Giles

Once upon a time (from 1984 to 1994), a perfect storm of people and circumstances changed the face of animation. Waking Sleeping Beauty is no fairy tale. The documentary tells the true story of how Disney regained its animation magic with hits that included The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King. It offers a candid take on what happened in the Disney creative ranks, set against the chaos that resulted from a power struggle among the top Disney honchos, Michael Eisner, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and the late Roy Disney (the nephew of Walt).

After the screening, director Don Hahn, who has worked for Disney for more than 24 years, and producer Peter Schneider, former Disney studio chief and president of feature animation, share their insider knowledge about the people and events that led to Waking Sleeping Beauty.


- March 18th 7pm (American History Museum)

http://residentassociates.org/ticket...eNumber=219328

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I don't know when the actual theatrical release will happen, but the fact that it's a screening and a post film discussion with Don Hahn and Peter Schneider sounds like fans of recent Disney films will enjoy this immensily.

Giles

a few thoughts and notes on the film and the Q&A:

The film itself is rivetting and exceptional in not only it's technique - theres no talking heads in this film, it's all offscreen audio - with tons of archival footage - it works to its advantage.

While the film talks about the time period between 'The Black Cauldron' to 'The Lion King' the film toggles between the animators stories and recollections, but also the tension between Roy E. Disney, Michael Eisner, and Jeffrey Katzenberg (the latter ultimately being demonized by the film).

For once, a Washington post film Q&A session that isn't asskissing, but asking actualy good questions - thank god!

Don Hahn's 'Little Matchgirl' will be included on the bluray edition of 'Fantasia/Fantasia 2000' come this Fall.

The film only opens next Friday (the 26th) in New York City, LA, Chicago and San Francisco. The DVD will come out in the Fall and will include a number of bonus supplements.

In conclusion, for anyone who is interested in the history of Disney Films, past 1980 to 'The Lion King' the film is exceptional and well worth checking out.

Supermallet

Thanks for the info. I'll catch it when it opens in LA.

Mabuse

Great info. Thanks. At the Q&A did anyone mention the documentary The Sweat Box? It's a behind the scenes doc about the troubled making of Empire of the Sun/Emperors New Groove. I saw it at a film fest, but it's never been on video. Great stuff, but very honest/critical about the late '90s disney animation slump.

Giles

there were a number of unanswered question, due to time, but that wasn't brought up, I'd love to see that doc, since I though 'The Emperor's New Groove' was one of the funniest animated films from the post 80's Disney ouevre