In the decade between 1984 and 1994, the animators at the Walt Disney Studio created an unprecedented string of critical and box-office hits that included The Little Mermaid, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King. The documentary Waking Sleeping Beauty offers a rare inside look at the studio’s renaissance–and at the internal tensions that led to its subsequent decline.
In 1984 a stockholders’ revolt brought in a new management team that included Michael Eisner, Frank Wells, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and Roy E. Disney (Walt’s nephew). In the years after Walt’s death, the studio seemed to be sleepwalking, producing well-animated but dull films like The Aristocats and Robin Hood. Instead of asking “What would Walt have done,” the new team and their young artists set out to reclaim the Disney legacy of making films that represented the cutting edge of animation, technology, and filmmaking. But the films’ success led to quarrels among the executives over who deserved the credit. The death of chief operating officer Frank Wells in 1994 exacerbated these problems.
Director Don Hahn (the producer of Roger Rabbit, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King) and Peter Schneider (who headed feature animation) combine clips from the films, behind-the-scenes footage, home movies, and interviews with Eisner, Katzenberg, and Disney to present a fascinating portrait of the rise and fall of an entertainment empire. In addition to its obvious appeal to animation fans, Waking Sleeping Beauty offers object lessons in sensible management and the dangers of corporate gigantism. –Charles Solomon
Product Description
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 – “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Aladdin,” “The Lion King,” and more – over a 10-year period.
Special Features
• Why Wake Sleeping Beauty – Overview featurette
• Untold Bedtime Stories – Deleted scenes from the feature
• The Sailor, the Mountain Climber, the Artist and the Poet – Celebrating Roy Disney, Frank Wells, Joe Ranft, and Howard Ashman
• Studio Tours – Randy’s tours, Roger Rabbit studio, Oliver studio, and the tour we shot at ARL
• A Reunion – Rob Minkoff and Kirk Wise
• Walt – What would Walt do AND compare Walt’s era and this era
• 3 webisode shorts
• Gallery – Photos, caricatures, and art from the era
Cost is $21.49 and is available at Amazon
Let our friends at Destinations to Travel help you book your next Disney Vacation. They are the preferred Travel Agency of Chip and Company and Disney Addicts, and who we use ourselves.
Get started below for your FREE No Obligation Quote.
Book With our friends at Destinations to Travel
For the BEST in Disney, Universal, Dollywood, and SeaWorld Theme Park News, Entertainment, Merchandise & More follow us on, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube. Don't forget to check out the Chip and Company Radio Network too!
