"Sleeping Beauty" Enchants at the 2019 TCM Classic Film Festival

A story, well told, is timeless! A simple fact that the stellar folks at Turner Classic Movies are well aware of!

For the past 25 years, TCM has celebrated our timeless cinematic classics. I'm old enough to remember a time when great classics had to be hunted down on the airwaves, and as a writer/educator/fan I am grateful for the regular access to so many wonderful treasures from our film past! Now, as we move towards various streaming outlets and on-demand platforms, our classic movie-going experience can be even more — a great thing to be sure — but I fear our collective film-going experiences may grind toward extinction.

A full house at the legendary Chinese Theater in Hollywood for the 30th Anniversary screening of When Harry Met Sally.

There's nothing like sitting in a fully packed theater with total strangers, sharing the joys and sorrows of our collective human experiences on the big screen! That, in essence, is the magic of the TCM Film Festival! Now in its 10th year, our classic movie-going experience remains intact with this remarkable festival. Films from over a century of cinema are presented and celebrated in their original splendor — an experience not to be missed! Indeed. 60 years after its initial release, Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty continues to dazzle audiences of all ages, most recently in the sold-out screening at the 2019 TCM Classic Film Festival!

At the zenith of hand-rendered animation, Sleeping Beauty features unsurpassed artistry and masterful storytelling which enchanted a new generation of audiences — and even a few who had never seen this classic before! Audiences experienced a full range of emotions with thunderous applause at the initial appearance of Aurora, Maleficent, the three Fairies and other favorable moments! There's absolutely nothing like it — seeing a masterpiece as it is meant to be experienced!

Walking the red carpet with animators Floyd Norman and Jane Baer.

What a joy to have two of the original animators who worked on this classic film join me in an engaging opening panel before this landmark screening. Jane Shattuck-Takamoto-Baer and Floyd Norman shared stories, impressions and rarely-seen behind-the-scenes photos of production on this animated masterpiece.