Waking Sleeping Beauty

In the 1980s, the Walt Disney Studios were doing well... except for the animation department.  With the resignation of Ron Miller (Walt's son-in-law) as CEO, Roy Disney (Walt's nephew) suggested bringing in new people to oversee the company and the animation department.  Frank Wells become the new President and CEO and Michael Eisner became the Chairman and CEO.  Jeffrey Katzenberg was placed in charge of the animation department.

With the "old" animators retiring, and new animators stepping into their shoes, the department was poised for something new.  After the flop of The Black Cauldron, and the move to a new location, the animation department was in jeopardy.  Could some bold new ideas, and the Broadway song writing duo of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, revitalize the department?


I discovered this documentary while reading the blog Waking Snow White, so I added it to my Netflix queue.  The first Disney film I remember seeing in theaters was The Little Mermaid, which remains one of my favorite Disney animated films.  I remember seeing all of the subsequent films of the era in theaters: Oliver & Company, The Rescuers Down Under, Beauty & the Beast, The Lion King, and Pocahontas and just being captivated by these films, which remain among my favorite Disney films; in fact, I own the VHS of all of these (except Oliver & Company).

So I entered the documentary with little to no knowledge of the history of the company or anything that was happening at the time.  I knew the names of some of the animators, because they served as directors or were featured in the Waking Snow White blog.... but overall, I didn't know much.

In the end, the moral of the story is the right people were in the right places at the right time and allowed to flourish...  This renaissance led to a renewed interest in animation (and making animated films that adults could also enjoy) and resulted in the formation of Pixar (which is briefly mentioned).

The film is great, because it tells this incredible story... and it is told by people who were there.  It is about the studio heads and the animators.  The film was the brain child of Don Hahn, Disney animator and producer, and Peter Schneider, President of Walt Disney Feature Animation, who both worked in the animation department during the 1980s renaissance.  They knew who to talk to, what questions to ask, etc.  And beyond that, they chose to use archive footage and home videos, with voice over narration by Hahn, Schneider and others who worked in the studio at the time.  They don't shy away from showing the dark / ugly side of what was happening behind the scenes, or the silly moments with the animators...

The film is dedicated to 4 of the influential men from Disney who passed away: Roy Disney (the Sailor), Frank Wells (the Mountain Climber), Joe Ranft (the Artist), and Howard Ashman (the Poet).  The DVD has a feature about these four men, their stories, and their affect on Disney animation.  Watch the DVD, and check out the bonus features for a candid interview with Hahn and Schneider, and others, about why the film needed to be made and why they were the people (the only people) who could do it.  There are several deleted / extended scenes, and several short interviews.

I came away from the film inspired and with a deeper love and appreciation of the Disney animated classics and the people who make them.  It even inspired me to add 3 more Disney documentaries to my Netflix queue: Walt & El Grupo about Disney and the animators trip to and influence by South America, The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story about Disney song writing duo Robert & Richard Sherman, and The Pixar Story about the formation of Pixar.

Waking Sleeping Beauty (2009) 86 minutes
Director: Don Hahn
Starring: Don Hahn
Roger Allers
Howard Ashman
Ron Clements
Roy Disney
Michael Eisner
Mike Gabriel
Jeffrey Katzenberg
Glen Keane
Alan Menken
Rob Minkoff
Joe Musker
Joe Ranft
Gary Trousdale
Peter Schneider
Frank Wells
Kirk Wise