| FilmEdge reviews WAKING SLEEPING BEAUTY on DVD |
November 29, 2010 |
Review by Scott Weitz |
 (5 stars) |
 Don Hahn's WAKING SLEEPING BEAUTY takes an unflinching look at Disney's greatest decade of animation, filled with the beautiful, glorious artwork of its pencil-to-paper magicians but also focusing on the studio's own difficulties, warts and all. Its strength as a documentary is that millions of people know how struggle turned to global success, forging an unprecedented empire in entertainment . . . but so few know how this miracle was pulled off. It didn't happen by magic, unless you count the string animated fairy tale hits which delighted young and old at box offices. Yet such magic was a creative grind, not a cosmic gift.
What makes this film so unique and valuable is that every interview, photo and video clip speaks about this golden era from within it as it happened. Hahn and Schneider have assembled an invaluable time capsule of Disney's expansion of the animated art form, documenting history while it was being made, and preserving the cinematic past for future audiences while they were still living it. Interviews and candid video clips span many years allow this story to be told from the past and present by all the key players of this studio drama: Michael Eisner, Frank G. Wells, Roy Disney and the animated films' creative leads including Glen Keane, John Musker, Ron Clements, Kirk Wise, Rob Minkoff, Howard Ashman, Alan Menken and dozens of others.
 All the more astonishing is WAKING SLEEPING BEAUTY's capacity as a cautionary tale, defining in pen and ink the trials and mistakes of the past to stop others from repeating such scenes of self-destruction. What makes this film so relevant is that its story does not reside solely in the past, for the events told in it ripple across the animation and entertainment world today.
This tale may be as old as time, but everything old is new again. Don Hahn and Peter Schneider have captured lightning in a bottle by preserving a look back at animation's rebirth as an art form, yet brilliantly they mix fairy tale endings with corporate intrigue and complexity. If you've ever wondered how these artists and producers make such dazzling animated classics, go see WAKING SLEEPING BEAUTY and you'll truly wonder at how these films were born in the first place. You'll certainly finish the DVD with a greater appreciation for these people and their films, and possibly you may never watch an animated film the same way again.
A cache of bonus features enhance the documentary, reflecting on the finale results of the film with Hahn and Schneider and exploring the personalities and interviews from which WAKING SLEEPING BEAUTY was created before its story and those telling it disappeared in time:
Why Wake Sleeping Beauty? puts Don Hahn and Peter Schneider in front of the camera to detail their passion for telling this unique story completely in archival clips, interviews and film footage supported by past and contemporary interviews with the main personnel in voiceover interviews. Indeed, this story could not have been told as revealingly, honestly and humorously by anyone else except those who lived through it and, combined, tell it candidly and truthfully for the first time.
Six Deleted Scenes add more insight into the creative process of both Disney's animated hits and documenting their creation:
- Black Friday examines the test screening failure of ALADDIN which coincided with the increasing illness of songwriter Howard Ashman and the difficult decision to cut one of his favorite and most personal songs from the film to streamline the story. This segment underscores the untold story of how these animators and filmmakers live years of their lives creating one such project, and how often their own lives become emotionally interwoven through the character's tales on screen.
- Howard's Lecture comes off as anything but given the slightly misleading title. Rather it's extended rarely seen video of Howard Ashman's meeting with THE LITTLE MERMAID creative team introducing his song demos for the film and how they expand upon the history of movie and stage musicals before it, including Disney's own history blending music and animation in that tradition. Watch and you'll learn how Ashman was truly one of the revolutionary influences in the renaissance of Disney feature animation.
- Losing Howard celebrates the life and creative influence on Disney film history as told by those who lived and worked with Ashman, and some emotional recollections of how others learned of his illness while the studio accommodated him to keep him working as he wished.
- Recording 'Part of Your World' assembles rare video clips of Jodi Benson working with Ashman to get the perfect singing voice and attitude for Ariel's character- and movie-defining song for THE LITTLE MERMAID.
- Research Trips collect home video of animation and filmmaking teams venturing off to Australia, France and Africa to gain valuable hands-on experience in the environments which host the stories of THE RESCUERS DOWN UNDER, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST and THE LION KING. Photos and voiceover comments describe these trips as only artists and storytellers can relate them.
- To Sir With Love relates Jeffrey Katzenberg's departure from Disney through the photos and voiceover memories of animators attending his farewell party, having often conflicted with his managerial style but eventually growing to respect his importance in this special era of success.
Hahn and Schneider pay tribute to four crucial contributors to this era in The Sailor, the Mountain Climber, the Artist and the Poet, celebrating the lives, careers and friendship of Roy Disney, Frank G. Wells, story artist Joe Ranft and lyricist Howard Ashman. Originally the completed film was dedicated to the latter three men, but Hahn insisted on adding Roy Disney's tribute to the "forever version" of this documentary since Roy passed away not long after its theatrical release. Few may know who Joe Ranft was but the stories of these great films and others wouldn't have possessed such unique qualities of quirky humor and touching emotion without his contributions. Don't skip past this bonus feature or you'll miss the humanity behind the history told in this film.
Animator Randy Cartwright's home movies offered invaluable documentation of Disney and its artists through his vintage Studio Tours, shot in the 1980s and '90s for a rare look at where the magic on animation was made in utterly unglamorous offices and cubicles. Much of the fun is seeing these animators goofing around with each other, playing in bands and putting on cardboard cut-out holiday shows.
A Reunion pairs lifelong friends Kirk Wise (director of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST) and Rob Minkoff (director of THE LION KING), who shared an interest in drawing cartoons and made their own "terrible" animated short not long after meeting in junior high school. A brief piece, but insightful in illustrating the numerous, unpredictable ways the creators of these Disney classics started from improbable and humble beginnings.
Walt pays tribute to the icon and founder of the Disney Studio, mirroring how the 1980s daring rebirth of Disney animation paralleled Walt Disney's own professional and personal risk-taking approach to creating the first animated feature SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS. The challenges and conflicts of this new Golden Age only echo the same arguments and clashes Walt and his original animators endured creating never-before-seen successes in the 1930s-40s. The characters and technologies change, but the story remains the same and as timeless as ever.
Finally, the feature length Audio Commentary track pairs director Don Hahn and producer Peter Schneider for an entertaining sidebar study of the many real-life characters appearing in their film and glimpses into their own processes of forging this documentary. The two are affable audio partners for hearing another angle on this once-in-a-generation tale and this track is definitely worth viewing for audiences and fans enticed by the film itself to learn a bit more on the subject.
Audiences in theaters and at home never seem to satiate their hunger for Disney and Pixar animated films, yet so few can or will take the opportunity to discover how these cinematic wonders spark into existence. Don Hahn and Peter Schneider have now done all the ground work research for them, delivering their exceptional and energetic documentary on the renewal of Walt Disney's quest to advance the art of animation, skillfully illustrated by familiar scenes and characters from Disney blockbuster classics. Capturing the unlikely convergence of so many talented executives, artists and storytellers who literally made film history in the '80s and '90s and displaying their combined product with such wit and wistful remembrance is a true, rare achievement on its own. FilmEdge recommends WAKING SLEEPING BEAUTY to any and all fans of Disney animated tales to witness the very human drama which played out off-screen and behind the walls of Walt's studio castle: it's a tale as old as time, but one you've probably never heard told quite this way before.
READ FILMEDGE'S THEATRICAL REVIEW OF WAKING SLEEPING BEAUTY
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