Film

Waking Sleeping Beauty

A behind-the-scenes documentary about Disney animation's unlikely renaissance in the late 1980s and 1990s. Waking Sleeping Beauty captures the creative collision between old-guard animators and hungry newcomers, the boardroom tension with live-action divisions, and the inspired chaos that birthed The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King. It's a vivid, warts-and-all story of how an entire department went from near-death to cultural dominance in a single decade.

TMDb rating3.6

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love behind-the-scenes looks at how creative teams argue, scheme and recover, and you already have affection for the 1989-1999 Disney hits, so the boardroom feuds and studio archive footage feel like a story rather than a lecture.

Skip it if you want a tight, polished documentary; this one is assembled from archival footage and interviews with a loose, sprawling feel, and its pacing wanders when the focus shifts between executives and artists.

What it asks of you: It settles in for about ninety minutes of talking heads, old tapes and studio memos, so you need patience for corporate history more than for quick emotional payoffs.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Saving Mr. Banks2013

Shows another Disney creative struggle—this time between Walt's vision and a writer's artistic integrity. It's about how art emerges from conflict, tension, and competing egos forced to work together.

But Glosses over the real Mary Poppins production complications with a more sentimentalised narrative. Feels lighter and more Hollywood than the grittier truth.

Saving Mr. Banks poster

Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex 'n' Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood2003

Sweeping saga of 1970s Hollywood's creative revolution—studio decline, young rebels upending the system, personal conflict between generations. The same generational clash, different industry.

But Focused on live-action cinema, so the visual storytelling is totally different. Some of the interviews feel dated now. Might feel like a history lesson rather than a live drama.

Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex 'n' Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood poster

Jiro Dreams of Sushi2011

A portrait of artistic mastery and obsession, the price of excellence, and legacy passing to the next generation. Meditative and hypnotic rather than fast-paced, but equally gripping.

But Glacially slow and introspective. If you want narrative momentum and conflict, this is contemplative to the point of patience-testing. Very different energy.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Waking Sleeping Beauty

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Overnight2003

Both are documentaries about what happens when visionary ego meets institutional systems. One triumphs, one implodes—seeing them together is revelatory about the luck involved in either outcome.

Tony Scott's film about Tommy Wiseau's The Room's making is the exact inverse: a documentary about creative ambition that results in catastrophe instead of triumph. Same behind-the-scenes chaos, opposite moral.

But Deeply uncomfortable and deeply sad. It's a character study in delusion and industry indifference. Not uplifting. Can feel mean-spirited if you dislike Wiseau.

Overnight poster
More like this (4)

Crumb1995

Terry Zwigoff's documentary about cartoonist Robert Crumb is obsessive, personal, and unsparing. Shows the cost of creative genius and the weird family dynamics that shaped it.

But Darker and weirder than Waking Sleeping Beauty. Some uncomfortable family material. This isn't a feel-good achievement story—it's about dysfunction breeding art.

Crumb poster

The Pixar Story2007

Another animation revolution from the other side. Shows how Pixar was born from Lucasfilm's computer division, nurtured by Steve Jobs, and fought for creative independence. Similar underdog arc, different details.

But More reverential of its subjects. Less willing to show the messy human conflict that made Disney's comeback so compelling. Feels slightly more promotional.

The Pixar Story poster

RBG2018

A documentary about grinding institutional change over decades, one person's refusal to quit, and the vindication of conviction. Different field, same theme of persistence through hostile circumstances.

But Entirely focused on one person rather than a whole team. Feels more like a conventional biopic doc. Less specific to the creative process.

RBG poster

Anvil! The Story of Anvil2008

Both are about the exact same narrative arc: decline into obscurity, then inexplicable, magnificent return. If you felt the satisfaction of watching Disney prove doubters wrong, Anvil delivers that same emotional payoff in the most unlikely place imaginable.

Sacha Gervasi's documentary about a forgotten heavy metal band getting a second chance after 30 years. It shares the exact DNA of Waking Sleeping Beauty: redemption, time, effort, vindication, and the world finally getting it.

But The actual music is heavy metal, which you might not enjoy. Smaller scale and lower stakes than Disney. Feels almost aggressively unglamorous.

Anvil! The Story of Anvil poster

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