Waking Sleeping Beauty Reaction

The Don Hahn documentary Waking Sleeping Beauty is a fantastic piece of documentary filmmaking in a lot of ways. It showcases a craft of filmmaking in its meticulous attention to detail, storytelling, humor at times, and emotion (a difficult task for a documentary to contain unless it is done well). I should admit that perhaps my perception is a bit biased as this was not only my fourth viewing of the film, but also as one of my biggest obsessions is finding all the background and behind-the-scenes information I can on animated films, particularly those of Walt Disney Animation Studios (called Feature Animation during the 1984-94 time period in the film). Yet what I admire most about this documentary goes far beyond just the fascinating little tidbits you find out about the making of The Little Mermaid and other films from that era, but rather the craft of the piece as a whole.

Though the film has a triumphant feel, I feel it is pretty balanced as a documentary of a time period. Waking Sleeping Beauty does not feel like a pat on the back for everyone involved, but rather a look into animation history. Hahn and company are not wrong when they make claims about making some of the most impactful movies of all time, as the four films (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King) have proven cultural phenomenon's still to this day, more than twenty years after their release. Yet, they are not afraid to talk about the hard strains, the in-fighting, the struggles, and what is most remarkable is its refusal to wrap everything in the happily-ever-after way Disney is famous for. The full circle end on Eisner, Roy Disney, and Katzenberg filming their thank you speeches and uncertain end we reach with what could happen next for Disney Animation is a bold move and I commend the film for ending in such a way.

In all, the film is able to achieve a lot in a way that doesn't feel like public relations while shedding light on a history and struggle that not many people tend to know about. Its use of archive footage and lack of talking heads, strung together by well-written narration, shows craft on the filmmakers part makes everything all the more insightful and revealing. I certainly hope to see a similar documentary on a different time period of animation in the near future, as the ending left me wanting to know what next generations of artists were/are able to do.