Waking Sleeping Beauty
By the mid-1980s, the fabled animation studios of Walt Disney had fallen on hard times. The artists were polarized between newcomers hungry to innovate and old timers not yet ready to relinquish control. These conditions produced a series of box-office flops and pessimistic forecasts: maybe the best days of animation were over. Maybe the public didn't care. Only a miracle or a magic spell could produce a happy ending. Waking Sleeping Beauty is no fairy tale. It's the true story of how Disney regained its magic with a staggering output of hits - "Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast ," "Aladdin," "The Lion King," and more - over a 10-year period.
Critics Sentiment
The Lion King becomes Disney's biggest animated success ever
The Black Cauldron's poor performance scalds the animation division
The documentary swings from Disney's lowest creative point with The Black Cauldron to the triumphant peak of The Lion King's unprecedented success.
Critics praised the documentary's comprehensive look at Disney's transformation from near-collapse to Renaissance glory, using exceptional archival footage and honest portrayals of corporate drama. While reviewers appreciated the behind-the-scenes access and the story's inherent fascination, many felt the 86-minute runtime was too brief to fully explore such a rich period. The documentary succeeds as an engaging overview but leaves audiences wanting deeper dives into individual films and creative processes.
Full cast
Showing 20 of 168
Don Hahn
Self
Roy Edward Disney
Self
Michael Eisner
Self
Jeffrey Katzenberg
Self
Peter Schneider
Self
Rob Minkoff
Self - Pumbaa (voice)
Glen Keane
Self
Ron Clements
Self
John Musker
Self
Mike Gabriel
Self (voice)
Roger Allers
Self - Jenny Foxworth / Timon (voice)
David Pruiksma
Self (voice)
Gary Trousdale
Self
Kirk Wise
Self
Thomas Schumacher
Self
Mark Kimball
Self (voice)
Dick Cook
Self (voice)
Lisa Keene
Self
Elton John
Self (archive footage)
Lillian Disney
Self (archive footage)
Crew
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