. You really get to see Peters at what she does best- being obnoxious! For her handsome Prince you have Christopher Reeve as a heroic and at times over zealous prince out searching for perfection. His character is wholly good and serious and through that hilarity ensues! The supporting cast includes Rene Auberjonois as King Boris, Sleeping Beauty's lovable father who enjoys fairy tales before bed and would do anything to protect his daughter. Beverly D'Angelo as Henbane the saucy and mean-spirited fairy who clearly has nothing better to do with her time and Carol Kane is the sweet and naïve good fairy who clearly needs a little time to do her best thinking. This all-star cast is brilliantly put together to make a stunning child fairy tale come to life.

As for the movie itself, I think that adults who enjoy fairy tales and fantasy can really sink their teeth into this. In one particular scene Princess Debbi (Peters) requests that the Prince (Reeves) remove pearls from her top with his teeth. At another part in the movie the process of sex is explained to the Queen by a brownie before you see her seducing the King. Although the movie isn't gory or dark as the Grimms Fairy Tale version is, it's clear that the movie was made for both adult and child alike to enjoy. I highly recommend it to all fantasy and fairy tale lovers.

There is a lot to like about the 'Faerie Tale Theatre' series. Many of their adaptations of various well-known and well-loved fairy tales are charming, clever and sometimes funny, a few even emotionally moving. 'Faerie Tale Theatre' puts its own magical spin on the best of the episodes while still capturing the essence of the stories.

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

Similar to "Rapunzel," this episode of Shelley Duvall's charming PBS family classic benefits tremendously from a series of great performances. Christopher Reeve seems to relish an opportunity to riff on his handsome persona, but this is all about Beverly D'Angelo as the wicked fairy Henbane: Her costumes and makeup are imaginative, and D'Angelo looks like she's having the time of her life playing the villain, tearing into the role just as Gena Rowlands did hers in the aforementioned "Rapunzel." On the whole, the episode sometimes feels a little long and has a series of unnecessary digressions, but the charmingly dated climax highlights just how fun these "Faerie Tale Theatre" episodes can be.

The hallmark of Faerie Tale Theatre has always been its innocence. In "Sleeping Beauty", there are just too many "adult" (i.e. sexual) innuendos to continue that innocence. Though the innuendos themselves are somewhat humorous (thanks to the acting of Christopher Reeve), they are still just out of place in this series.

Besides Reeve, Bernadette Peters and Beverly D'Angelo most primarily guest star.

This is an episode that can easily be skipped in your journey through this series.