https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKQV9HgOlX4

Back when I was a child (and ever since to this day), Disney's Sleeping Beauty has always been my favorite animated movie of all time. Until I watched the ballet, I could not quite figure out why. But after the performance (and searching Youtube) I found out why: the soundtrack. It is a direct adaptation of Peter Tchaikovsky’s ballet of the classic Charles Perreault (and Grimm Brothers) tale. Probably because it is a children's movie, some of the tracks' tempo is slower (it would otherwise be scarier) but still keep their original feeling. Note that my review will have many comparisons with the ballet, since it IS a "remix" of it.

1- Main Title: Once upon a Dream/Prologue

The standard grandiose Disney introduction. However, unlike movies like Cinderella or Alice in Wonderland, the choir sings a song from the soundtrack rather than an introduction to the movie (in Alice, there is a description of what Wonderland looks like). The intro also contains an excerpt from a later track, A Cottage in the Woods, where the faeries start preparing for Aurora's birthday. It is inspired from "Danse des demoiselles d'honneur et des pages", and the tempo is just about right.

The prologue is based on the Lilac Fairy's theme, the one who ultimately saves Aurora from death to a deep sleep in the ballet. Its slower tempo than the ballet makes it perfect for the introduction.

2- Hail to the Princess Aurora

The first song. The beat is very joyous, reflecting the king and queen's joy about their daughter's birth and also the great holiday celebrated through the kingdom to celebrate the event. Although one can say that it is unrealistic when one knows what monarchy was all about. But hey! It is a children's movie; let us not got into details . After the song, we can hear more from the ballet's introduction for Aurora's christening (where she gets engaged to Philipp too). 

3- The Gifts of Beauty and Song/Maleficent Appears/True Love Conquers All

This is when the "good fairies" (as they are announced) make their entrance. The slow beat and the use of staccato makes it even more magical. When Flora and Fauna give their gifts, we hear short songs describing what it is (beauty rare, a beautiful voice). Flora's gifts was better-interpreted, with very soft female voices. The second one sounded a little too loud for such a little baby. The beautiful music then bursts into brass to make place to Maleficent, the villain. Her clarinet (oboe?) makes for a good personification of her evil character. As she formulates her curse, the orchestra gets louder and louder, showing the drama that is coming. The track then ends with a note of hope as Merrywhether downs the curse a notch.

4- The Burning of the Spinning Wheels/The Fairies Plan

The track starts with excerpts from when, in the ballet, Aurora's curse becomes reality. The rest of the track are quiet flute and wood sounds when the fairies start planning about trying to save Aurora from Maleficent's curse. You can hear three successive flute crescendos as the fairies make themselves smaller to lay out their plan.  But when Merryweather realizes it will not work, the trumpet sounds... sad. But when Flora has super idea, brass start getting louder, and we can hear a slow version of "Magical cleaning."  The track then ends with a sad rendition of the fairies' theme as they kidnap Aurora "for her own good"...

5- Maleficent's Frustration

Loud and evil; perfect to characterize the mistress of all evil. There are some silly wind and string tones to show her minions' incompetent search for Aurora. The orchestra then bursts to show Maleficent's wrath towards those incompetents. Maleficent's theme then build up slowly as she gives a mission to her crow.

6- A Cottage in the Woods

Yet another good slowdown from the ballet. That part was when the Prince was first introduced, as he was dancing his way near the forest of thorns. In the movie, we just see Aurora, who is now 16. The fairies start "plotting" for her birthday. When she is gone, we can hear a more thorough version of "Danse des demoiselles d'honneur et des pages". Its slow beat is good, but I find the use of the triangle a little odd.

7- Do You Hear That?/I Wonder

One of the tracks I feel like is... missing something. In the movie, it is when Aurora walks in the woods where she starts singing the opera - Mary Costa was actually one. It would have been nice to have it on the track... even with the birds! Instead, it goes directly to when a mysterious horseman (Philipp) hears the voice and epically tries to find it. The epicness of his pursuit stops abruptly with brass as he falls into the water. You can even hear the flute used when he splashes Samson (the horse) for this blunder.

