Waking Sleeping Beauty

A candid, nostalgic look behind the scenes of a creative resurgence, blending archival footage with a sense of struggle and triumph.

Directed by

Don Hahn

Genres

Documentary

Starring

Don Hahn, Roy Edward Disney, Michael Eisner

Tagline

From 1984 to 1994 a perfect storm of people and circumstances changed the face of animation forever.

Overview

By the mid-1980s, the fabled animation studios of Walt Disney had fallen on hard times. The artists were polarized between newcomers hungry to innovate and old timers not yet ready to relinquish control. These conditions produced a series of box-office flops and pessimistic forecasts: maybe the best days of animation were over. Maybe the public didn't care. Only a miracle or a magic spell could produce a happy ending. Waking Sleeping Beauty is no fairy tale. It's the true story of how Disney regained its magic with a staggering output of hits - "Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast ," "Aladdin," "The Lion King," and more - over a 10-year period.

How it feels

Earnest, melancholic, uplifting and tense. Measured and needs your attention.

About

Ambition, art, power, betrayal

Content

Mild language. No violence, gore or sexual content.

Note

Written by AI, so it can be wrong. Full breakdown

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Watch the trailer on YouTube (opens in a new tab)