Waking Sleeping Beauty
Waking Sleeping Beauty Image
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Metascore
70 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 18 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.6 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 5 Ratings

Your Score
0 out of 10
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  • Starring: John Lasseter, Michael Eisner, Roy Edward Disney
  • Summary: Waking Sleeping Beauty is no fairytale. It is a story of clashing egos, out of control budgets, escalating tensions... and one of the most extraordinary creative periods in animation history. Director Don Hahn and producer Peter Schneider, key players at Walt Disney Studios Feature Animation department during the mid-1980s, offer a behind-the-magic glimpse of the turbulent times the Animation Studio was going through and the staggering output of hits that followed over the next ten years. Artists polarized between the hungry young innovators and the old guard who refused to relinquish control, mounting tensions due to a string of box office flops, and warring studio heads create the backdrop for this fascinating story told with a unique and candid perspective from those that were there. Through interviews, internal memos, home movies, and a cast of characters, Waking Sleeping Beauty shines a light on Disney Animation's darkest hours, greatest joys and its improbable renaissance. (Walt Disney Pictures)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 18
  3. Negative: 0 out of 18
  1. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Tasha Robinson
    91
    A surprisingly intimate behind-the-scenes documentary.
  2. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: J.R. Jones
    80
    Even in its sanitized state, this movie about the generational revolt that reinvigorated Disney’s animation department in the 1980s and ’90s is fascinating, thick with studio intrigue and lavishly illustrated with archival sketches and test animations.
  3. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kenneth Turan
    80
    It's got a terrific inside Hollywood sensibility plus an unblinking candor that lets the chips fall where they should. Which, given who made it, is something of a pleasant surprise.
  4. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Joe Neumaier
    60
    Watch for a cameo by young animator Tim Burton.

See all 18 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 1
  3. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. Tony
    8
    A fascinating behind-the-scenes look at Disney as the films that defined my childhood were created, which brought the studio back to life despite a clear power struggle at the top.… Expand

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