I Wonder is another song. Aurora just looks at the bird and feels envious that they always find love. The tempo is slow and romantic, showing how she really feels. Then, when she talks to the birds, the music gets more romantic when she talks about her prince. It builds up in excitement as she talks about him but then sadly fades out as she says it was just a dream...

8- An Unusual Prince/Once Upon a Dream

Or was it?The track starts slowly as the critters sneak by to steal Philipp's clothes left to dry. The music then gets highly dramatic and upbeat as he finds then and they start "dressing up" to personify the prince. And then the track becomes a sung version of the famous Sleeping Beauty Waltz (Once Upon a Dream). I must say, this was a pretty imaginative feat, to put into words such a masterful piece of music. Bruns still kept the waltz beat to it (although the tempo seems closer to 6 beats rather than the usual 3). Too bad the soundtrack does not include the end of the scene, when Aurora storms out to get back to the cottage.

9- Magical House Cleaning/Blue or Pink

Speaking of the cottage, this is one of my favorite track of the album, where the fairies finally say, "Screw it, we use our magic." I can not remember which part of the ballet this is inspired from, but the instruments are played in such a way that we can feel the magic. Then, for the last minute, we can hear the music becoming much more dramatic and upbeat as Flora and Merryweather argue about the color... which attracts Maleficent's crow. The track ends in an explosion as Aurora's dress ends up being all dirty with both pink and blue.

10- A Secret Revealed

The tracks starts slowly, with flutes showing Aurora's surprise that her aunts can cook and sow such a beautiful dress. You then hear an excerpt from Dream when Aurora talks about her encounter, which is cut short when the fairies reveal Aurora's true identity. From a joyful birthday surprise, the music then becomes much more dramatic and sad as Aurora thinks she will never meet the mysterious man she just met. The violins and clarinet are well-played at the end.

11- Skumps (Drinking Song)/The Royal Argument

Meanwhile, back at the castle, Stephen is worries that Aurora has not showed up yet. The beat is quiet and low, showing that worry. You can also hear low-tone instruments to show Hubert's carelessness about the situation, as he just starts stuffing his face from all the food.  The music then gets upbeat as the minstrel comes in with the wine and both friends start singing Skumps. I never really cared for that song; I always preferred seeing the minstrel getting drunker and drunker. You can even hear his hiccups with a mute trumpet. You can hear it some more after one of the strings from his lute breaks; the violins also show how tipsy he it getting. After that, the music gets a little intriguing, but then becomes much more dramatic as Hubert does not accept that Aurora would be shocked that she will meet Phillip. But it stops short as both drunken monarchs realize that they have nothing to fight about and just start laughing. The music even becomes happier, showing that their friendship was not affected.

12- Prince Phillip Arrives/How to Tell Stefan

The track strangely starts with a fanfare announcing Philipp's entrance (in the context of the movie; the fanfare itself is just fine). You hear another except from Dream as Philipp also tells his mysterious encounter in the woods. The tone is a little lower than Secret (because he is a man? Sheesh, what sexism!) The music then gets low-tone as Hubert realizes that Philipp prefers to meet this "peasant girl" rather than a Princess. Then ends in a crescendo of trumpets as Philipp goes back into the woods to meet that girl, and in a sad wind tune showing Hubert's desperation before the situation.

13- Aurora's Return/Maleficent's Evil Spell

The track starts with very low-tone and slow music, where the fairies are bringing Aurora back to the castle. It really feels like they are sneaking by. As the fairies give Aurora her diadem, the music then turns sad and dramatic as she starts sobbing, since she missed her mysterious man. After the fairies leave her alone, the best musical sequence of the movies starts. There is this slow female voice accompanied by a clarinet, when Maleficent lures Aurora to the spinning wheel. This tracks is the best re-adaptation from the ballet; originally it was just Puss in Boots making his entrance to the ball celebrating Aurora’s “resurrection.”  The clarinet then starts playing the best of the sequence (with a very low-tone wind in the background), where Aurora approaches the top of the stairs. Then there is a first burst of winds, when the spinning appears; the final approach then repeats as the fairies are not far behind, and there is another burst as Aurora touched the spindle. Right after that, there is a dramatic finally as the fairies approach a “dead Aurora.”

