This was the sixteenth of the animated features released by Disney, and it was the last (while he was alive) to be based upon a fairy tale. It was also the last to be inked by hand. And it was the first animated film to be filmed in Super Technirama 70. This film took almost the entire decade to make. (Wow!) During the filming of this, each shot of the film was modeled by actors for the benefit of the animators. (And here I thought they only did that in the computer age!)
When this film was released, it was essentially a flop. It almost bankrupted the studio, only recouping half of the filming costs. I can understand the criticisms of its being too slow and having little character development. This is not one of those films that I generally watch over and over again. It is also very dark. I always found that the scene towards the end where Aurora's prince comes to rescue her is quite frightening.
For a lot more information on this Disney classic, please check out these sites:
http://thisdayindisneyhistory.homestead.com/jan29.html
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053285/
http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Sleeping_Beauty
