Believe it or not, when I sat down to watch the Sleeping Beauty: Platinum Edition DVD, it was the first time I had ever laid eyes on the film. It was the only classic Disney animation film that I had somehow missed, and I am grateful that the situation has been rectified.

Sleeping Beauty is a classic in every sense of the word — the themes it presents are central to almost all the animated Disney films, not to mention the scores of other films featuring princesses, fairies, evil witches, and any type of "good vs. evil" archetype in general.

In many ways, Sleeping Beauty represents these elements in their purest form and the new DVD and Blu-ray release is easily the definitive version of this film.

Most Disney animation DVD releases boast some kind of restorative element, but the picture has been cleaned up so superbly on this one, it's hard to believe the film originally came out in 1959. The colors and blacks are highly saturated and perfectly crisp — and this is just the standard DVD. For Blu-ray owners, you are especially lucky. As Disney continues to releases its animation classics in HD, every one will be a must-own.

But the real technical feat on this new release of the film is the expansion of the aspect ratio. Originally in 2.20:1 or 2.35:1 (depending on whether it was a 70mm or 35mm print,) the film has been expanded to the original negative ratio of 2.55:1, adding picture to both sides of the screen.

Disney continues to find a way to keep releasing updated versions of their films, but to their credit, this new DVD release shows significant improvements. It sure beats the old days of watching the Disney classics on battered VHS tapes.

The two-disc DVD set is loaded with special features, many of which fall into the category of superfluous, like two games that will be drop-dead boring for anyone over the age of nine and probably way too difficult for anyone under that age. There's also the obnoxious updating of classic songs exemplified here by Emily Osment of Hannah Montana fame singing "Once Upon a Dream" in a music video that looks every bit the same as every other Disney Channel manufactured music video.

There are some interesting featurettes though, including the rough storyboard of an alternate opening featuring a bombastic musical number, as well as several other deleted songs. A nearly 45-minute making-of featurette is a nice addition for the diehards and anyone else willing to put in the time.

Sleeping Beauty is an excellent film — I marvel at the wisdom of the filmmakers in making a children's film that only runs 75 minutes. It's the perfect amount of time to keep a child engaged, and modern filmmakers ought to take note.

For everyone else, Sleeping Beauty is just as enchanting, and the new DVD and Blu-ray releases honor that legacy.