Top draw for scholars of the ill-fated marriage of art/commerce at the alter of animation. [Full review in Spanish]

| Jul 19, 2022

Wake up this weekend and be the guest of Don Hahn, Peter Schneider and Disney at WAKING SLEEPING BEAUTY.

| Nov 6, 2019

Waking Sleeping Beauty was clearly a cathartic project for its creators, but the level of anecdotal detail ("Then we went out for margaritas!") comes off as self-indulgent at first and eventually just dull.

| Jan 11, 2018

| Original Score: 3/4 | Nov 24, 2011

An intriguing yet uneven documentary...

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Sep 29, 2011

Carries the mystique of Walt Disney, whose animated features can be regarded as a genetic line with ups and downs as compellingly dramatic as the history of royal families.

| Original Score: 8/10 | Jan 7, 2011

Combining honest commentary with archival footage, Waking Sleeping Beauty offers a refreshing look at a side large companies often steer clear of.

| Nov 27, 2010

[Director Don Hahn's] interviews are used as voice-over to a lively mix of Disney film clips, behind-the-scenes footage and rare home movies taken by Disney staffers.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Oct 8, 2010

Featuring interviews with such luminaries as Tim Burton, John Lasseter, Don Bluth, Michael Eisner, the late Howard Ashman, the irascible Roy Disney and others, the film is a self-congratulatory dud.

| Original Score: C+ | Oct 7, 2010

A subpar movie about exceptional ones, and you won't really care who was responsible.

| Oct 1, 2010

More Belle, more Ariel, more Simba -- and less of Eisner and Co. -- would have made a more interesting movie.

| Original Score: 1/4 | Oct 1, 2010

It's not one of those documentaries whose appeal stretches beyond people who are already interested in the subject, but animation buffs will eat it up.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Sep 3, 2010

[It] may not be thrilling, riveting viewing for some, but for animation fans, and for aficionados of Disney, the movie is must-see.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Aug 26, 2010

Instead, it's a fascinating look at how a group of talented, flawed individuals managed to pull together for a while and make some beautiful and lasting films. There's something kind of magical about that, too.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 26, 2010

It's a not-so-great movie about some great movies.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Aug 6, 2010

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 17, 2010

Waking Sleeping Beauty will matter only to those who grew up on Walt Disney's animated films. In other words, all of us.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | May 21, 2010

Feature animation had an explosively great year in 2009, so it's startling to be reminded in Waking Sleeping Beauty that it was all but dead 20 years ago.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Apr 29, 2010

It's a must-see for any Disney purist, but is also an emotive, stunningly valuable documentary in its own right.

| Original Score: A | Apr 16, 2010

The entire story is worked into a perfect success story package, concluding right before the studios more controversial period begins, which just goes to show, you can always have a happy ending, if you know where to stop the story.

| Apr 8, 2010