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Waking Sleeping Beauty

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Waking Sleeping Beauty
Directed byDon Hahn
Written byPatrick Pacheco
Produced byDon Hahn
Peter Schneider
StarringRoy E. Disney
Michael Eisner
Jeffrey Katzenberg
Randy Cartwright
Howard Ashman
Narrated byDon Hahn
Edited byEllen Keneshea
Vartan Nazarian
John Damien Ryan
Music byChris P. Bacon
Production
company
Stone Circle Pictures
Distributed byWalt Disney Studios
Motion Pictures
Release dates
Running time
85 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$84,918

Waking Sleeping Beautyis a 2009 American documentary film directed byDisneyfilm producerDon Hahnand produced by Hahn and former Disney executivePeter Schneider.The film documents the history ofWalt Disney Feature Animationfrom 1984 to 1994, covering the rise of a period referred to as theDisney Renaissance.

The film uses no new on-camera interviews, instead relying primarily on archival interviews, press kit footage, in-progress and completed footage from the films being covered, and personal film/videos shot (often against company policy) by the employees of the animation studio.

Waking Sleeping Beautydebuted at the 2009Telluride Film Festival,[1]and played at film festivals across the country before its limited theatrical release on March 26, 2010, byWalt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.[2]

Synopsis

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The documentary is narrated by animator and film producerDon Hahn,with numerous audio interviews from company animators and executives.

The documentary begins in the early 1980s, whenThe Walt Disney Companywas led byWalt Disney's son-in-lawRon W. Miller.Many new animators had joined the company after graduating fromCalArts,but were hired in a time where animation was considered a dying art.Roy E. Disney,Walt's nephew and son of Disney co-founderRoy O. Disney,resigned from the company during a corporate takeover attempt bySaul Steinberg,which led to Miller's ousting. Roy returned to the company as vice-chairman of the board of directors, and chairman of the animation department. Roy installedMichael EisnerandFrank Wells,respectively, as the company's new CEO and President.

Eisner hiredJeffrey Katzenbergas head of the film division, but he proved to be a controversial figure, moving the animation department to an off-site location inGlendale, California.Roy hiredPeter Schneiderto be President ofWalt Disney Feature Animation,who helped modernize the animation process. Losing at the box office to animated films released byDon Bluth,a former studio animator who left in 1979 to foundhis own company,Disney began producing new animated films to be released at a pace of one per year, and also began to release its classic films in the newhome videovideocassetteformats. Agong showin the company led to the green-lighting of numerous film projects. The production ofWho Framed Roger Rabbit,though expensive for Disney, proved to be a huge financial success, along withOliver & Company.

TheDisney Renaissance,which lasted from 1989 to 1999, began withThe Little Mermaid.The soundtrack was composed and written byHoward AshmanandAlan Menken,who also composedBeauty and the Beast;Menken later composedAladdin.Ashman's involvement inThe Little MermaidandBeauty and the Beastaided in both being box office successes and winningAcademy AwardsforBest Original SongandBest Original Score.However, Ashman died on March 14, 1991, and never saw the completed film.The Rescuers Down Underutilized the newCAPS system,which blended traditional and computer animation together, but the film was abox office disappointment.

At the production crew's wrap party screening ofBeauty and the Beast,Eisner announced that a new animation building would be built on the studio lot as a reward for their hard work, but Katzenberg was unaware of this. In 1994,The Lion Kingwas released and became another box office success for Disney. Katzenberg expected to become the new company president following the death of Frank Wells, but was denied the position by Eisner, eventually leading to his resignation; he later would go on to co-found future animation, film, TV, gaming, and music rivalDreamWorks Pictures.

Cast

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Production

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Narration is done by Hahn, with new audio-only interviews done by several of the studio's principal figures, including former executives Eisner, Katzenberg, andRoy E. Disney,and animator/directorsMike Gabriel,Rob Minkoff,Roger Allers,Gary Trousdale,andKirk Wise.The footage includes filmmakersTim Burton,John Lasseter,Don Bluth,Ron Clements,John Musker,Steven Spielberg,Robert Zemeckis,Richard Williams,andGeorge Scribner,as well asHoward Ashman,Alan Menken,Jodi Benson,Robin Williams,Paige O'Hara,Jerry Orbach,Angela Lansbury,Jeremy Irons,Nathan Lane,Elton John,andTim Rice.A significant portion of the personal film used was shot by John Lasseter andJoe Ranftfor Disney animatorRandy Cartwright,who is featured giving makeshift "studio tours" in 1980, 1984, and 1990. The Cartwright footage is used to bookend the film.[3]

The film is dedicated to the memory of Howard Ashman, former Disney President and chief operating officerFrank Wells,animatorJoe Ranft,and Roy E. Disney.

Reception

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Waking Sleeping Beautyhas received generally positive reviews.Rotten Tomatoesgives the film a rating of 71% based on 51 critics. The site's general consensus is, "[The film] doesn't probe as deep – or tell as many hard truths – as it could have, but Don Hahn's look at Disney's rebirth offers a fascinating and surprisingly candorous glimpse into the studio's past."[4]Metacritic,which assigns anormalizedrating out of 100 top reviews from mainstream critics, calculated a score of 70 based on 18 critics.[5]

It earned a Special Achievement Award at the 2010Annie Awardsand a Best Documentary Feature nomination at the2010 St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Awards.[citation needed]

See also

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References

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  1. ^Sciretta, Peter (September 6, 2009).Movie Review: Waking Sleeping Beauty./Film.Retrieved 2010-12-02.
  2. ^(2010-03-04).'Waking Sleeping Beauty' Gets Limited Theatrical Release, 3/26.BroadWayWorld.Retrieved 2010-12-02.
  3. ^Jeffrey M. Anderson (March 26, 2010).Interview: Don Hahn and Peter Schneider of 'Waking Sleeping Beauty'.Cinematical.Retrieved 2010-12-02.
  4. ^"Waking Sleeping Beauty – Rotten Tomatoes".Rotten Tomatoes.Flixster.RetrievedApril 4,2012.
  5. ^"Waking Sleeping Beauty Reviews".Metacritic.CBS Interactive.RetrievedDecember 3,2014.
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