Coming to DVD next Tuesday, November 30: WAKING SLEEPING BEAUTY
A labor of love for producer Peter Schneider (longtime president of Walt Disney’s animated feature department) and producer/director Don Hahn (producer of many of Disney’s biggest animated hits of the ’90s), WAKING SLEEPING BEAUTY premiered at Telluride and Toronto last year and had a limited theatrical release earlier this year.
The film tells the history of Disney’s animation department, tracing its peaks and valleys from the release of THE FOX AND THE HOUND to THE LION KING. Cleverly, the filmmakers chose to construct the project using pre-existing interviews, personal videos, and contemporary behind-the-scenes footage, complemented and expanded with new narration and audio-only interviews. The effect is something of a time capsule, offering a privileged view of the inner workings of the classic studio. While not quite a warts and all exposé, WAKING SLEEPING BEAUTY is clearly not just a puff piece – it presents in a frank way the trouble spots that plagued the division before it found success again with THE LITTLE MERMAID, and some of the interpersonal conflicts. Though fans of the Disney films will get the most out of this project, its unique perspective is worth watching for anyone interested in the process of studio moviemaking.
what (not) to doc 