"Waking Sleeping Beauty" (2009 US Documentary)

[pkristen]

Summary:
First hand accounts of the years at Disney animation from 1984 to 1994, how they went from the death throes of their animation arm to the top of the international markets. All of the interviews are from the entire range of people who could participate, from animators to executives.

Review:
I checked it out because I do like Disney works and I am interested in the creative process. As I told Nico, 1984 was at the time when I was a teenager who like the older Disney animation films but not the stuff that was being released at the time.

And the movie was very interesting, with surprisingly candid and frank comments of what was going on at the Disney Studios at the time. But the most poignant section of the film, and the reason why I think it's worth a mention on this board, is the focus on Howard Ashman's role and influence of Disney's return to greatness. If you didn't know who Ashman was, he was one of the major creative forces (and not just the lyricist) behind "A little Mermaid", "Beauty and the Beast", and "Aladdin" -- who passed from AIDS before "Beauty" was released.

I was very pleased and struck by how clearly beloved Ashman was at the Disney Studios, and how he was missed by the creative teams. Of the six extras on the DVD, four of them were devoted to Ashman, including some interview bits of his surviving partner Bill Rauch. There was no dancing around the fact that Ashman was gay and still a very valued member of the creative team. As one person is quoted as saying that he was almost another Walt.