14- Poor Aurora/Sleeping Beauty

The very first part is slow and very sad, where the fairies brought Aurora to her bed, resting motionlessly. Even today I still feel a little sad about that part because the music was done very well. However, I never really cared for “Sleeping Beauty”, the song when the fairies put the kingdom to sleep (it takes sequences from the gift of song). Too bad the album does not have the sequence where Flora realizes that Philipp and Aurora actually met each other and that Philipp is in grave danger.

15- Forbidden Mountain

That was another great miss on the album. We did not get to hear the part where Philipp gets captured nor when the fairies try to quickly make their way back to the cottage. It IS too bad, since there was a perfect re-creation of a sequence from the ballet, when Aurora faints from touching the spindle – in the movie, it is when the fairies see Philipp’s hat.

Nevertheless, the Forbidden Mountain is played in full here, where the fairies try to make their way to that creepy castle high up on a cliff. The violins are well played, where we see the fairies trying to make their way into this territory. There is then a loud march-like sequence where a guard nearly discovers them, but of course fails. The music then gets dramatic as the fairies get scared by both the minions and the ugly gargoyles. The music then gets louder as the fairies approach a bonfire where the minions celebrate Maleficient’s triumph. The music then turn to violins and cellos showing Maleficient’s “worry” about Philipp no enjoying the celebration. The harp decrescendo was done better at the very end, when Merryweather nearly catches the attention of a guard; it was a little more staccato in the movie.

16- A Fairy Tale Come True

Another track with a big omission. Before Maleficent taunts Philipp, there is a short musical sequence where she tells him he is “the destined hero of a charming fairy tale come true.”

But the rest is well-played. It starts with a full rendition of the Lilac Fairy Theme which, surprisingly, is a little more upbeat than the original. After the apex of the theme, it then quiets down as Maleficent goes away from the cell and bursts back as Philipp tries to escape his bonds. Maleficent’s sequence ends with a flute, showing her crow’s suspicion that something fishy is going on. The music then starts again with the fairies freeing Philipp. The track ends with light tones, where Flora arms Philipp for the coming fight.

17- Battle With the Forces of Evil

My second favorite sequence of the movie. It is dramatic and upbeat all over, showing the desperate combat Philipp and the fairies wage against Maleficent and her minions. Starting around 0:40, we can hear dramatic tones (Philipp is in grave danger) immediately followed by lighter ones (the fairies saving his arse). After the second dramatic/quiet tone, the music gets into a crescendo as both Philipp escapes and Merryweather FINALLY decides to shut up the crow. You know it as the music cuts suddenly; too bad the track does not incorporate the gong. Then the music gets even more dramatic and upbeat with Samson desperately dashing towards the castle as Maleficent tries to slow down their course. She does succeed with her forest of thorns; you can even hear the evil lighting strikes propping it up with the cymbals. The drama keeps building as Philipp fights his way through the forest. When he does, the music gets louder as Maleficent warps to the castle. Then the music get a little slower to increase the drama of Maleficent transforming into a dragon. After the transformation, the rest of the track is a slower version of the Finale, where Caraboos triumphs and puts Aurora to sleep in the ballet. The track ends in a decrescendo where Maleficent is laid to her final rest.

18 – Awakening

The track starts quietly, with Samson getting back to his rider. Then the violins kick in as Philipp makes his way to Aurora’s room. They get louder as he kisses her and wakes up. Then the music switched to the awakening of the Kingdom, a slower version of Aurora’s christening at the beginning. That awakening is cut short by the Apothéose, which was the final part of the ballet. Once again, its slower tempo was so much better than the ballet’s showing Philipp’s and Aurora’s slow approach to the throne and showing the emotional of Aurora with her parents.

19- Finale

And so it is the end. Bruns did put the original Waltz in, where Aurora and Philipp dance into the clouds. Again, its slower tempo was done much better than the original version. The Once Upon a Dream choir kicks in towards the end, finishing the track in typical epic Disney fashion.

There it is! I hope you enjoyed the review. Please do not be afraid to tell me what I could improve for future reviews; it was only my first one!