Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Waking Sleeping Beauty - 3 smiles

“Waking Sleeping Beauty” is a detailed insider’s look at Disney’s tumultuous years from 1984-1994 when animation almost died with ‘The Black Cauldron’ only to be reborn with ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and ‘The Lion King.’ The filmmakers, longtime Disney producer Don Hahn and former executive Peter Schneider, provide their own insights while enticing meaningful contributions from feuding titans Michael Eisner, Jeffrey Katzenberg and the late Roy E. Disney. Hahn also provides an in-depth look at the creative center of the studios, from the brutal caricatures of Disney executives created by the animators to archival footage of ailing lyricist and producer Howard Ashman, the genius behind ‘The Little Mermaid.’

There’s no traditional narration as Hahn elects to avoid ‘talking heads’ when possible. And there’s no attempt to cast Eisner, Katzenberg and others into good-guy or bad-guy roles. The material is interesting, but there’s a sense that some of the story remains untold, especially for the fan who knows about Disney’s battles with Pixar. Nonetheless, “Walking Sleeping Beauty,” a fairly objective retelling of clashing egos and the struggle between art and the bottom line, is a pleasure to watch. 3/28/10

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

it's amazing how much I didn't know about the "Disney crisis" a few years back. Had they chosen to stop making animated films history could have been radically changed. I am sure , however, that someone would have picked up the slack but the consortium of Eisner/Katzenberg/Roy Disney would have been out a few billion $$$. I liked this documentary very much.

Animated said...

I found it surprising that no mention was made of Howard Ashman's role as Producer/Executive Producer of "The Little Mermaid"/"Beauty and the Beast" respectively. His role was more considerably more significant than lyricist alone.

Movie Pro said...

I agree that Ashman's role as producer is more significant than lyricist. But your average movie-goer probably understands the effects a good lyricist has on a film more than a producer. You think??