"Once Upon a Dream" is a song written for the 1959

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

fantasy film Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered a form of speculative fiction alongside science fiction f ...

Sleeping Beauty ''Sleeping Beauty'' (french: La belle au bois dormant, or ''The Beauty in the Sleeping Forest''; german: Dornröschen, or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess cu ...

'' produced by

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

. Its lyrics were written by Jack Lawrence and

Sammy Fain Sammy Fain (born Samuel E. Feinberg; June 17, 1902 – December 6, 1989) was an American composer of popular music. In the 1920s and early 1930s, he contributed numerous songs that form part of The Great American Songbook, and to Broadway theatre. ...

while the music is adapted by

George Bruns George Edward Bruns (July 3, 1914 – May 23, 1983) was an American composer of music for film and television. His accolades include four Academy Award nominations, and three Grammy Award nominations. He is mainly known for his compositions for ...

. The song's melody is based on the "Grande valse villageoise" (nicknamed "The Garland Waltz"), from the 1890 ballet '' The Sleeping Beauty'' by

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

. "Once Upon a Dream" serves as the film's main theme, and as the love theme of Princess Aurora and Prince Philip. It is performed in the film by a chorus as an overture and third-reprise finale, as well as in a duet by

Mary Costa Mary Costa (born April 5, 1930) is an American retired actress and singer. Her most notable film credit is providing the voice of Princess Aurora in the 1959 Disney animated film ''Sleeping Beauty'', of which she is the last surviving original vo ...

and

Bill Shirley William Jesse Shirley (July 6, 1921 – August 27, 1989) was an American actor and tenor/lyric baritone singer who later became a Broadway theatre producer. He is perhaps best known as the speaking and singing voice of Prince Phillip in Walt Disn ...

, who voiced the roles of Aurora and Philip, respectively.

Notable covers

American girl group No Secrets recorded the song "Once Upon (Another) Dream", whose chorus is based on "Once Upon a Dream", in 2003 for the two-disc DVD release of ''Sleeping Beauty''. The song was then included in the 2004 compilation album '' Disneymania 2''. "Once Upon a Dream" was covered by

Emily Osment Emily Jordan Osment (born March 10, 1992) is an American actress, singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Osment began her career as a child actress, appearing in numerous television shows and films, before co-starring as Gerti ...

in October 2008 for the Platinum Edition release of the film. Osment's rendition was included in the 2008 compilation album ''

Princess Disneymania ''Princess Disneymania'' is Disney's first compilation album in the '' Disneymania'' series. It was released on September 30, 2008. The album features various artists renditions of classic songs originally from the Disney Princess films. Emily Os ...

''.

Seth MacFarlane Seth Woodbury MacFarlane (; born October 26, 1973) is an American actor, animator, filmmaker, comedian, and singer. He is the creator and star of the television series ''Family Guy'' (since 1999) and ''The Orville'' (since 2017), and co-creator ...

covered the song for his 2020

show tune A show tune is a song originally written as part of the score of a work of musical theatre or musical film, especially if the piece in question has become a standard, more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context. ...

s album ''

Great Songs from Stage & Screen ''Great Songs from Stage & Screen'' is the sixth studio album by American actor and singer Seth MacFarlane, released on August 28, 2020, by Republic Records and Verve Records. As the executive producer, MacFarlane reunited with his longtime pro ...

''.

Lana Del Rey version

"Once Upon a Dream" was covered by American singer and songwriter

Lana Del Rey Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Her music is noted for its cinematic quality and exploration of tragic romance, glamour, and melancholia, with frequent ...

for the dark fantasy film ''

Maleficent Maleficent ( or ) is a fictional character who appears as the main antagonist in Walt Disney Productions' 16th animated feature film, ''Sleeping Beauty'' (1959). She is represented as an evil fairy and the self-proclaimed " Mistress of All Evil ...

'' (2014), which serves as a re-imagining of the original 1959 film. The song was released on January 26, 2014; it was made available as a free digital download during its first week of availability by the

Google Play Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store and formerly the Android Market, is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certified devices running on the Android (operating sys ...

Store. On February 4, the digital download was made available for purchase.

Critical reception

The cover received generally positive reception. ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'' called the cover "moody and low-key" while Stereogum described it as "swoony" and "spaced-out". Hypable said the cover was "much darker" than the original and pointed out the "slight radio effect" over Del Rey's and called her performance of the song "haunting": ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'' said of the song snippet from the trailer: "Smoky vocals, a bewitching come-hither delivery, and delicate piano turn the 1959 fairytale song into a haunting lullaby." ''

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

'' remarked that Del Rey's cover had a "somber and sinister" feel in comparison to the original.

Chart positions

Certifications

References

External links

* (on Disney's official channel) {{Authority control 1950s ballads 1959 songs 2014 singles Disney songs Sleeping Beauty (1959 film) Emily Osment songs Lana Del Rey songs Love themes Songs with music by Sammy Fain Songs with lyrics by Jack Lawrence Songs written for animated films Songs written for films Walt Disney Records singles Male–female vocal duets Pop ballads Songs about dreams Songs based on fairy tales