Waking Sleeping Beauty
Waking Sleeping Beauty | |
---|---|
Directed by | Don Hahn |
Written by | Patrick Pacheco |
Produced by | Don Hahn Peter Schneider |
Starring | Roy E. Disney Michael Eisner Jeffrey Katzenberg Randy Cartwright Howard Ashman |
Narrated by | Don Hahn |
Edited by | Ellen Keneshea Vartan Nazarian John Damien Ryan |
Music by | Chris P. Bacon |
Production company | Stone Circle Pictures |
Distributed by | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 85 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $84,918 |
Waking Sleeping Beauty is a 2009 American documentary film directed by
The film uses no new on-camera interviews, instead relying primarily on archival interviews, press kit footage, in-progress and completed footage from the films being covered, and personal film/videos shot (often against company policy) by the employees of the animation studio.
Waking Sleeping Beauty debuted at the 2009 Telluride Film Festival,[1] and played at film festivals across the country before its limited theatrical release on March 26, 2010, by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.[2]
Synopsis
The documentary is narrated by animator and film producer Don Hahn, with numerous audio interviews from company animators and executives.
The documentary begins in the early 1980s, when
Eisner hired
The
At the production crew's wrap party screening of Beauty and the Beast, Eisner announced that a new animation building would be built on the studio lot as a reward for their hard work, but Katzenberg was unaware of this. In 1994, The Lion King was released and became another box office success for Disney. Katzenberg expected to become the new company president, but was denied the position by Eisner, eventually leading to his resignation; he later would go on to co-found future animation, film, TV, gaming, and music rival DreamWorks Pictures.
Cast
- Don Hahn : Himself - Narrator (voice)
- Michael Eisner : Himself (archive footage)
- Jeffrey Katzenberg : Himself (archive footage)
- Roy E. Disney : Himself (archive footage)
- Frank Wells : Himself (archive footage)
- Peter Schneider : Himself (archive footage)
- John Musker : Himself (archive footage)
- Ron Clements : Himself (archive footage)
- John Lasseter : Himself (archive footage)
- Steven Spielberg : Himself (archive footage)
- Rob Minkoff : Himself (archive footage)
- Glen Keane : Himself (archive footage)
- Roger Allers : Himself (archive footage)
- Mike Gabriel : Himself (archive footage)
- Thomas Schumacher : Himself (archive footage)
- Howard Ashman : Himself (archive footage)
- Robert Zemeckis : Himself (archive footage)
- Joe Ranft : Himself (archive footage)
- Angela Lansbury : Herself (archive footage)
- Alan Menken : Himself (archive footage)
- Janis Roswick : Herself (archive footage)
- Nora Menken: Herself (archive footage)
- Anna Menken: Herself (archive footage)
- Gary Trousdale : Himself (archive footage)
- Kirk Wise : Himself (archive footage)
- Jodi Benson: Herself (archive footage)
- Jerry Orbach: Himself (archive footage)
Production
Narration is done by Hahn, with new audio-only interviews done by several of the studio's principal figures, including former executives Eisner, Katzenberg, and Roy E. Disney, and animator/directors Mike Gabriel, Rob Minkoff, Roger Allers, Gary Trousdale, and Kirk Wise. The footage includes filmmakers Tim Burton, John Lasseter, Don Bluth, Ron Clements, John Musker, Steven Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis, Richard Williams, and George Scribner, as well as Howard Ashman, Alan Menken, Jodi Benson, Robin Williams, Paige O'Hara, Jerry Orbach, Angela Lansbury, Jeremy Irons, Nathan Lane, Elton John, and Tim Rice. A significant portion of the personal film used was shot by John Lasseter and Joe Ranft for Disney animator Randy Cartwright, who is featured giving makeshift "studio tours" in 1980, 1984, and 1990. The Cartwright footage is used to bookend the film.[3]
The film is dedicated to the memory of Howard Ashman, former Disney President and chief operating officer Frank Wells, animator Joe Ranft, and Roy E. Disney.
Reception
Waking Sleeping Beauty has received generally positive reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a rating of 71% based on 51 critics. The site's general consensus is, "[The film] doesn't probe as deep – or tell as many hard truths – as it could have, but Don Hahn's look at Disney's rebirth offers a fascinating and surprisingly candorous glimpse into the studio's past."[4] Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 top reviews from mainstream critics, calculated a score of 70 based on 18 critics.[5]
It earned a Special Achievement Award at the 2010 Annie Awards and a Best Documentary Feature nomination at the 2010 St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Awards.[citation needed]
See also
- The Pixar Story, a 2007 documentary film chronicling the history of Pixar Animation Studios.
- Disney animators Dan Lund and Tony West on the rise and fall of traditional animationat Disney from 1980 through 2002.
- Disneysmost iconic songs.
References
- ^ Sciretta, Peter (September 6, 2009). Movie Review: Waking Sleeping Beauty. /Film. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
- ^ (2010-03-04). 'Waking Sleeping Beauty' Gets Limited Theatrical Release, 3/26. BroadWayWorld.com. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
- ^ Jeffrey M. Anderson (March 26, 2010). Interview: Don Hahn and Peter Schneider of 'Waking Sleeping Beauty'. Cinematical. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
- ^ "Waking Sleeping Beauty – Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
- CBS Interactive. Retrieved December 3, 2014.