La belle au bois dormant éveillée

I grew during the Disney Renaissance, so I figured that a documentary about all the 1990s classics that gave my childhood fond memories sounded cool but it was bit disappointing. This is an interesting documentary and I thought that the behind the scenes footage and interviews about what lead to the Renaissance era and the making of some of their movies was good. However, the 87 minute runtime is too short and it's first 20 minutes is spent detailing the history that lead into the Disney Renaissance when that easily could've been explained in just 2 or 3 minutes. More time could've been spent discussing the making of each of the Disney Renaissance movies. Only the makings of The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, The Lion King, Rescuers Down Under, Beauty and the Beast, and Pocahontas get discusses in detail while other movies of that era such as Toy Story, Hercules, Mulan, Tarzan, etc. Barley get mention at all. This is still an interesting documentary nonetheless. I thinnk it'd be a cool idea if Disney made a drama film about the Renaissance in a style similar to Saving Mr. Banks.

I was at a showing of this film at the Toronto International Film Festival last night followed by a short Q&A session with producers Don Hahn and Peter Schneider. Exclusively using archival footage, much of it home video quality, it tells the story of Disney animation between the years 1984 and 1994. This period started with the studios almost being closed down and ended with classic and successful animated films like 'Beauty and the Beast' and 'The Lion King'. As Don Hahn said last night "We are trained so well in the disciplines of animated films that we made another movie that is 82 minutes long and includes a laugh and a cry". The business side of the industry is examined, warts and all, while looking at the relationship between Roy Disney, Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenburg, with Katzenburg probably coming off worst. Recent audio interview clips are used but the film has no 'talking heads' sequences. The film gives an insightful glimpse behind the scenes at Disney animation during this particular time period. We get to see a depressed looking Tim Burton working at a drawing board in the mid-eighties and at least two live action 'pies in the face', which must be a good thing. The bad news is that this will not be on general release until next April at the earliest. It will be shown at more film festivals this year and the producers did say last night that they will personally deliver and show the movie to appropriate interested groups in the early months of 2010 to try and create word of mouth publicity. Get your friends together and give them a call.

A surprisingly open, meticulous walk through the dark days of Disney's legendary animation house. Nearly two decades after Walt's death, the studio's culture was crumbling, with leadership deeply entrenched in the past and a full roster of young challengers nipping at their heels. Through a stunningly thorough collection of time-stamped home video footage and detailed interviews with every major player, (especially impressive considering how many have since passed on) we learn the private story of the studio's darkest hour and celebrate its romantic return to glory. The archival footage alone is astounding stuff, flowing beautifully as a testament to both the unique, energetic personality of the shop and dire circumstances faced by its denizens. That it captured such an important chapter in the company's - and the industry's - long, decorated history is almost too much to believe. Admirably honest, doggedly comprehensive and charmingly human, it's a real eye-opener for anyone with even a passing interest in the stories behind several of animation's watershed moments.

This actually made me cry at one point. Besides that, it's nothing crazy or super memorable.

I did love watching this as it showed us how intense the pressure wa for disney in tekhe 80s, but came back up with a resurgence of films.