Review of Waking Sleeping Beauty (2009) by Thomas W — 17 Mar 2011

A documentary about the return-to-greatness of the Disney animation studio. Early in its life, Disney's animation studio could do very little wrong (Snow White, Bambi, Dumbo ...) and the public would easily part ways with his/her hard-earned money to catch a Disney flick.

Disney animation was a thing of high-quality and it commanded respect from all within the industry as other studios tried to match Disney's production values and/or stories. The film acknowledged that the wheels on this cart were becoming more and more loose with each passing year (The Black Cauldron anybody?) and that the studio was in dire need of some younger blood .

.. which the studio eventually brought on board. The documentary doesn't "pass the buck" ... it calls-out problem areas within the Disney family and shows how they were fixed. Waking Sleeping Beauty places a lot of Disney's new-found respect at the helmers of The Little Mermaid as it became a bona-fide Disney blockbuster and it re-established Disney as the House of Mouse that would have made Walt proud.

There are some interesting nuggets of did-you-know/trivia to be learned here for any Disney aficionado; but it isn't "ALL Disney" as there are some dirty double-dealings and backroom double crosses to be seen here.

While some of the business talk might not interest all, the sections of the documentary pertaining strictly to animation are awe-inspiring. Just like some of Disney's best, Waking Sleeping Beauty, enthralls its viewer to embrace the power and magic of Walt Disney.