Review of Waking Sleeping Beauty (2009) by Zachary G — 16 Jan 2011

Disney is such a juggernaut of a company now that it is always interesting to see what the going was like a bit earlier.

I must say that the chosen timeline for this documentary is pretty weird. It starts to examine Disney's animation studio in 1984, but then suddenly stops in the year 1994. Why? Plenty of awesome movies have been released after that, and I bet lots of interesting stuff has been going on in the scenes in recent years as well. Oh well, let's just roll with it.

The documentary is a bit dry, but it's always fascinating to follow the making of some undisputed classics and universally loved movies when they still were simply ideas on a board. I can't believe nobody believed in Lion King or wanted to make it. That is insane in retrospect.

If there has been a more awesome decision in movie business than the one Disney made by choosing to take a risk on a small computer graphics company - to test the idea of using more computers in the animation business - called... what the hell was it... oh yeah, Pixar, I can't come up with one (That was a shitty sentence, but I don't care I'm tired. Just read it more than once). The first computer-made movie completely failed and no one remembers it now (Even I don't remember its name anymore, something about some fucking hawk)), but holy shit was that some inspired decision making.

I was quite surprised to learn there has been so much in-fighting in Disney's upper echelons. During making some of the biggest successes to boot. People are so fucking stupid. You are at Disney, making millions a year and doing something incredible, and you have to fight for more power. I will never understand that. "Hmmm... yes my life is awesome, but I think I need moar minions!" Idiots.

I can only imagine how much they are fighting NOW, if they thought Beauty and the Beast made a lot of money...