Michael Eisner said “Animation is Disney’s soul, heart and most of its body parts.” "Waking Sleeping Beauty" is a documentary about that second golden age of Disney animation that included “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” and many others which set the bar for animation as we know it today as a viable genre.
The film’s title is a play on one of the many classic animations made during the first golden age of Disney animation. We can all name many of the other Disney classics that started with “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves” before the company began its descent in the 1950s, when the studio began losing interest in animation, and reached its low point in 1985 with “The Black Cauldron” released in 1985 that was out-grossed in 1985 by “The Care Bears Movie” and the re-issued “101 Dalmations." It was so bad that Disney’s animation artists were kicked off the lot to rented property to make room for more live action production. This film memorializes the rebirth of Disney animation.
This documentary is important because it furthers the debate as to whether talent or effort is most important to the creative process. Roy Disney, Walt Disney’s nephew and Disney’s largest shareholder, brought to Disney three people who are well known to all—Michael Eisner as CEO, Frank Wells as COO and Jeffrey Katzenberg as head of the animation studio. This team brought in the likes of Tim Burton, Don Hahn (Pixar, “Beauty and the Beast,” and “The Lion King”) and many others. However, the group also brought in a work ethic that included working long hours and weekends. So the viewer can determine if talent or effort carried the day.
Don Hahn directs the film that also documents the egos involved and the ongoing struggles between creative and commerce. Hahn shows the egos of Eisner, Roy Disney and Katzenberg in a conflict that was controlled only by the mediation of Wells. The wheels come off during the release of "The Lion King" which coincides with the death of Wells. The egos come out out with Eisner’s announcement of a new Disney animation studio in California—of which he had never informed Katzenberg. The battle of wills is exemplified at Wells’ memorial service when Roy Disney calls out Eisner for a less than laudatory introduction and culminates with Katzenberg leaving when he is not given Wells’ job. Just as Disney animation peaked with the release of “The Lion King,” the team fell apart.
Like any creative effort, the process included a slow start and mistakes. However, perseverance, talent and effort triumph. The first film out of the chute, “The Great Mouse Detective,” did okay. Along the way, the first Disney film using computer generated animation, “The Rescuers Down Under,” was a financial flop but a technological step forward. The animation program used was the CAPS program developed by a start-up called Pixar.
The segments involving the Howard Ashman are particularly moving. Ashman, who had a theatrical upbringing and previously wrote the music for “Little Shop of Horrors,” brought musical theater to Disney. He and and Alan Mencken wrote the award-winning and memorable music for “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast" and “Aladdin.” While Ashman's influence on the success of “The Little Mermaid” was tremendous, it was his death immediately following the introduction of “Beauty and the Beast” at the New York Film Festival that's particularly poignant.
The film shows how the two films were almost very different. After the initial audience of children saw “Little Mermaid” and did not react favorably to “Part of That World”, the song was almost cut. Because it was not fully completed, an un-colorized version of “Beauty and the Beast” was shown at the New York Film Festival to a resulting standing ovation that just does not happen at that festival. As no one in management had confidence in “The Lion King” when it was in development (people nicknamed it “Bambi in Africa”), it almost did not get made, and when it did, very few animators wanted to work on the unpopular project.
The films documents how this creative team, brought together at the right time and place, released many of the most profitable and creative animated films of all time. But the film also shows how Disney’s decision to release one animated feature a year took a toll on the animators, many of whom complained about carpal tunnel syndrome. These concerns were offset by the bonuses.
Befitting a film about film making, the documentary includes production sessions as well as “home” movies around the lot recorded during the ten years that the film memorializes. Patrick Pacheco, a veteran journalist, wrote the screen play and handles the interviews voiced over the shots. The bubbles help, but sometimes it's difficult keeping up with the speakers and players.
The film has a Hollywood ending to the extent that it ends before the litigation and corporate battles, so there will be some home study needed to determine “where are they now?” But it is a seemingly honest and balanced approach to a very complicated situation.
The take away is the importance of the creative process, however achieved, to turning a lagging operation into a successful program. It is said that documentaries should inform you, make you think, make you sad and/or mad. This film does all that and takes the viewer on a nostalgic trip through many of the important animated films of our lifetime.
You should see this film if you have always been enchanted with Disney animated films. You should see this film if you have ever wondered how an animated film comes together. You should see this film if you want to learn about the inner workings of a film studio or to see how ego can kill a corporate culture. You should see this film.

"Waking Sleeping Beauty" opens September 3 at the Belcourt Theatre.