Let's be real: Sleeping Beauty is a museum piece. The animation is absolutely stunning—a genuine masterwork of hand-drawn artistry that deserves appreciation. But as a movie for kids in 2025? It's rough.
Aurora is arguably Disney's most passive princess (and that's saying something). She gets about 18 minutes of screen time in her own 75-minute movie, sings a song about waiting for her prince, meets said prince once in a forest, and then literally sleeps through the climax while he does all the heroic work. The message is... not great.
Maleficent is legitimately terrifying in the best way—that dragon transformation holds up—but the scary scenes are intense enough that younger kids will have nightmares. And older kids? They'll be on their devices within 15 minutes because the pacing is glacial.
If you're doing a Disney history lesson or want to show your kids what animation looked like before computers, sure, throw it on. But if you're looking for something they'll actually enjoy and that won't make you cringe at the gender politics? There are about 47 better options. The WISE score reflects both its artistic merit AND the reality that most modern families will struggle to sit through it.






