"Dream On, Silly Dreamer" - a Disney documentary

pinkrenata · Post by **pinkrenata** » Fri Feb 11, 2005 10:31 pm

I was lucky enough to see a showing of this yesterday when it was here in Minneapolis. I found it very entertaining and was glad I had a chance to see it. Especially amusing was the little animated Jeffrey Katzenberg getting kicked right out of the book! (the film paid homage to <i>The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh</i> in that it began in a live-action animator's studio that bore resemblance to Christopher Robin's room, and also that the animated segments took place inside the artist's sketchbook). The film was very cleverly done and my only lament was that it wasn't long enough. I was wondering if anyone else has had the chance to see it yet and what their thoughts were.

For more information on the film, here is the official site:

http://www.dreamonsillydreamer.com

Paka · Post by **Paka** » Sat Feb 12, 2005 4:55 am

I wish my thoughts were as concise as yours, Renata!

I just posted my review of Dreamer at Animated News - though I think I went a bit crazy with the summarization.

Ah, well... I hope you enjoy!

Btw, I did the "Luke review trick" with those pics... dumb captions abound!

Jack · Post by **Jack** » Sat Feb 12, 2005 9:02 am

You MNers are luckyyyy! I actually forgot that I had heard about this before, until I went to the official site. Looks like a very interesting film, I'm hoping to see it. Apparently, its going to be released in select theaters hereafter? The 40 minute run-time would make it odd to put in normal theaters, though.

Wonderlicious · Post by **Wonderlicious** » Sat Feb 12, 2005 3:55 pm

Is this movie coming to England at all?

stlewis75 · Post by **stlewis75** » Mon Feb 14, 2005 7:51 am

I wish there was a way to see this thing for people who aren't anywhere near Minnesota. Hopefully it will become available in some way. I'd love to see it.

AwallaceUNC · Post by **AwallaceUNC** » Mon Feb 14, 2005 8:36 am

I'd like to see it too. The concept is very interesting and I'd love to see how it unfolds.

-Aaron

Disney Guru · Post by **Disney Guru** » Mon Feb 14, 2005 8:50 am

Yeah, it looks like an interesting movie.

Paka · Post by **Paka** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 10:44 am

Well here we are a year later, and the DVD of this great doc has finally been packaged and is ready for shipment! Its official release date was yesterday, the 14th - and it's available on Amazon and through the website itself.

If you'd like to give this a blind buy (hey, it's the best behind-the-scenes Disney doc we have aside from the notorious, buried Sweatbox documentary by Sting) would suggest ordering through the Dreamer website, since it supports the producers directly, and will likely ship to you faster than Amazon's 4-6 week estimate.

So give this film a shot! It's a must-see for animation fans everywhere, in my opinion!

Christian · Post by **Christian** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 12:53 pm

They should've sent you the DVD, Lindsay.

Paka · Post by **Paka** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 2:30 pm

Christian wrote:They should've sent you the DVD, Lindsay.

Yeah, that would have been nice.

Ah well, I'll probably order it sometime soon-ish anyhoo. Dan Lund and company can use all the support they can get!

Disney Lover · Post by **Disney Lover** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 10:46 pm

It's a shame that the dvd is so expensive. At least from Amazon it is. I couldn't get the link to work for the main site of the dvd. It seems like a good dvd to have.

Tabbi <3

goofystitch · Post by **goofystitch** » Thu Feb 16, 2006 12:39 pm

I ordered my copy last night. I haven't received a confirmation e-mail yet, but I'm expecting one shortly. Thanks everyone for the information. I didn't even know this film existed!

deathie mouse · Post by **deathie mouse** » Thu Feb 16, 2006 6:13 pm

I don't think that's expensive for such an interesting documentary. I'm really looking forward to getting it since i wasn't able to see it when it was playing in Minneapolis

Christian: Maybe they'll send Paka a Blu-ray the next time!

goofystitch · Post by **goofystitch** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 3:46 pm

Wow! I just got my copy of the DVD and I started out watching it late at night with the intention of falling asleep to it, but it was sooo interesting that I couldn't sleep. It's so incredible to hear about what really went on at the Disney Studios. Did you know that films like "The Little Mermaid," "Aladdin," and "The Lion King" were animated in trailors? I sure didn't. The film is really well organized. The interviews start off with the ex-Disney employees talking about how much fun it was to work at Disney originally and they share anecdotes about their dreams coming true. Then they all describe the decline and how bad management got. The film sheds new light on the way WDFA was handled after "Lion King." The film only runs 40 minutes, but the DVD has great bonus features. Home video footage of the wrap parties for units in California and Orlando, extended scenes, the premiere, theatrical trailor, art work, and home video footage of the artists buying their desks. The supplimental matereal is awesome. Did you know that Disney charged the animators $1,300 to buy their desks? Pretty rediculous. I reccomend this film to all fans of Disney animation. It is a real eye opener.

Paka · Post by **Paka** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 8:39 pm

Yay! So glad you liked it, goofystitch! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on it!

So far I've heard lots of positive reception from people who've received their DVDs. I only wish this film was more well known... almost as much as I wish that The Sweatbox will get some kind of coverage and distribution someday!

stlewis75 · Post by **stlewis75** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 8:09 am

Within five minutes of finding out Dreamer was on DVD I had already ordered it. Then about two minutes after I got it out of my mailbox, I started watching it. It had some great insight from the artists as to what caused the downfall of 2D at Disney. I wish it had been longer. It has plenty of information, and is edited quite well... I probably just wanted to hear from more of the artists. I would probably enjoy most of the stuff that was cut out to produce the final film. My ideal version would be about two weeks long... but this movie, as it is, is great. If you're at all interested in what's happened to Disney animation in the last 15 years, you'll love it. You'll probably end up feeling a little depressed, but it's well worth the time and the money to see it if you care to.

I got into animation a little too late... it would have been nice to get a part of those bonus checks and inflated salaries, even though that was part of the problem. Gotta cash in while you can!

TheSequelOfDisney · Post by **TheSequelOfDisney** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 7:10 pm

what is this silly dreamer?

goofystitch · Post by **goofystitch** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 9:17 pm

It's a documentary made by one of the 2D animators laid off by Disney. It mostly consists of interviews with animators with clever animated interstitials. It's the story of how great it once was to work for Disney Feature Animation on films like "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Lion King," then how bad it was once management became greedy and more like a dictatorship, and finally to how horrifying it was being told that Disney is no longer making 2D films and they are all fired. The DVD has some great bonus features as well. I highly reccomend getting it.

Post by **Luke** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 11:11 pm

I've posted my review of the DVD here:
http://www.ultimatedisney.com/dreamonsillydreamer.html

reyquila · Post by **reyquila** » Sat Mar 04, 2006 7:49 am

Obviously Im buying this one. Is there anyway to get The Sweatbox. I'd love to see that one!!!

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"Dream On, Silly Dreamer" - a Disney documentary

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